Colorado Supreme Court is the Grinch to Trump’s Christmas

Right in the middle of the holiday season, the Colorado Supreme Court rendered a ruling that is as embarrassing to the state as Santa getting stuck in a chimney.  It threatens our good cheer, but we will use it as an opportunity.

According to an article in The Coloradoan, published Tuesday, December 19, 2023, “[t]he Colorado Supreme Court on Monday ruled former President Donald Trump ineligible for the state’s March 5 presidential primary election, setting the stage for a fight that’s likely to be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.”

To a Coloradoan who has been paying attention — namely, me — this seems like a setup.  It looks as though Democrats colluded to get this ruling at the Colorado Supreme Court, with Secretary Jenna Griswold in the mix.  (I attended a debate before the 2022 election where she slandered and smeared President Trump on and on when she should have been talking about the office she holds.)

Let’s go back to the case that was appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.  Some Republicans in name only (RINOs) sued to keep Trump’s name off the primary ballot.  Secretary of state Jenna Griswold was represented during the case.  The petitioners did not prevail.  However, oddly, Judge Sarah B. Wallace made a finding that the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was an insurrection.

Well, now, even though Trump was never charged with insurrection, the Colorado Supreme Court takes that finding and extends it in this ruling, saying that Jan. 6 was an insurrection and Trump’s speech, which they assert is not covered by the First Amendment, incited the insurrection.

The Court wrote the following without assigning it to any one justice’s name (per curiam):

The sum of these parts is this: President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President under Section Three; because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Secretary to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot. 

We do not reach these conclusions lightly. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach. 

We are also cognizant that we travel in uncharted territory, and that this case presents several issues of first impression. But for our resolution of the Electors’ challenge under the Election Code, the Secretary would be required to include President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot.

Therefore, to maintain the status quo pending any review by the U.S. Supreme Court, we stay our ruling until January 4, 2024 (the day before the Secretary’s deadline to certify the content of the presidential primary ballot). If review is sought in the Supreme Court before the stay expires on January 4, 2024, then the stay shall remain in place, and the Secretary will continue to be required to include President Trump’s name on the 2024 presidential primary ballot, until the receipt of any order or mandate from the Supreme Court.

I’ll assign some names.  I kind of think Coloradoans would like to know which justices to vote off the bench when they can.

First the good guys.  Here are the names of three who dissented from this stinky ruling: Chief Justice Boatwright, Justice Samour, and Justice Berkenkotter.

The Grinch justices who went with the ruling are Justice Richard L. Gabriel, Justice Melissa Hart, Justice Monica M. Márquez, and Justice William W. Hood III.  

Coloradoans should remember to toss Judge Sarah B. Wallace off the bench, too.

Certainly, Coloradoans will want to bar Secretary Griswold from the governor’s office if she runs in the future.  Again, her fingerprints are all over this ruling, even though she says she will just abide nicely by the Court’s ruling.

This Christmas, Coloradoans will put clothespins on their noses, link arms, and sing — like the Whos down in Whoville — and not let the grinches spoil our holidays, in spite of their ruling.  Also, we will find a way to use this ruling as an opportunity to turn our state red again.

C.S. Boddie writes for Meadowlark Press, LLC.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.