Posted on 09/04/2015 9:57:10 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
We’re in a weird place as a party when Trump, the would-be strongman who’s going to smash sclerotic American government as we know it, is more of a “rule of law” guy than Ted Cruz is. And way, way more of one than Mike Huckabee is.
Trump prefers an accommodation in which gay couples can get their licenses, as the Obergefell ruling requires, and Davis can opt out so that she’s not involved in something that violates her religious beliefs. But she doesn’t want to opt out. She wants to force the whole office to opt out by forbidding her deputies from issuing licenses without her approval. As recently as yesterday, during her contempt hearing, her lawyers were warning people that marriage licenses issued today by her staff (there have already been two as of 10:30 a.m. ET) while she’s in jail won’t be valid because they lack her signature as county clerk — and she might not be wrong about that. What she’s doing, as Charles Cooke put it, isn’t so much seeking a conscientious objection for herself as demanding a right of secession for Rowan County from the post-Obergefell legal regime. Cruz and Huckabee seem okay with that. Trump evidently isn’t.
“The other simple answer is rather than going through this, [because] it’s really a very, very sticky situation, a terrible situation — 30 miles away they have other places, they have many other places where you get licensed, and you have them actually quite nearby,” Mr. Trump said. “That’s another alternative. I hate to see her being put in jail. I understand what they’re doing. It would be certainly nice if she didn’t do it, but other people in her office do it but from what I understand she won’t allow other people in her office to do it.”
Bottom line, host Joe Scarborough said, is that if Supreme Court makes a decision, that’s the law of land, right?
“You have to go with it,” Mr. Trump said. “The decision’s been made, and that is the law of the land.”…
“She can take a pass and let somebody else in the office do it in terms of religious, so you know, it’s a very … tough situation, but we are a nation, as I said yesterday, we’re a nation of laws,” he said. “And I was talking about borders and I was talking about other things, but you know, it applies to this, also, and the Supreme Court has ruled. It would be nice to have other people in her office do what they have to do.”
Smart point, but the Cruz/Huckabee take on this is that a “lawless” Supreme Court opinion doesn’t count as “law” the way a statute does. Cruz, at least, knows better, but it’s in his political interest to push that argument. I’m curious to see if he comes after Trump over this at one of the debates, sensing that it’s a rare chance for him to out-populist Mr. Populism. If he does, Trump should come back: Who gets to decide which court opinions are sufficiently “lawless” that they needn’t be enforced? We’re left with Trump, the alleged revolutionary, standing up for the long tradition of judicial review while more mainstream GOP pols argue that that tradition has been so discredited by left-wing double standards that conservatives should take the same a la carte approach to law enforcement. Let every county clerk go their own way. In hindsight, Obama should have cited his, ahem, deep religious convictions as grounds for granting executive amnesty.
Exit question via a Twitter buddy: How come no one’s standing up for the conscience rights of Davis’s deputy clerks? What if one of them enthusiastically supports gay marriage and wants to issue licenses in Davis’s stead? The state’s telling Davis that she has a duty to obey Supreme Court rulings and she’s telling her deputies that they have a duty to obey her personal religious beliefs. Why is the former less legitimate than the latter?
I can affirm that I have never voted for a liberal intentionally.
Because their signature is not required on the marriage license, only the chief clerk's is. Their opinion doesn't matter any more than the janitor's opinion. The clerk is an elected official, and so speaks for the people -- the deputies (and the janitor) don't.
I cannot find ONE. Just as you said.
OK. You’re in. ;)
RE: Chattel slaves were treated under property laws nationwide until that was changed by constitutional amendment.
So, the fight to free them was not worth it?
Or more. If you could, you’d have long since posted them. or it. Or whatever.
It certainly was: this eventually resulted in the amendments. (And some aver, also a civil war)
Trump is not the President, hell he’s not even a Dog Catcher and you expect him to stop all of this on his own?
You have the most finely crafted taunts.
Bully pulpits have purpose.
I started off agreeing with you. You took this into the gutter as usual and for no reason.
So be it.
RE: Because their signature is not required on the marriage license, only the chief clerk’s is. Their opinion doesn’t matter any more than the janitor’s opinion.
There is a very easy solution to this — GO TO A JUDGE ( one judge in the county was willing to do the signing ) or go to a neighboring county ( there are 120 counties in Kentucky ).
The gays INSIST however in coming to Kim Davis.
This is the same as the Colorado gays who INSIST on going to the Christian Baker for their cake when they knew he would refuse and there are hundreds of other bakers out there who would be willing to do it for them ( and the Christian baker even referred them to a few ).
It’s not about getting a license, it’s about the HUNT.
You’re an expert here.
RE: It certainly was: this eventually resulted in the amendments.
Well, I would say that this fight that Kim Davis is going through ( something she did not start ) is worth it as well.
Who said otherwise?
.
This should be all the proof anybody needs to see that Trump is still very much a far left Democrat.
The Dems have used the courts to dismantle the republic that the founders created.
F___ you TRump!
.
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If they even have minds...
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“I can affirm that I have never voted for a liberal intentionally. “
Congrats!
You are # 51
Bye Donald....
You could’ve been a President who could have reignited Americanism. Instead, I see you’re just another lap-dog unwilling to face the most important issues of our time head on.
9 Black Robes DO NOT MAKE THE LAW!
RE: Who said otherwise?
Democrats.
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