ary’s Paranoid Delusion // John Hinderaker
I was just on Sky News television in Australia, and one of the topics we discussed was Hillary Clinton’s latest outburst.
Hillary Clinton claims that “Right-wing extremists have a plan to literally steal the next presidency election and they aren’t making a secret” in a recent video posted to Twitter.
In the video, posted by the progressive group Indivisible, the former first lady, senator from New York, secretary of state, and Democrat presidential nominee looks straight into the camera and says, “The right-wing-controlled Supreme Court may be poised to rule on giving state legislatures the power to overturn presidential elections.”
Hillary Clinton is a denier of the election, this time preemptively. What on God’s green earth is she referring to? She is referring to Moore and Harper, a case before the Supreme Court, which is actually quite interesting. Moore interprets this language in the Constitution.
The Times, Places, and Manner for holding Elections for Senators or Representatives shall be set by the Legislature of each State. However, the Congress may make or modify such Regulations at any time by Law, except in the case of the Places of chusing Senators.
The Moore matter is a result of a series in North Carolina. After a census, the Republican legislature drew up a map of Congressional districts. The North Carolina Supreme Court declared it invalid. But does a state’s judicial branches have the power over the legislature? The Constitution doesn’t say “prescribed…the government thereof,” but it does say “prescribed through the legislature.” This creates tension between what most people believe is a good idea and what the Constitution actually says.
What does this have do with the 2024 presidential election, which Hillary invoked. I take it that she is referring to the Constitution’s similar provision regarding the election of the president.
Each State shall appoint in such Manner that the Legislature may direct, a number of electors equal to the total number of senators and representatives to which the state may be entitled under the Congress
It is not the state government that appoints the electors, but the legislature. Hillary apparently imagines a world in which Republican-controlled legislatures do…what, exactly? The Moore case relates to the drawing of Congressional districts. Is she sure that Republican legislatures will vote to give their states electoral votes to the Republican candidate, regardless how the state’s citizens voted. This is a far-fetched idea at best. If it were possible, Democrat-controlled legislatures might be much more likely to do so.
It would be a once-off gesture in either case, provided it passes constitutional muster. The legislators who voted for a presidential election would be immediately removed from office.
Hillary’s paranoid fantasies are triggered by a lawsuit that raises interesting and potentially important questions about constitutional interpretation.
