WEBVTT - Why removing Donald Trump from the ballot is NOT the answer

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<v Speaker 1>It has been almost eight years since Donald Trump came

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<v Speaker 1>down the escalator in Trump Tower and defiled American society

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<v Speaker 1>with his racist rantings, his lunacies, his demagoguery, and his

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<v Speaker 1>hostility to every precept concept of Americanism, the American idea,

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<v Speaker 1>the American ideal, the history of the country. Trump is utterly,

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<v Speaker 1>completely and totally ignorant of all of these things, which

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<v Speaker 1>puts him in good stead along with the overwhelming majority

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<v Speaker 1>of Americans who also have no idea about the country's idea,

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<v Speaker 1>its ideals, and its precepts. The collapse of civics education

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<v Speaker 1>around the meaning of the country, its point, its purpose,

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<v Speaker 1>its story, has taken us to this most dangerous hour.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no question that Donald Trump incited and led

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<v Speaker 1>an insurrection against the lawful, peaceful transition of power. Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump tried to stage a coup. He sent a mob

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<v Speaker 1>and it invaded the capital. And it is not accidental

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<v Speaker 1>that when that mob came, they were carrying the Confederate

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<v Speaker 1>battle flag and they paraded it through the capital rotunda,

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<v Speaker 1>breaching the capital, something the Confederacy was unable to achieve

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<v Speaker 1>during the Civil War. There are significant consequence that have

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<v Speaker 1>occurred because of this insurrection. There have been hundreds of

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<v Speaker 1>criminal convictions. Many people have been imprisoned. Trump was impeached

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<v Speaker 1>and he faces criminal counts in jurisdictions across the country.

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<v Speaker 1>The Colorado Supreme Court has issued a ruling, and the

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<v Speaker 1>ruling is that Donald Trump may not appear on the

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<v Speaker 1>Colorado ballot. He will be stricken from it under Section

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<v Speaker 1>three of the fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution,

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<v Speaker 1>which was ratified in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War.

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<v Speaker 1>In its design was to keep top officials of the

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<v Speaker 1>Confederate government from serving again in the United States government.

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<v Speaker 1>It's also important to remember that of the Civil War,

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<v Speaker 1>the American leader, President Abraham Lincoln, talked about with malice

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<v Speaker 1>towards none and charity towards all. The simple truth is

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<v Speaker 1>that after the Civil War, the overwhelming majority of Confederate

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<v Speaker 1>soldiers and officers and officeholders were paroled. They were freed.

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<v Speaker 1>The condition of the parole was a commitment to never

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<v Speaker 1>again take up arms against the United States. Another event

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<v Speaker 1>occurred last night that is worthy of note, and it's tragic.

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<v Speaker 1>The Lincoln Memorial was desecrated with red paint, then spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out free Palestine, give Back the land. The temple that

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<v Speaker 1>houses the spirit and memory of the man who saved

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<v Speaker 1>the Union was defaced when the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated

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<v Speaker 1>in nineteen twenty two by President Warren G. Harding, who

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<v Speaker 1>received it for the nation from the president of the

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<v Speaker 1>commission that built it, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft,

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<v Speaker 1>a former President of the United States. And what Harding

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<v Speaker 1>talked about that day was that the temple that was

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<v Speaker 1>received by the American government that enshrines the memory of

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<v Speaker 1>Abraham Lincoln was not for that generation. It was not

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<v Speaker 1>a gift for the old men who had fought in

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<v Speaker 1>the war to remember their achievements and their victories. As

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<v Speaker 1>Warren Harding pointed out, the gift of the Lincoln Memorial

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<v Speaker 1>was for all of us, this generation, and the next

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<v Speaker 1>and the next after that. The Lincoln Memorial is a

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<v Speaker 1>reminder about the perpetuity of the American Union and its indivisibility.

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<v Speaker 1>But more importantly, it is a stake in the ground

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<v Speaker 1>about who is sovereign in the United States. Lincoln talked

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<v Speaker 1>about this all the time. He made the point that

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<v Speaker 1>a minority that threatens the majority with secession, as was

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<v Speaker 1>the case in that time, seeks to undermine democracy with

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<v Speaker 1>a belligerence that says, we will destroy what we cannot

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<v Speaker 1>achieve through a majority. And the only defense of freedom

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<v Speaker 1>that there can ever be is majoritarian. A system where

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<v Speaker 1>the majority decides and minority rights are protected is the

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<v Speaker 1>system of government that protects all in any from despotism.

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<v Speaker 1>That is what Donald Trump challenged. What Donald Trump did

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<v Speaker 1>was assault the American Constitution as firmly and with as

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<v Speaker 1>much conviction as the Confederate States of America did. He

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<v Speaker 1>sought to tear down Americanism. He sought to erase the

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<v Speaker 1>American civilization. He sought to crack the foundation. What is

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<v Speaker 1>the foundation of the American Republic? It is the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that the citizen is sovereign. There are no kings or

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<v Speaker 1>lords or emperors, barons or viscounts in America. There is

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<v Speaker 1>no title gentry, just citizens, and those citizens decide every

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<v Speaker 1>four years, in a great recurring drama, who it is

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<v Speaker 1>that will be the head of state, who it is

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<v Speaker 1>that will be the commander in chief, who will be

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<v Speaker 1>the president. Presidents don't pick the time of their power.

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<v Speaker 1>The American people decide who is granted for a time

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<v Speaker 1>lawful executive authority constrained by the American Constitution, which protects

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<v Speaker 1>the rights of the individual and places them higher than

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<v Speaker 1>the authority of the elected official. In fact, the American

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<v Speaker 1>system removes the power of elected officials to take away

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<v Speaker 1>fundamental rights that are granted in the American system not

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<v Speaker 1>by men, but by God, the Creator, as he is

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<v Speaker 1>referred to in the Declaration of Independence. Ever since Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump came down the escalator, his opposition has searched for

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<v Speaker 1>the magic bullet. With each speech, with each degradation, with

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<v Speaker 1>each offense, we have arrived at moments where people said, well, now,

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<v Speaker 1>finally this will be the end. The grab them by,

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<v Speaker 1>the on access Hollywood, the shakedown of the Ukrainian president,

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<v Speaker 1>the insults towards John McCain, the fact that he did

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<v Speaker 1>not want to go to an American cemetery in France.

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<v Speaker 1>He has insulted POW's our war dead, the United States

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<v Speaker 1>and wounded soldiers. At each instance somebody has gone on

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<v Speaker 1>and said, this is the end for Donald Trump. And

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<v Speaker 1>so it is. Again. We are in the middle of

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<v Speaker 1>a game that is reminiscent of Charlie Brown and Lucy

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<v Speaker 1>and their kabuki with the football, where each time Charlie

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<v Speaker 1>Brown would run at the football ready to kick it,

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<v Speaker 1>and each time Lucy would pull it away. And so

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<v Speaker 1>it is that the American people and the Trump opposition

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<v Speaker 1>are deeply invested in the idea now that the Supreme

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<v Speaker 1>Court of the United States will affirm the Colorado decision

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<v Speaker 1>and remove Donald Trump from the ballot. But we have

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<v Speaker 1>to think about this soberly and seriously and understand the impact.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no shortcut here. There is no easy way

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<v Speaker 1>around Donald Trump. This matter will not, cannot, and must

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<v Speaker 1>not be decided by lawyers in a courtroom. How can

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<v Speaker 1>it be that an opposition that has rightfully talked about

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump's degradations towards the American Republic and the threat

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<v Speaker 1>that he provides to democracy seek to remove him by

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<v Speaker 1>denying the American people the choice to choose him if

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<v Speaker 1>they so wish to be the commander in chief, which

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<v Speaker 1>in my view will end catastrophically and likely and the

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<v Speaker 1>American Republic. But that choice is the choice of this

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<v Speaker 1>generation of Americans. And this is what Abraham Lincoln understood.

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<v Speaker 1>If our choice is to be national suicide, so be it.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope that will not be the case, but there

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<v Speaker 1>will be a tremendous backlash to any type of maneuver

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<v Speaker 1>by a court that seeks to remove Donald Trump from

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<v Speaker 1>the ballot, because it's not the court's job to remove

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<v Speaker 1>him from the ballot. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, written after

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<v Speaker 1>the Civil War, it is the American people's job to

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<v Speaker 1>keep him from power and to keep an illiberal cabal

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<v Speaker 1>of corrupt, dangerous lunatic from taking power with him. If

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<v Speaker 1>the American people's indifference to their own freedom and liberty

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<v Speaker 1>is so great they're indifference to the blood sacrifice of

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<v Speaker 1>a million who sustained liberty against all threats foreign and domestic,

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<v Speaker 1>is so great that they cannot see the danger, that

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<v Speaker 1>they cannot see what will happen, then there is no

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<v Speaker 1>court decision that can save us from Trump, because Trump

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<v Speaker 1>will have already won. The United States of America is

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest idea in all of human history. It is

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<v Speaker 1>the greatest and grandest experiment in all of human history,

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<v Speaker 1>the ideal that ordinary people of all creeds and backgrounds

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<v Speaker 1>and races can govern them. It has taken almost two

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and fifty years to arrive at the moment where

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<v Speaker 1>freedom means freedom for everybody in America. The question at

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<v Speaker 1>hand is not a legal question. It is a civilizational question.

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<v Speaker 1>It is paramount that we understand the choice at hand.

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<v Speaker 1>The choice will be made by the American people, not

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<v Speaker 1>by Supreme Court justices, and any attempt, no matter how

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<v Speaker 1>well intentioned, and no matter how it is framed as

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<v Speaker 1>being part of a rule of law, that is supreme.

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<v Speaker 1>The simple truth is the removal of a former president

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<v Speaker 1>who is going to be the Republican nominee from a

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<v Speaker 1>ballot across the States because of what he did but

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<v Speaker 1>has not been convicted for, will wreck American democracy as

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<v Speaker 1>surely as Donald Trump's election will. The American people have

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<v Speaker 1>to show love for their country by participating in its governing.

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<v Speaker 1>There is no workaround for citizenship. The failure to practice

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<v Speaker 1>it will mean a loss of our children's freedom. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's what this moment is truly about.