Terminate the Constitution: Show Notes, 12/5/22
Also on tap: Religious liberty and the LSU Tigers.
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Trump’s Unhinged Rant
This morning, I wrote out what was honestly stream-of-consciousness thought on Trump’s insane Truth Social post from over the weekend. If you haven’t seen it, here’s his post:
I will admit that I was wrong about something this morning: He wasn’t calling for the Constitution to be suspended. He specifically said “Termination.”
But the fact of the matter for the GOP is this: For the longest time, simply ignoring Trump’s most insane ramblings worked under two circumstances. The first was the fact that his administration was doing good, conservative things. He had hired some good people to do good things, and he should rightfully be praised for that. The second was that the Republican base was largely behind him.
But this absolutely unhinged post comes when 1) he is no longer in office and 2) the base is now splitting on who they back. The GOP simply can’t afford to ignore Trump when he says or does things like this anymore.
Some Republicans have pushed back against his comments, but not nearly enough. There are far too many Republicans who still think Trump is overall a net positive when the data we have from the 2022 midterms indicates otherwise.
It’s time for them to move on.
Religious Liberty Before the Supreme Court Again
Once again, a business owner has chosen religious conviction over mob pressure, and once again, that business owner is being targeted by the LGBTQ+ movement. The case of 303 Creative, a business run by a woman who said she could not create a website endorsing gay marriage because of her religious beliefs, is before the Supreme Court and it looks like the Court is siding with religious liberty this time.
When the high court took Smith’s case, it declined to hear her claim that Colorado’s law violates her religious freedom. Nor did it agree to hear her request to overturn Supreme Court precedent on neutral laws that might have implications for religious believers.
Instead, the justices propose to answer this question: “Whether applying a public-accommodation law to compel an artist to speak or stay silent violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment.”
The case comes before a court much changed since the 2018 cake bakery decision, in which the court said the state enforced the law unfairly against Phillips because of religious bias on the part of some. (Phillips is currently in litigation over his refusal to create a cake for a transgender customer.
LSU’s SEC Title Loss
There was a curious headline that trended briefly in Louisiana over the weekend: “College football world blasts Brian Kelly after brutal LSU loss.”
The problem with headlines like this is that it ignores all context for the sake of the headline to draw clicks: LSU was never supposed to be in the SEC title game, much less expected to win it. Yet, they made it there, fought hard, and scored more points against the vaunted Georgia defense than anyone else this year. Yes, there were bad plays and bizarre turnovers. Yes, the special teams is still far weaker than they should be. But you can’t seriously tell me you expected the game to be closer than it was.
Headlines of the Day
MO Attorney General Schmitt Releases Entire Transcript of Fauci Deposition (RedState)
Former transgender Navy SEAL announces de-transition, says he was 'propagandized' and pulled into a 'cult': 'Everyone is converting all these kids into transgender' (The Blaze)
Firearm sales explode as Oregon awaits judge's decision on gun control law (Fox News)
The IRS is coming for crypto — but it’s complicated (Axios)
Biden Is Putting South Carolina First. I Won’t Vote for That. (Washington Post)