There are only a few days left in 2023, but you didn't really expect the absurdity to peak early did you? As RedState reported, the Colorado Supreme Court booted Donald Trump off the state's primary ballot on Tuesday, citing the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. At this point, I fully expect aliens to land on the White House lawn before we welcome in the new year. 

As many pointed out, the ruling was nonsensical, absconding from the fact that Trump has not been found guilty of nor charged with insurrection. Many of the immediate responses, specifically from those on the left, were just as nonsensical. For my money, though, the most hysterical, low-IQ commentary regarding the decision happened the next day on MSNBC. 

Enter Mara Gray, who appeared on Morning Joe. She decided that any opposition to this ridiculous legal move means you support...the Confederacy? 

NYT's @MaraGay on Republicans criticizing Colo. for banning Trump from the ballot: "Why are you standing w/ confederates who betrayed this country? ... [Reconstruction Republicans] clearly saw a threat in ex-confederates running for office, and so much so they amended the… pic.twitter.com/c3V0MfJ8ZL

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) December 20, 2023

Joe Scarborough asked Gay what she says to the other 2024 primary candidates who say the voters should decide this issue rather than judges making an arbitrary decision. Here was her response.

GAY: Why are you standing with Confederates who betrayed this country, and this is what they are standing with, is the spirit of those Confederates rather than those Americans who came together after a long and brutal Civil War that was fought to keep the Union together and saw, clearly saw a threat in ex-Confederates running for office. So much so that they amended the Constitution to prevent those traitors from running for office. That should send a message that our election system, our electoral system can be used for nefarious purposes against democracy itself. 

From the start, you can tell she's not confident in what she's saying. Her pacing is slow and choppy as if she was squeezing out lines she rehearsed multiple times in the mirror. That's probably because she was. Gay knew what she was going to be asked. 

Regardless, what she's saying is vapid on multiple levels. For one, the 14th Amendment has never offered blanket disqualification for anyone that a singular court rules as an insurrectionist. During the Reconstruction Era, there were temporary prohibitions on some Confederate officials from running for office. Those were put in place by the federal government, not by a random state court. Furthermore, as the Library of Congress notes, those prohibitions were quickly removed.

That aside, there is still no comparison between the Confederacy and January 6th. Not a single person has even been charged with insurrection regarding the events of the latter. For a court to arbitrarily decide it was an insurrection anyway and then remove someone from a primary ballot over the decision is insane. It's a level of intervention in the electoral process that would make some dictators blush. 

One doesn't have to be a Trump supporter to recognize that. Certainly, I've expressed my concerns surrounding his 2024 campaign, but that's not relevant to this discussion. To agree with the Colorado ruling is to agree that the courts essentially have the right to rig elections. Further, to bring up the Confederacy is the show one's argument is incredibly weak. For Gay specifically, it's a symptom of her overly racialized outlook. She simply can't see anything outside of that prism.

Lastly, I want to comment on Gay's claim that "democracy itself" is in peril if Trump is allowed to remain on the ballot. Democrats have this very dangerous idea that "democracy" stands on its own as some nebulous entity they alone are tasked with protecting. That is a tyrannical mindset because it allows them to justify any means to reach their end. Trump being able to run is a democracy. Attempts to circumvent the democratic process are the actual danger to democracy.