Could Marjorie Taylor Greene really end up kicked off the ballot?
How do you “publicly and vigorously condemn” something when you are a part of it? Those words came from the mouth of James Bopp Jr., a lawyer for Marjorie Taylor Greene following a ruling in USDC (Atlanta) that the case to keep her off the ballot can move forward. The suit was filed by a group of Georgia voters who allege that Greene violated the Constitution by helping to incite the riot at the Capitol on January 6. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment “prohibits anyone who has previously taken an oath of office from holding public office if they have ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ against the United States,” as detailed by Find Law. Every member of the Senate and Congress who objected to certification of the 2020 election are guilty. Whether they want to admit it or not, the very action they took to try to stop the certification is a rebellion. President Biden won the 2020 election, and no matter how much they cry “fraud,” there was none.
According to New York Times, Greene, through her attorneys, asked the Court for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order to ensure that she is not removed from the ballot. Judge Amy Totenberg was having none of it and promptly denied Greene’s request. While Greene continues to deny her culpability in the riots, she needs to give that another thought. She wore a “Trump won” mask on the floor of Congress, and she repeatedly claimed that Trump lost through fraud. Everyone who made these claims are part and parcel of what happened at the Capitol on January 6. They can lie to themselves all they like, but their arguments fall flat. They riled those people up, and that was their intent.
As Judge Totenberg outlined, this is a complex and convoluted issue that cannot simply be wiped out by a TRO or preliminary injunction. Even now, Trump allies continue to push this fraud story and think they can still “decertify” the election New York Times reported. All these people have lost their minds and need to be held accountable for their continued assaults on our democracy, yet Greene’s lawyer had the nerve to call Judge Totenberg’s ruling “fundamentally undemocratic.” These are the very people who went to war against our democracy, yet they want to claim rulings against them are undemocratic. These people don’t care about democracy; they care only for themselves and what they want. In the case of Marjorie Taylor Greene, we are getting close to the May 24 primaries in Georgia, and she is afraid she won’t be on that ballot if this suit continues. Oh, well. That would be great for our democracy. The fewer nuts we have in Congress, the better.
NYT reported that Greene’s case is scheduled to be heard on Friday, and absentee ballots will begin going out Monday. Hopefully, her name will not be among those for whom we can vote. That would be a strong reflection of our democracy. Don’t denigrate our democratic system while claiming to be a part of it when it suits you.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years