Category: Constitutional

Victor Davis Hanson: Secessionist Democrats Need a Constitutional Lesson

Last month, former Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggested that local and state authorities in California, a sanctuary state, could arrest federal agents for enforcing federal immigration law, saying that while “the president may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not.” The former speaker, as well as other mayors and governors who see fit to nullify federal law, should take a moment and reread the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which “details that local state authorities are subject to treaties and the laws that the federal government makes. And, therefore, pursuant to those laws, they are subordinate,” argues Victor Davis Hanson on today’s edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In a Few Words.” “We know in 1961-63, we had another attempt to nullify the supremacy clause. Southern governors in Mississippi and Arkansas and Alabama said, 'Federal law does not apply here. The Supreme Court ruling does not apply here. In our opinion, we can run our schools the way local people want. And we're gonna resist you.' The Eisenhower, and then later the Kennedy administration, said, 'No, you're not. We have the federal government's military, and we can federalize and hold you in contempt and arrest you because of the supremacy clause.'"

Victor Davis Hanson: Zohran Mamdani's Skeletons Are Coming Out of the Closet

As New York City's Democrat mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani gains momentum, a troubling record is beginning to emerge—one that raises serious questions about his judgment, ideology, and honesty. With no record of holding a real job outside activism, music, and campaigning, Mamdani has built his political identity on class warfare, racial rhetoric, and far-Left ideology. Victor Davis Hanson breaks down the latest on Mamdani in today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.” “ Barack Obama, when he was president, ordered a predator hit team on and killed [Anwar] al-Awlaki in a targeted assassination….Now we learned in 2015, years after that Obama hit on this ISIS figure, Mamdani was defending him and saying, basically, he turned radical because FBI surveilled him. “He has some other disturbing things, as well. He posted a video on his social media of Indian Americans dressed as if they were Hasidic Jews. And they were making fun of the Hanukkah celebration. And they had a menorah there. And they were chanting, as if they were rap music. It was very derogatory toward Jews. Yet, why would he put that on his social media account?”

‘Constitutional Attorney’ Is First to Call for Trump’s Impeachment (Again)

When you're out of ALL ideas.

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John Bonifaz is the kind of guy who could have answered a casting call for “lunatic leftist who will attempt to resurrect the left’s failed strategies against Trump on his first day back in office.” He says he is the “Co-Founder and President of Free Speech For People,” as well as a “constitutional attorney,” all of which sounds impressive enough if you’re the type who gets impressed by that sort of thing, but which in reality simply confirms that what we have here is someone who has abjectly failed to read the room, and to realize that the fact that Trump has been impeached twice and has just become president again should tell him that his approach won’t work. Bonifaz also demonstrates that the left hasn’t thought of anything new to do. Its response to Trump's 2.0 will be more of the same.

At 12:55PM Eastern Time, not long after Donald Trump took the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States, Bonifaz made his momentous announcement: “BREAKING: We have just launched a new campaign calling for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump for offenses he has already committed upon taking the oath. You can access the grounds for this call at http://impeachtrumpagain.org. Join us in this fight for our democracy. @FSFP.” This will, of course, get absolutely nowhere, but it’s nonetheless a glimpse into the hamster-wheel of the left, endlessly repeating the same tired stuff against Trump even though it never gets them anywhere.

The Impeach Trump Again website declares:

Donald Trump has been sworn in as President of the United States for a second time. Not only is he disqualified from the presidency, but he has already violated the United States Constitution. And, just as eight years ago, more violations will certainly follow. Throughout his campaign and in the months between his election and inauguration, Trump has threatened to engage in unlawful, unconstitutional conduct. He has once again positioned himself to abuse the office for personal profit and power in violation of clear constitutional commands and at the expense of our democratic institutions, constitutional precedent, and the safety of our country’s most vulnerable.

That business about being “disqualified from the presidency” is the old twaddle about Trump being an “insurrectionist” and thus disqualified from the presidency on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. Leftists tried this as the 2024 campaign was heating up and failed in several attempts to keep Trump off the ballot on that basis, but apparently John Bonifaz, constitutional attorney, thinks that he has found the magic formula that will make it work this time.

The Impeach Trump Again website also helpfully informs us that “Trump is not a monarch. He is beholden to the Constitution, as is Congress. And as the Founders understood, if we are to preserve our democracy for the people, then Congress has a duty to investigate and, if necessary, remove a corrupt executive.” Yeah, “our democracy” again. Amy Klobuchar kept invoking that in her pre-inauguration bloviation Monday morning, in an obvious attempt to dunk on Trump for the “insurrection” nonsense yet again. Trump made a neat reference to “our republic” during his inaugural address, thereby subtly reminding the nation and the world that all the left’s hyperbolic ranting about how he was a danger to “our democracy” was wrongly focused in the first place, no doubt on purpose. If we had a democracy rather than a republic, you see, the electoral college could be more easily abolished, and the president elected by simple popular vote, which the Democrats thought was a winning formula for them until the election of 2024.

Related: Biden: Hey, We Have a New Constitutional Amendment! National Archivist: Not So Fast.

Impeach Trump Again goes on to say: “Free Speech For People is calling on Congress to launch an immediate impeachment investigation to determine whether there are sufficient grounds to impeach Donald Trump for offenses that have already occurred and that will continue in the days to come. Congress must also be prepared to expand its investigation if Trump undertakes any of the other impeachable actions that he has threatened to carry out.” Congress, you say? You mean the thing that Trump’s party currently controls? Good luck with that.

John Bonifaz is likely a reasonably intelligent fellow, and yet all he has done with his intelligence is show us yet again how warped a mind on leftism can become. Maybe someday this accomplished attorney will turn to more productive and rewarding pursuits. In the meantime, he is Exhibit A in the Museum of How the Left Is Out of Ideas to Deal With Trump.