There Outta Be A Law!

Posted on by under Election 2022, Environmental Issues, Law and justice, Political commentary

There is currently no law in the U.S. that says a convicted felon cannot run for public office all the way up to the presidency.  Crazy, right?  You’ll likely remember the Bundy brothers – Ammon and Ryan – and their father, Cliven, who came to fame in 2014 when they engaged in an armed standoff with Bureau of Land Management agents at their Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch amid a dispute over the father Cliven Bundy’s refusal to pay grazing fees.  All three were indicted and served jail time.

Then in 2016, Ammon gained further notoriety over a protest at the Malheur national wildlife refuge – part of a campaign to force the federal government to turn public land over to states.

Bundy was arrested twice last year at Idaho’s state capitol after leading a march to protest Idaho’s stay-at-home pandemic order and was later charged with criminal trespass for disrupting a meeting of the state legislature. In April of this year, he was arrested again over a similar encounter. He has pleaded not guilty in one case and has not yet entered a plea in the second.  But despite all this, guess what?  Yep, you guessed it … Ammon Bundy has filed the paperwork to run for the office of Governor of Idaho in 2022!

Bundy says his reason for seeking the governorship is that he wants to defend Idaho from “Joe Biden and those in the Deep State that control him” because they “are going to try to take away our gun rights, freedom of religion, parental rights, and more and further violate the constitution in unimaginable ways even more than they’ve already done.”

Interestingly, though, the GOP doesn’t seem to want Bundy.  Idaho Republican party chairman, Tom Luna, said this month that Bundy is not welcome among GOP ranks, pointing to Bundy’s failure to register as a Republican before at the time he filed initial campaign paperwork.  So, he didn’t register, but with his history and his attitude, what else could he be but a Republican???  But there’s more, according to Luna …

“Furthermore, we do not support his antics or his chaotic political theater. That is not the Idaho Republican party, and we will not turn a blind eye to his behaviors.”

In his campaign launch video, Bundy drew attention to his long battle with the federal government over the use of government land, which make up about two-thirds of the state. His platform is to eliminate property and income taxes, federal control over land and public health mandates.  Hmmmm … sounds to me as if he plans to secede Idaho from the United States, for none of this would fall under his authority even as governor.

Says Bundy …

“We cannot afford to have state leadership that lets the federal government bully us, or walk all over us. And it’s an unfair fight, when the federal government unlawfully attacks the people, believe me, I know as my family and I experienced this first-hand, when we were unlawfully attacked by federal officials at our family ranch in Nevada in 2014. But we did not back down, and thankfully, like-minded patriots across the country stood with us, as we fought back against federal tyranny to protect our land and our rights.”

Oh yes, indeed, Ammon … you are a great hero … convicted felon, jailbird, squatter, killer of wildlife and more.

Why don’t we have laws prohibiting convicted felons from running for office?  Perhaps such laws were never needed before, but this is a new day, a day when QAnon conspiracists sit in Congress, a day when an armed insurrection is referred to as “nothing out of the ordinary”, and a day when a television comedian, a madman, could sit in the Oval Office for 4 full years.  It’s time to up our game.  It’s time to put the brakes on before we see this nation enter the ranks of a banana republic with the likes of Ammon Bundy, Margie QAnon Greene, Josh fist-bump Hawley, Ted Cancun Cruz, Matt sex-trafficker Gaetz, Lauren gimme-my-gun Boebert and others running the show!

28 thoughts on “There Outta Be A Law!”

  5. I’m not sure I’d like to see public land ceded to the States especially if it included ownership. Those lands have been given over to benefit the whole of the Country rather than to a State which may then decide to allow for fossil fuel excavations and possibly even sale of the land which could then result in people losing access to them. Under Trump they didn’t do particularly well as he licenced sections out for drilling etc. I hope that I heard incorrectly this week that Joe Biden has done the same. There’s need of less drilling and need of a concentration on Green fuel, as well as a need for less trespass on Native American lands
    The whole world watches you now Joe to see what you’re going to do about the ‘For The People’ Act. Can you be strong enough to follow that through and win out so that the country wins too or do we see you play the gentleman and end up with two wasted years of overturned policies and having no power at the end of his term.?
    Cwtch

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    • Another lame duck is not to be unexpected. I thought he was wishy-washy before the election. I see no reason to change my opinion yet. He is not in power, the minority party is.

      Liked by 2 people

        • Oh, I am hoping he can pull a rabbit out of a hat, America certainly needs one. But I don’t think he has it in him. He is too timid to challenge the status quo. I said it then, I’ll say it again. America needs a dynamic leader, preferably a Democrat.

          Liked by 1 person

          • I think he may be stronger than we are giving him credit for … but he is a moderate, which is likely the reason he was elected, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He just needs to find his cojones when it’s necessary and choose his battles wisely.

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            • No. No. No. No. No! All battles need to be fought. Not on the battlefield, but in the public arena. All battles are equally important! Choosing battles is losing battles, at least in our current position. That is what is wrong with the moderate. Dynamism! We need dynamism!

              Liked by 2 people

              • Look … if your car won’t start and you need to get Gail to the doctor right now, plus the bed hasn’t yet been made, which issue are you going to focus on? I didn’t say that some battles should be dropped, only that people have to prioritize. In my above example, the bed can be made later, or tomorrow, or even next week, but it’s far more immediately critical to get the car started so you can get Gail to the doctor. We all prioritize every day without even realizing we are doing it. For the President, it is even more crucial that he focus first on the most critical issues … the others have to wait. There are only 24 hours in a day and only so much time & energy to draw from.

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                • But that is why he has all kinds of department heads. No one expects him to do everything by himself. But surely he can direct someone else to find someone to fight whatever battle needs fighting. I know if I was a person of colour–wait, I am a person of colour, just I don’t live in America–living in America, I would feel pretty neglected by the person I voted for to protect my rights if no one is doing anything to turn back all those stupid State disenfranchisement laws. The feds have to take over. They cannot sit by and let people be treated this way. They cannot let the environment be ruined by that other guy you call former. Every one of these battles is equally important.
                  Not to be mean, but your example has no value. The bed is not a battle. The drive to the ER in time is the battle. But if a cop catches you speeding along the way, you can’t let him stop you. You turn on your flashers to acknowledge he is there, but you keep on going, and you would appreciate if he gave you an escort. But, if you are a person of colour, you won’t be surprised when bullets start to fly, which is yet an altogether different battle.

                  Liked by 1 person

    • You are very right … federal lands must remain so, else wildlife and entire species will be threatened, not to mention water supplies, forests, and other natural resources. I’ll be looking into the drilling rights leases that may have been granted this year … not sure if it is fact or fiction at this point.

      Unfortunately, the structure of our government is such that there may be little Joe can do without the support of Congress, which is why the filibuster simply MUST GO! Sigh.

      Cwtch

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Well put! Hopefully, the Idaho Republicans will stick to their guns!

    (I guess you’ve heard that some counties in Oregon (including the one I live in 😣) want to become part of Idaho state. The whole idea is repugnant to me, but it would be even WORSE if this idiot were governor!!)

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      • Yes, fortunately it’s going to take much more than the vote of a few disgruntled Republicans before it can happen. Nevertheless, the fact that it’s even been addressed is worrisome. Although the county I live in voted against it, the supporters are claiming it’s because “we” didn’t have enough information. And the beat goes on.

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