• Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Because if they couldn’t, elected officials would just have their opponents brought up on weak technical charges just to get them disqualfied.

    “Sir, you have been found guilty of jaywalking. As this is the third time you’ve been charged with this crime, that bumps it up to a felony under the ijustmadethisup act of 1793. The fine will be $50+ court costs. I also have to let you know that because you are a convicted felon, you are no longer allowed to run for office and have been removed from the ballot. Have a nice day.”

    Not quite that silly, but you get the idea.

      • hddsx@lemmy.ca
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        6 months ago

        You do realize Trump is kind of historic right? Imagine we went from Obama to Biden. Then, try to think of a single president who just went “I’m president so I can do what I want”

          • hddsx@lemmy.ca
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            6 months ago

            Okay, okay. Let’s dispense with the silly insults.

            Trump is historic because of his complete and utter disregard for the law - even Nixon knew when it was over. Trump has led about 30% of the populace to believe that election integrity was an issue - but only for the 2020 election. Beyond the general disregard for the common good that the Republicans previously celebrated, he has given them a direction for utter chaos.

            Regardless of if you like him or not, he is historic and will be remembered. One can only imagine that Smith will be equally remembered

    • blackbelt352@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Not quite that silly, but you get the idea.

      You joke but this bullshit tactic has been historically used to suppress voter’s rights for over a century. Charge someone with a bullshit felony and they lose their right to vote forever.

      • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Right, but I’m talking about running for office. Using this tactic to prevent people from running for office is an entirely different, and much bigger, can of worms.