Quick(ish) take: Court challenges to Trump's eligibility are counterproductive

 The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump is ineligible for the presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause.  The probability that these challenges withstand a Supreme Court appeal is roughly as high as Donald Trump sitting down to read Lucius Seneca's Letters, deciding that his entire life has been a lie, a fraud, a path to self immiseration in the truest sense, devoting himself to stoic virtue and following the path of Musonius Rufus and Epictetus.  He then joins a monastery, and upon his confirmation, or whatever, he performs the marriage ceremony of Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.  Who needs a bloated military budget when we have so many monkeys flying out of our asses?  Fly, my stinkies, fly!  Yeah, this will not work.

Which argument will the Court use?  My expectation has been the simple observation that Trump has not actually been convicted of any crime, nor even indicted on insurrection-related charges, if you read the federal charges closely.  I did not actually expect the claim that the 14th Amendment doesn't apply to the president, but given Trump's insistence that he, uniquely, is immune from all laws, I suppose I cannot actually be surprised.  Which argument will SCOTUS use to reject the 14th Amendment claims made against Trump's eligibility?  It will not matter.  The Supreme Court, three of whom were appointed by Trump and six of whom are conservative Republicans (yes, the "attitudinal model" applies) will not block him from the ballot.

Bush v. Gore is a widely misunderstood ruling.  Gore's challenge was stupidly constructed, since he only asked for a recount in three counties, while making a 14th Amendment claim, creating a question about the other counties in Florida, and subsequent analysis showed that had the recounts proceeded in those counties under the specific standard Gore requested, Bush still would have won.  Did Bush really win?  No, not if you factor in the consequences of the butterfly ballot in Palm Beach County, but Gore's challenge had nothing to do with that, and no legal challenge could address it.  Nevertheless, if you read the majority opinion, it stated that it could not be used as precedent.

What shall I call?  This, shall I call.  The shit of the bull.  When you have no confidence in the validity of your legal reasoning and do not want it turned around on you, Johnny Rawls style, you say that this is a one time only ruling that cannot be used as precedent.  The calling of the shit of the bull is what we exclaim.  They simply did not know that they could have granted Gore's recount and still gotten Dubya, who truthfully, seems kind of awesome right now in retrospect, doesn't he?  I mean, compared to Trump?

Now.  Remember what happened in Bush v. Gore.  What do you think three plus three will do?  Donald Trump will stay on the ballot, this will not work.

Are there any consequences?  Yes.  This feeds into his grievance and witch-hunt narrative.  Those who are engaged in futile attempts to block him from the ballot are, in the end, helping him.  You know those comic book villains who get hit with some energy blasts, powers and shit, and that's what powers their powers?  Defeating them requires depriving them of that power.  That's Donald Trump.

He lost in 2020, not because Democrats found the right attack, but because being President during the greatest challenge since the financial crisis exposed his incompetence.  When the economy tanked, he may have been toast anyway, given the depth of the economic trough, but he did not help himself.  Had he managed COVID well, he might have gotten a rally effect, like the popular governors, but instead, he lied and fucked up, and buried the one real success of his administration, which was going full speed ahead to get a vaccine fast, which did save lives.  The more he talks, the more he inflames, the more he fucks up, blows shit up and generally Trumps all over the place, the more unpopular he is.  The way to defeat him is for his own vileness and incompetence to defeat himself.

His attempt to steal the 2020 election failed because he is such an incompetent fuckwit that he made no preparation for it, hired dumbshit lawyers like Rudy and Sidney Powell, and couldn't do anything more than organize a mob of loonies on January 6 to threaten Pence and try to take over the Capitol.

The only one who can defeat Donald Trump is Donald Trump.  If you want to defeat him, let Donald be Donald.  It may not be a winning strategy, but trying to take him off the ballot will fail, and merely feed into his victimhood narrative.  This helps, how?

A guilty musical pleasure from my younger days.  The Cult, "Love Removal Machine," live.  The studio version is on Electric.  I will offer no defense.  They just rock.