Gullible News Media Give Credence to Heritage Foundation Analysis that Says it Would be Difficult for Democrats to Nominate Someone Other than President Biden

Posted on by July 3, 2024

Some newspapers and other media are giving credence to a Heritage Foundation analysis that claims it would be difficult in some states for the Democratic Party to nominate anyone for President other Than Joe Biden.  For example, see this New York Sun article.  In reality, there would be no legal problem in any state.  No state requires a qualified party to certify its nominees for national office earlier than August 21.

Furthermore, even if there were such a state law, it would be unconstitutional, under old U.S. Supreme Court precedents that say national conventions of major parties are not constrained by state election laws.  In the 1972 Democratic national convention, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Democratic convention had the authority to decide for itself which delegates to seat.  There were two competing slates of delegates from Illinois.  One set had been chosen in the Illinois Democratic primary; the other had not.  But the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the authority of the Democratic convention to seat the unelected delegates.  The party had national rules about diversity in the delegates, and the convention felt the primary winners from Illinois were not legitimate.  Cousins v Wigoda, 419 U.S. 477 (1974).

In 1981,  the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Democratic Party of U.S. v La Follette, 450 US 107, that the national convention had the freedom of association right to refuse to seat delegates elected in the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary, because Wisconsin used an open presidential primary and this contradicted national party rules.  However, the national party, not withstanding its court victory, later gave an exception to Wisconsin and no longer objects to the Wisconsin open primary.

Furthermore, on March 4, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Trump v Anderson that the relationship between the people and the president is so vital to our form of government, it is intrinsically unconstitutional for a single  state to keep a presidential candidate off its ballot, if that created a “patchwork” in which the candidate was on in some states but not others.

Presidential nominees get on the general election ballot with this paperwork:  (1) a certificate from the chair and the secretary of a presidential convention, listing the nominees for President and Vice President: (2) a certificate from the state chair of each party listing the party’s presidential elector candidates and whom they are pledged to.  None of this paperwork is forwarded to a state elections office until after the national convention is over.

Comments

Gullible News Media Give Credence to Heritage Foundation Analysis that Says it Would be Difficult for Democrats to Nominate Someone Other than President Biden — 46 Comments

  1. Precedents are failing left and right these days: Roe, Chevron, etc.

  2. Well now…pretty ironic, they may be the ones off the ballot, given what they tried to do to Trump.

  3. The national convention precedents from the 1972 and 1980 conventions have only become stronger since then. The US Supreme Court extended freedom of association to political parties in non-presidential elections in 1986 (Tashjian v Republican Party of Ct.), 1989 (Eu v San Francisco Co. Democratic Central Committee), and 2000 (California Democratic Party v Jones).

    Precedents don’t get overturned unless they get a lot of criticism. But scholars have not questioned the freedom of association precedents.

  4. I agree with Richard Winger here. He is correct and Heritage is wrong.

  5. HOW MANY SO-CALLED THINK TANKS ARE OPEN/UNDERCOVER ARMS OF THE STATIST DNC/RNC GANGS ???
    —-
    ABOLISH THE MINORITY RULE CAUCUSES / PRIMARIES / CONVENTIONS

    EQUAL NOM PETS / FILNG FEES FOR EQUAL BALLOT ACCESS

  7. The current Biden circus is reminiscent of politburo machinations around the succession of Secretaries General of the KPSS.

  12. President Biden’s second term will be even better than his amazing first term. By the time it’s over, there will be a strong move to repeal the 22nd amendment so we can keep him longer.

  20. Somebody claimed that on Twitter Monday, without citing Heritage, and I told them, simply, Wrong!

  21. Only two things matter to the current so-called Supreme Court:

    1. Does the law/precedent predate the Civil War?
    2. Does the law/precedent benefit His Royal Majesty, Donald J Trump?

  23. Max,

    We’re just waiting for CNN and MSNBC to play the old symphonic music.

  24. NPR already does, so the signal will be when it’s playing during what would normally be “news” program hours.

  25. It’s a dumb idea to try to force the Democrats’ hand in nominations anyway. Trump is 78 and it is conceivable that he could have a stroke and go into a coma or something. In such a case, the GOP would want the option of finding a substitute. The GOP should not try to create precedents that could backfire on them.

  26. Happy former independence day, y’all. The kinfolk are gathered and the pigs are being cooked.

    Jim vastly exaggerates;

    “Only two things matter to the current so-called Supreme Court:

    1. Does the law/precedent predate the Civil War?
    2. Does the law/precedent benefit His Royal Majesty, Donald J Trump?”

    We would be far better off, but still far short of where we should be, if this were actually true. I’ll add the perfunctory pedantic note that the war for southern independence (war of Yankee aggression) was no civil war.

    As for Trump, I understand the criticism of where he stumbled and bumbled, rhetorically and in his actions, but look at the practical alternatives. I do believe he’s, at long last, turning things around, and just in the nick of time. I do believe he’s going to win again, despite the cheating, and assume office. I do believe that despite everything, he made a big and positive difference in his first term via a vis what we would have had, but I believe the second term will be much, much more transformative in a positive direction.

    I’ll defend this views if anyone is willing to have a civil and honest discussion after the weekend.

  27. I’m with my uncle and will also be here this weekend, but next week I’d like to expand on this.

    From another site;

    Jim writes “The only thing holding libertarians to the Republican party was tax policy. That ended when Trump launched his tariff war. With the Democrats at least we have a degree of shared positions on social policy.”

    I don’t see it that way. There are numerous aspects of taxation, inflation, regulation, spending, etc, where Democrats are still for more big government than current Republican leadership. Democrats don’t necessarily eschew tariff wars, either.

    On social policy, there’s wide disagreement among libertarians. Some fully support abortion, while others are as antiabortion as any Republican. Some want uncontrolled immigration in unlimited numbers, while others see that as a danger to national security, law and order, taxpayers wallets, etc. We can go down the line of currently contentious social issues, and find a lot of disagreements among libertarians.

    One issue where libertarians tend to be fairly unanimous is strong support for 2nd Amendment rights. Republicans tend to be marginally closer on that issue.

    On foreign policy, Republicans and libertarians both currently tend to be for less in the way of entangling alliances than Democrats are.

    I find very little support for the notion that Jim speaks for all of any kind of consensus of libertarians with that statement.

    ——-

    See you all Monday or Tuesday or whenever work is sufficiently caught up after the weekend.

  28. I don’t think Jim is Stock. But he does say some really weird stuff sometimes. For example, a few months ago he claimed Biden would become popular as soon as people got their next 401k statements. That obviously didn’t happen.

  29. The Heritage Foundation memo was written in April and released last week. There appears to be some confusion/ambiguity about verb tenses and when a withdrawal might occur. The version of the memo I have seen is dated April 4, 2024; yet there are footnotes to news articles in June.

    The author of the memo was likely referring to a potential scenario where Biden withdraws after a deadline for withdrawal “has passed”; rather than the deadline “has passed”.

    The news media is probably discussing the Heritage Foundation memo as a way to take a jab at the Heritage Foundation.

    The New York Sun headline is “Republicans Will Seek To Make It ‘Extraordinarily Difficult’ for Democrats To Swap Out Biden.” This does not say that it will be extraordinarily difficult to not nominate Biden. That may be politically difficult due to intransigence by Biden or his family, or unwillingness of courtiers to admit that the emperor has been walking around the palace unclothed.

    But an attempt to replace Biden in September or October may indeed be difficult at least to get him off the ballot.

  30. I’m also pretty sure Jim (no last name) is not Jim Riley. No one said he is, but just in case anyone reading thought that. I’m pretty sure Mr. Riley always includes his last name.

  31. Glaveister:

    Trump is 78, but in physical and mental health he’s a generation or two younger than Joe Biden.

  32. Happy birthday to the USA.

    I have high hopes for a dark enlightenment and Christian revival in your country. I also have high hopes it will be relatively bloodless. I’m not sure of the time frame, but I think the quarter millennium, two years from today, might be symbolically pivotal.

    Things are looking hopeful in Russia, France, Italy, and throughout the European continent. Labour looks set to destroy the UK for a bit, but as with Quisling Biden in America, I think it will clear the way for a better future eventually: the Tories might be done for, or give in to UKIP pressure and come back as a much better party next go round.

    Religious Zionism seems to me to be the least bad path forward for the Jews, in the interim before conversion to Christianity. It seems to be gaining the upper hand among them in Israel, with some growing pains. I think the remaining thing they need is to be galvanised to emigrate there en masse from North America. The rechristianization of America might provide that impetus. In the short term, the large influx of secular Jews afflicted with diaspora leftist ideology won’t be good for Israel, but I think living there will change them in fairly short order, and their absence will make the US much better, as will the voluntary mass exodus of other non-Christian people (Muslims, especially).

    This exodus, I think, will occur in Europe as well. There are few Jews left in Europe, but Muslims, Atheists and Agnostics are a severe, persistent, and worsening problem.

    I don’t see the solution as military, and certainly hope it won’t be. It will be primarily reactionary religious and cultural transformation. The political aspect would be to minimize and localize government everywhere, and while I don’t see a smooth path to that anywhere, I do see it happening over the next few years and decades.

  33. SEE 2 EARLIER INDEE DAY MOVIES

    WILL SOME OUTER SPACE ALIENS AGAIN ATTACK THE WORLD AND WIPE OUT STATIST CONTROL FREAK MONARCHS/OLIGARCHS —

    AND ALL THEIR EVIL / DEATH / DESTRUCTION ???
    —
    PR
    APPV
    TOTSOP
    —-
    UK ELECTION RESULTS CNN 455 9M EDT

  35. Also, CNN is trash. Get on a better media diet. You have internet. Learn to use it better.

  36. The Democrats just don’t want to be the first party in history to enact the 25th Amendment. It would humiliate them to admit that the current president, who just won his renomination, is unfit for the office. I’m so sick of the major parties putting the entire country, and the world, at risk for stupid pride.

    All of this just because they couldn’t control Donald Trump. The swamp runs deep.

  37. @MaxZim V Zaslon
    In every single aspect, you are far more optimistic than I 😅 Let us hope, and pray, therefore that you are also wiser than I.
    Happy 4th of July N.S. – or rather happy June 21st O.S. – which I believe is the feast of the Holy Relics of one whose name you share, the venerable Saint Maxim the Greek.

  38. I’ll just reiterate what I said yesterday, President Biden is fine and there’s no need for all the baseless speculation. He’ll do some town halls and tv interviews and this will blow over.

  39. General Zod – That was either late December or early January. Biden did close the gap by several points. Using RealClearPolitics average, Biden was trailing by 3.5% on December 17 and 0.6% on January 10th and 0.2% by April 10th. His debate performance obviously is going to send that the other way.

  40. Pig – Most of the population would not be better off with pre-Civil War era laws, and a lot of that had to do with those southern slave states which fought so desperately to keep their slaves.

    Porcus – There is no disagreement among libertarians on abortion and immigration. There are just some Republicans larping as libertarians who want to pretend there is a disagreement.

  41. Jim, if I recall the context of the comment it was about popularity, not Trump’s lead. Biden has been around -15 of -20 in RCP and 538 averages since the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. He’s currently at -20. Trump is underwater too, but not as much.

  42. Jim, I’m the farmer, not the pig. Slaughtering pigs and selling their carcasses for a profit is part of my job.

    Most of the population would very much be better off with antebellum laws, the descendants of slaves most of all. If you wish to wade into why, it will have to wait til next week, but please don’t waste anyone’s time with fantasies such as we would still have antebellum slavery now.

    Civil war has a definition. Jefferson Davis, Robert E Lee et al had no more intent of governing Massachusetts or New York than George Washington, Thomas Jefferson et al had of governing England or Wales. It was a war of independence,just like the American Revolution. You win some, you lose some.

    Your no (true) Scotsman fallacy is a matter of definition. I’m not interested in that game. I’m for less government, but I’m happy to not be a libertarian. As a factual matter, many people who call themselves libertarians and many members, activists, delegates, candidates, and elected and appointed office holders (to the extent they have any) of that party don’t share your views of abortion and immigration.

    Additionally, you’re factually wrong: the longtime head of Libertarians for Life was an atheist, feminist woman who was an LP activist since the 1970s. Was she a Republican LARPing as a Libertarian? Please advise.

    I’d actually appreciate it if you’d put this on pause for a few days, but perhaps you suffer from responditis much as I do.

  43. My uncle covered my part, but regarding his screen name: supposing we were engaged in quill and paper, horse and buggy postal mail correspondence two centuries ago, and our Georgia Cracker ancestor went by the nom de plume Slave Owner, would Jim have retorted by calling him slave?

    Amusingly, at this very moment my uncle and I are quite literally in Confederate officer uniforms, sitting on the front porch of his antebellum plantation home, being served early morning mint juleps by negro maids at our family gathering. Huzzah!

  44. Do you have a t-shirt with a confederate flag, that says 100% cotton and y’all picked it? What about the one with some klansmen that says the original boyz n the hood?

  45. Massa Porcus,

    You into reenacting?!

    Me too! I’m doing an urban camping tour with a bunch of reenactors right now! We’re in Baltimore on our way up from DC to Philly then NYC, Milwaukee and Chicago! It’s hella fun! You missed us in Atlanta, it was a freaking blast!

    Boo boo, we should for real for real hook up! I’m into whips and chains. I’m sure you are too, LOL. Duh! I’m multiracial, so I can play Scarlett from gone with the wind or your Black maid or even your exotic Asian hooker on your gold prospecting trip to San Francisco, or I can be Sacajawea…all part of my ancestry. I’m fully bi if your wifey wants to play. I can whip or get whipped.

    C’mon sugardaddy,it’ll be fun!

  46. Massa Farmer,

    You too bae! I love oldpersons! And youngpersons 18+! Fun for your whole, um, clan! LOL

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.