Free Republic

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that he believed Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “absolutely should recuse himself” from decisions on President Donald Trump’s ballot access case, adding, “the question is, what do we do if he doesn’t?” Dana Bash asked, “Three of the sitting justices were appointed by Donald Trump and in addition to that, Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, Ginny, texted Mark Meadows about the 2020 election, the lead up to January 6th, as you well know. Should any of the justices recuse themselves if they take this up?”

If Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is used to remove Trump from the ballot in the 2024 election, it won’t stop there. It will be used against everyone who supported “the insurrection” on January 6. Imagine how broadly giving “aid and comfort” to Trump challenging the 2020 election can be interpreted. This also demonstrates how strong opposition has become. Even their election adjustment machine can’t help them anymore.

Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press” that the argument that former President Donald Trump did not break laws and was only expressing his First Amendment rights in the days after the 2020 election is a “deranged argument.” Discussing the January 6 indictment, Raskin said, “A technical violation of the Constitution is a violation of the Constitution. The Constitution in six different places opposes insurrection and makes that a grievous constitutional event. Our constitution is designed to stop people from trying to overthrow elections and trying to overthrow the government, but in any event, there’s a...

In the recent series of direct Supreme Court opinions on what rights the Second Amendment protects, the Court laid out a brilliant exposition of what the words of the Second Amendment mean and how to use the meaning of the Second Amendment in judging the law. Those cases started with Heller, continued with McDonald, with more in Caetano, and most recently with Bruen. Earlier decisions talked about the Second Amendment without ruling on it directly at the Supreme Court. The famous Miller decision from 1939 is muddy and does not give a definitive interpretation. Justice Thomas of the Supreme Court...

During a Monday conversation with Elon Musk, Democrat presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Second Amendment is settled and that a Kennedy administration will not be trying to take away guns. Dr. Benjamin Braddock quoted RFK Jr. saying, “My position on gun control is that I’m not going to take away anybody’s guns. I’m a constitutional maximalist and the issue has been settled by the Supreme Court.”

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Joe Biden can not invoke the 14th Amendment to address the debt ceiling under the current circumstances. Anchor Chuck Todd said, “Does the 14th Amendment fall under the category of extraordinary measures?”

Ben Werschkul·Washington Correspondent The support on Capitol Hill for what was once a fringe legal theory is growing by the hour as the debt ceiling talks head into their final days. On Thursday, a group of of 11 progressive senators led by Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) released a new letter to President Biden calling on him to prepare to cancel the debt ceiling by invoking the 14th amendment. The increased adoption of an idea that could roil markets is a reflection of growing Democratic anxieties that the White House could be preparing for...

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports” that President Joe Biden should use the 14th Amendment to address the debt ceiling if Republicans are not reasonable. Markey said, “I would ask when you put up that poll that you also put up the identical poll on tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires and trillions of dollars that have been given to them over the last five years.”

After fifty years, the Equal Rights Amendment is again rearing its ugly head. After a contentious hearing on the ERA in February, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to bring legislation (S.J. Res. 4) to the floor to remove the seven-year deadline on Thursday, April 27. There are 53 co-sponsors for this revival of the ERA, but because the vote will be on ‘cloture,’ 60 votes are needed to advance the resolution. While proponents claim that this amendment will give women “rights,” it actually does the opposite. Thanks to the efforts of Phyllis Schlafly and the dedicated women she rallied...

With less than a month left of the legislative session, Gov. Polis has yet to put forth any plan to prevent a looming bloodbath and cap residential property tax increases as he promised when voters repealed the Gallagher amendment. Republicans put forth their own plan to cap expected spikes of 40-50% to just five or ten percent over the next several years. But Democrats were ordered to kill those efforts and await the arrival of their hero governor, who would surely swoop in and save the day just in time for his planned 2024 presidential run. Yet the clock is...

Fox News host Geraldo Rivera said Tuesday on FNC’s “The Story” that America needed an assault weapons ban. Fox host Brian Kilmeade said, “Here we are again, in minutes, we’re hearing about the guns are the problem, no assault weapons. Go to your corner, and let’s play politics before we know the facts. We watched the president of the United States make sure it was clear that I want my assault weapons ban. If you don’t get it, you know who is the blame. To me, that is really inappropriate yesterday, along with his remarks about ice cream.”

Perhaps annual increases for a number of years of the debt limit could be traded for partial ratification of a federal expenditure control amendment such as: If any fiscal year after September 2032 ends in the red, all persons elected to a term of federal office encompassing any portion of that fiscal year shall be forever barred from from obtaining another federal position, another term or any federal origin payment or benefit of any type. I believe most Republican-run states would ratify such an amendment. To make it likely that it gets ratified by at least 38 states, the debt...

An experiment in bipartisan government in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is less than a week old, and cracks are beginning to appear. If the compromise falls apart, the chamber will be plunged into chaos. Republican and Democratic leaders, at Speaker Mark Rozzi’s request, must find a way to move forward together, if they plan to serve the people of Pennsylvania this session. It’s time for Mr. Rozzi to honor the commitments he made in accepting the role of speaker, especially his pledge to change his registration from Democrat to Independent as a symbol of unity. After last week’s display...

Iowa was one of only six states without a provision in the state constitution to offer protection of the right to keep and bear arms. In the last part of a long, complicated process to amend the Iowa State Constitution, Iowa voters approved of Iowa Amendment 1, Right to Keep and Bear Arms (2022) by nearly a 2-1 margin. From ballotpedia:A “yes” vote supported adding a right to own and bear firearms to the Iowa Constitution and require strict scrutiny for any alleged violations of the right brought before a court.A “no” vote opposed adding a right to own and...

On Friday Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) warned would-be looters that they would be risking their lives by trying to enter the homes of Ian victims, saying, “We’re a Second Amendment state.” FOX News quoted DeSantis saying, “I can tell you in the state of Florida, you never know what may be lurking behind somebody’s home. And I would not want to chance that if I were you — given that we’re a Second Amendment state.”

President Joe Biden’s claim that AR-15s fire bullets at a velocity that is five times higher than that of other guns is being shot down by people who know guns. Biden repeated the claim Friday in a speech to the National Education Association teachers union, even though it has been repeatedly debunked. Several rifles and even some handguns fire bullets at a higher velocity than the 2,700-3,100 feet per second of AR-15s. “The speed of the bullet is five times that that comes out of the muzzle of most weapons,” Biden said, describing the popular hunting rifle as a “weapon...

Kansas election officials plan to conduct a statewide recount of the vote rejecting an amendment to remove abortion rights from the state constitution after a citizen posted a $200,000 bond for the recount, the state Secretary of State’s Office said. Separately, state Sen. Caryn Tyson asked for a recount in 55 counties in the Republican race for Kansas Treasurer. Tyson, of Parker, currently trails state Rep. Steven Johnson, of Assaria, by 375 votes.

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says that the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was the final straw for her in standing by former President Trump, confirming that she was open to using the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. DeVos, who writes in a new book about turning in her resignation letter to Trump the day after the Capitol insurrection, blames the former president’s refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election for blocking her efforts to pass her last piece of school choice agenda legislation through Congress.

The Great Seal of Iowa boldly states:We prize our liberties and our rights we will maintain. The Iowa Great seal shows a citizen soldier with a musket. In spite of the sentiments on the seal, Iowa is one of only six states where the state constitution does not contain an explicit protection for the right to keep and bear arms. The seal was adopted in 1847. At the time, the right to bear arms was relatively uncontroversial. In the famous Dred Scott decision, Chief Justice Tanney said this, speaking of the rights slaves would have if they were considered to...

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” Senate Majority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) argued against voting on an amendment to the coronavirus spending bill on Title 42 by stating doing so would delay passage of the spending bill that he hopes “would have a sense of urgency and emergency” to it. Host Chuck Todd asked, “COVID relief funding is something that’s needed. I know you’re going to say they’re playing politics here, you know there are some Democratic votes for this. Why not include the amendment on Title 42, what’s the downside?”