Don Zeko

Joshua Erlich @joshuaerlich.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:24 UTC

people keep telling me i'm wrong but any change to the ticket raises substantial litigation risk. i don't care if you think a pledged delegate can switch affiliations after the primary but before the convention and, more importantly, Sam Alito sure as hell doesn't care what you think.

17 replies 90 reposts 387 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:34 UTC

Ok, well I have some follow up questions. 1) are you aware that Biden is running against Donald J Trump, who you may remember from his previous term as president. 2) why? 3) what the hell is wrong with you

1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:14 UTC

Not giving the parties an opportunity to brief the issue really would endanger the conviction. I don't think judge Merchan really had a choice there.

0 replies 0 reposts 4 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:13 UTC

They're not going to be lawyers with complicated opinions about how it's all illegitimate bullshit .

1 replies 0 reposts 5 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:12 UTC

Well, maybe it does maybe it doesn't. I would hope that "Trump's sentence gets vacated in an emergency order by the court he appointed" is a bad headline for him but I have no idea how swing voters react to SCOTUS now

1 replies 0 reposts 13 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:10 UTC

Just an incredible blatant one. It makes no sense and has no basis in law, but it helps our special boy's pending campaign so it's going in the opinion

2 replies 0 reposts 23 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:03 UTC

(never mind the whole question of playing fair by the party rank and file that voted for both of them and have not voted for anybody else you might name)

1 replies 0 reposts 9 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:02 UTC

It's nuts. I can see reasonable arguments for either Biden or Harris, but the idea that you could get someone else without an enormous electoral risk is bananas

2 replies 0 reposts 15 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 16:00 UTC

Why in God's green earth are you so confident you know this stuff in July

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Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:58 UTC

Certainly you wouldn't be looking at the laws that existed in the 18th and 19th century to determine the scope of the bill of rights; the whole conceit is that it took time and conflict to implement the obvious implications of the Founding

0 replies 0 reposts 3 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:57 UTC

Yeah, I think you can definitely craft a better approach to constitutional interpretation that could still be called Originalism, but it would be entirely different in practice.

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Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:51 UTC

At its worst, it nullifies the success of the Civil War or even the Revolution (e.g. we should determine what criminal law permits by consulting pre-1776 English practice)

1 replies 0 reposts 5 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:39 UTC

There are also various methodological and procedural problems with applying the theory of Originalism (see e.g. Rahimi) but the core problem is that it sets the law by the Founders failures rather than by their aspirations.

1 replies 1 reposts 9 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:38 UTC

What Originalism does is lock the Founders' various failures to live up to their principles in amber.

1 replies 1 reposts 14 likes

Don Zeko @donzeko.bsky.social [ View ] Jul 10, 2024 at 15:37 UTC

Here's how I'd put the problem. Liberalism was a new and radical ideology in 1776, 1789, and even arguably in 1868. As such, the Founders articulated those liberal principles while violating them left and right. That's normal; it takes time to apply radical new principles broadly.

1 replies 3 reposts 27 likes