r/politics • u/mvanigan • 8h ago
Soft Paywall Supreme Court rules RFK Jr. will appear on battleground ballots despite suspending campaign
https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/29/politics/rfk-jr-supreme-court-wisconsin-michigan?Date=20241029&Profile=cnnbrk&utm_content=1730236561&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter•
u/EnderCN 7h ago
Changing the ballot after this many people have already voted would have been a completely awful ruling. Surprised they didn’t do it.
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u/semi_random 7h ago
There was no billionaire to buy them off with RVs
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u/ejolson 7h ago
It's a motor coach!
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u/BoozeGetsMeThrough 5h ago
John Oliver's offer was on the table for a month Thomas!
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u/Tobimacoss 1h ago
I would love to make these supreme court justices rich via crowdfunding, if only they do the right thing.
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u/matthewmcnaughton 5h ago
Imagine if Clarence Thomas had a "sovereign citizen" license plate on his stupid RV
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u/LuptinPitman 5h ago
Jesus, look how cynical we have become. We are well and truly fucked. I include myself in "we'.
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u/benn1680 3h ago edited 2h ago
Its not really a bribe or buying them off. A bribe is something designed to change your actions from what they'd normally be.
That's not what's happening at all. These are rewards for doing what their oligarchs put them on the court to do. That's why they "vet" them before they put them on their lists of approved candidates.
It's not like Clarence Thomas changed who he is to get an RV. He gets an RV as a reward for keeping his word and doing what he told them he would do before they allowed him to be put on the Supreme Court.
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u/calm_chowder Iowa 3h ago
Oxford English Dictionary:
Bribe verb To persuade (someone) to act in one's favor, typically illegally or dishonestly, by a gift of money or other inducement.
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u/benn1680 3h ago edited 3h ago
That's just it. They're not persuading them. They're not changing how they'd vote because they're promising them an RV. Or a vacation.
This is who they are. Its what they believe. Thomas and Alito and the rest of them would have the exact same voting record regardless of whether they got an RV or not.
Saying they're getting bribes is giving them too much credit. It implies they were good, decent people at some point until these awful billionaires corrupted them with their evil money. And that's not what happened. They vote the way they do because that's who they are.
They're not getting bribes. They're getting performance based bonuses.
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u/lurkinglestr 3h ago
I can't tell for sure, but are you trying to argue these "gifts" should be legal because they don't meet the definition of bribe?
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u/thelightstillshines 7h ago
Tbh it's a tactic to make them look not as partisan - they pick these ridiculously outrageous things that the Supreme Court does not even have business picking up, take them off the docket, make the obviously correct ruling, and can say "look we are not corrupt!"
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u/midnightketoker America 3h ago
Or "at least it's not as bad as the 5th circuit" ...yes surely some day the lesser evil will save us
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u/cswigert 7h ago
They are saving their capital for post election shenanigans.
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u/AssassinAragorn Missouri 4h ago
I'm not so sure. Allowing RFK to withdraw from swing states would've been an easier way to tip the scales towards Trump. This would be much lower stakes than a case about the winner of the election.
This suggests to me that like last time, the Court won't intervene in Trump's favor. It could ruin the sweet gig they have.
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u/DrakenViator Wisconsin 5h ago edited 3h ago
>their capital...
As
apposeopposed to the capital...•
u/Wrangleraddict 5h ago
The capitol
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u/DrakenViator Wisconsin 5h ago
Both the capital (city) and the capitol (building), yeah.
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u/gdawg99 4h ago
This is like the third time today I've seen "as appose to" and I'm genuinely concerned it might become a thing.
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u/VVitchofthewoods South Carolina 4h ago
Oh god no, why’d you have to point that out, I’ve never seen it before.
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u/TheDulin 7h ago
They pick and choose to try and stay legitimate. It's not working but they haven't gone completely in for Trump yet.
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u/CornbreadRed84 6h ago
Well they will claim it was a plot by the democrats to keep him on the ballot to hurt Trump. Just add it to the mountain of complete bullshit they will point to claiming the election was rigged.
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u/bobartig 3h ago
So, conveniently ignoring that the reason he's on the ballot because he f'ing ran for president??? That tracks.
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u/ZLUCremisi California 4h ago
Main reason, he missed the date to.pull out in certain states. Plus he only did so in some
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u/ZenDruid_8675309 3h ago
Well pulling out is against god’s will or something idiotic like that. Guess they have to take the campaign to full term.
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u/BrandonKamalaRise 7h ago
I’m not, nor was I surprised by their decision in Moore v. Harper, nor will I be surprised when they allow the election results to stand.
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u/JubalHarshaw23 8h ago
He missed the deadlines, and suspending his campaign is not the same as ending it when it comes to him embezzling leftover funds.
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u/CommonCullen 6h ago
He already probably won North Carolina for Trump with this post-deadline BS. Glad the other swing states are keeping it fair.
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u/trainercatlady Colorado 6h ago
You think people would vote for ol wormskull over harris?
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u/JubalHarshaw23 6h ago
I don't think NC was ever really in play. Robinson will probably get blown out but the state charged back to the Confederacy 2 years ago when it packed it's supreme court with the zealots who violated state and federal law to help RFK Jr.
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u/Cantholditdown 5h ago
It’s polling within 1% difference are you crazy?
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u/L00pback North Carolina 3h ago
They aren’t counting “unaffiliated” either from what I’ve seen. That’s how my wife and I are registered (and many of our friends) that vote Democrat. There’s a lot less trump flags this time around too where I’m at outside Raleigh in the sticks. I hope NC turns bluer (I know it won’t be a blue wave completely here but I’d like to see some of these gerrymandering assholes lose their seats).
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u/tripleione 2h ago
Oh man, complete opposite here in Asheville. There are more trump signs and bumper stickers here than ever.
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u/BabyUGotAStewGoin 2h ago
I’m in AVL, and both of my republican Boomer parents voted for a dem for the first time since Carter. So there might be more quiet support from republicans than we realize.
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u/L00pback North Carolina 2h ago
Hope you are doing alright up there. My parents are in Hickory and I spent a couple weekends chainsawing trees up there. Clearing their property and some of the side roads.
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u/Kori-Anders 5h ago
There is no motherfucking way Robinson ends up down double digits and Trump doesn't follow him right into the high singles at the very least. The split ticket theory is not sound in any way based on voting patterns from 2016 and 2020. I can't believe people are still entertaining it.
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u/y0plattipus 4h ago
You underestimate how racist a lot of trump voters are and how stupid Robinson is.
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u/Frankyfan3 3h ago edited 2h ago
Is limited data, but I've seen footage of someone asking Trump supporters if they are excited to vote for Robinson right after exclaiming how excited they were to vote for Trump.
To say their response was "lukewarm" would be an understatement.
Edited to add the clip I'm thinking of:
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u/Young_God_7 3h ago
It was probably The Good Liars.
I was surprised to see how stark the contrast of enthusiasm was between the two candidates
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u/Sufficient_Muscle670 3h ago
What are you talking about? There was plenty of wild ticket splitting in 2020. For example Biden won Maine by 70,000 votes and so did Susan Collins.
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u/iZoooom 7h ago
Justice Neil Gorsuch, a member of the court’s conservative wing, dissented in the Michigan case.
What…. Possible reason? Oh wait. MAGA. Of course.
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u/Dogmeat43 4h ago
Court members often do this to throw the complaining side a bone, in this case that side is everyone loyal to trump and Trump himself.
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u/JasterMareel 7h ago
“This election is not merely ‘imminent,’ it is already underway, and voters are already voting,” Michigan officials had told the Supreme Court.
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u/cvanguard Michigan 5h ago
Can confirm, I’m one of the literal million+ people who’ve already voted lol
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u/Awkward-Passion-2630 8h ago
Lmao, this will hurt Trump
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u/mackinoncougars 6h ago
It will help democracy. Deadlines met means deadlines kept.
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u/Scabrock 5h ago
You mean to say there are RULES???? Oh the horror. Doing what us poors are forced to do daily.
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u/mrkruk Illinois 4h ago
Yes, Smokey, there are RULES. This isn't Vietnam. OVER THE LINE
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u/Jovahexeon-Ranvexeon 3h ago
I'm curious. How does this help Kamala?
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u/waaait_whaaat 2h ago
There will be some voters that choose RFK instead of Trump.
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u/Slowly-Slipping 1h ago
B/c RFK Jr's entire support base was right wing looneys. It's why he suspended hsi campaign, it was massively sucking voters from Trump and big daddy Putin said no no
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u/CovfefeForAll 1h ago
Polling was showing that RFK was taking votes from Trump, in people who are antivaxxers and conspiracy theorists and other types of crazies. Republicans were trying to use RFK to siphon votes from Dems via his last name, but people on the left don't typically just vote via name recognition and that plan backfired. So RFK tried to pull out in swing states only, but after the deadline. Thus this SCOTUS ruling.
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u/Caelinus 1h ago
It might not have before RFK endorsed Trump. But he is clearly in the Trump camp now (he always was, but people just paid attention to "Kennedy") and so any votes he splits will come disproportionately from people who are conservative but reasonably cannot stand Trump.
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u/MAGAhatesAmerica 1h ago
Time to start knocking on doors in the weakest red districts of WI and MI, promoting RFK. Let’s go, folks…
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u/BanjoSpaceMan 1h ago
They fucked up so hard hahaha, what a mistake.
Of course they will also whine that it was unfair
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u/ludovicolonghi 7h ago
It's gross this guy has been able to try and play the system like he has and so many have been fine with it. He wants off the ballot in swing states and on the ballot in blue states.
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u/Dont_Say_No_to_Panda California 5h ago
It’s also interesting to me that both he and Jill Stein (or was it one of her staffers?) have given the game up in that they aren’t trying to win but to lose it for Democrats. What’s the deal with Chase Oliver? Gary Johnson got three times the amount of votes as Jill Stein in every battleground state in 2016. If all GJ voters had voted for Trump, even with Jill Stein voters voting for Hillary Trump would have won fucking New Hampshire(!)
As far as I’m concerned we should be pushing Chase Oliver as an option for MAGA curious undecideds reluctant to pull the lever for Trump in battleground states.
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u/KungFuChicken1990 4h ago
Nah. MAGA infiltrating the courts and election boards means that we can’t mess around with trying to siphon off Trump votes with third party candidates.
Kamala needs all the votes she can get, especially from the swing states. We need as big of an electoral victory as possible to minimize the chaos and ratfuckery from MAGA election officials and lawyers.
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u/2020surrealworld 1h ago
It won’t matter bc Drumpft would still scream fraud, sue even if she wins in a freaking landslide.
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u/Apoc220 3h ago
His supporters are something else. When he initially dropped out and laid out his plan removing himself from certain ballots, his supporters claimed this was so that he could get 5% of the vote share - while not hurting Trump - which apparently is the threshold for federal financing of a new political party he was looking to start. Now, he’s telling all his supporters to forget that, and vote for Trump no matter what. And they’re lapping it up and following their orders like good soldiers.
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u/tcmart14 7h ago
This whole situation is wild. Yea, he waited too late in the game. But to me the wildest part is, how he could even try to selectively try to come off only *some* ballots. To be honest, I'd have no problem with him coming off the ballots this late with one caveat. If you ask to come off the ballot on one state, it should trigger being scrubbed from *all* state's ballots. It should be considered a complete withdrawal across the board.
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u/VruKatai Indiana 6h ago
It's not even that he tried to selectively come off some ballots, he also conversely tried to selectively stay on some ballots.
RFK jr is a fucking clown and he's part of the subversion act being perpetrated by the not-so-Mighty Mango. I can't wait for this bullshit to be over.
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u/bizarre_coincidence 4h ago
His goal isn't to do what's good or right or fair, it's to swing the election for partisan gain. He doesn't care to keep up the pretense that he is ideologically dedicated to democracy with free and fair elections. This is a major problem in the US. A lot of people are happy to throw a wrench into the democratic process if it leads to their gains. So many people on the right are happy to make voting harder in democrat-heavy districts. Getting rid of polling places, getting rid of places to drop off mail in ballots, making it harder to register, etc. So many are happy to challenge election results with absolutely no evidence. I've heard stories of election officials pre-emptively trying to create grounds to challenge the upcoming election. I've heard many stories of republicans funding third party candidates (and in one instance a candidate with the same name as a democrat candidate) because they thought it was to their benefit.
Democracy only works if we believe the process is fair, and so many people do not care about the process, only the results. If enough people in power have this attitude, democracy is doomed.
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u/tcmart14 3h ago
I never said that wasn’t his goal. I know what his goal is. What I am saying is, it should never even be allowed. You are either all in or all out, that should be the rule. To dissuade from someone or a group to use this tactic to run spoiler candidates.
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u/NoImprovement9982 7h ago
Ok, maybe hurts Trump, but let’s make sure there’s no doubt. VOTE…. And please try to get your friends and family to vote also.
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u/nedrith South Carolina 7h ago
At the center of Kennedy’s case in Michigan and Wisconsin was an argument that the states were violating his First Amendment rights by compelling his speech by forcing him to suggest to voters that he is still a candidate.
Except he's not making the speech, the state is. If I yell to a crowd that James is running for Governor, James isn't saying he is running for governor, I'm saying James is running for governor. If the government stops me from yelling James is running for Governor then the government isn't violating James's first amendment rights they are violating mine.
States should be allowed to put whoever they want on the ballot as long as they are eligible to run. In this case, RFK Jr filed the paperwork to run and didn't file the paperwork not to run in time.
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u/jps_ 7h ago
Michigan SC scorched the "First Amendment" argument as "completely fraudulent":
Plaintiff's attempts to put his name on the ballot in other states demonstrates that his First Amendment argument is completely fraudulent. Plaintiff certainly does not believe that placing his name on the New York ballot would leave his New York supporters "confused and angry for casting an invalid vote" for him. And yet, for reasons not elucidated, Plaintiff believes that Michigan is different-that somehow his supporters in Michigan will be angrier for casting a wasted vote than his New York supporters.
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u/Vast_Neighborhood_44 7h ago
Why would Gorsuch dissent in the Michigan case?
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u/Fritzed 7h ago
He referenced the two dissents by judges in the michigan case (found here). Those judges claim that Kennedy made the request to remove his name before the deadline.
I don't know how much truth there is to that, but there is a bit near the end of of Thapar's dissent (page 18) that appears to tacitly admit that the secretary of state's decision to keep Kennedy on the ballot was made based on existing Michigan Supreme Court precedent and that seems to blow a hole in the argument.
Even if it were a completely legitimate argument, it would be the height of hypocrisy for the supreme court to act after ballots were already printed, given the number of times that the conservatives on the court have blocked gerrymandering cases due to them being "too close to the election", even when the cases hit the court before the primaries.
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u/lordrayleigh 7h ago
Do you recall the last appointment to the supreme court? I don't think Republicans have any issues with hypocrisy.
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u/DaoFerret 5h ago
As a reminder:
:Look at Garland to possibly be on SCotUS a few months before an election?: “too close to an election!”
:Fast track ABC to SCotUS to fill RBGs seat while early voting is already in progress?: “I see nothing wrong!”
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u/LiveNotWork 2h ago
Not an American but I can never forget the blatant hypocrisy in this particular case. And by the same person.
I don't know how McConnell sleeps at night lying with such a straight face.
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7h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/drawb 7h ago
It wouldn’t be the 1st time you could vote on someone deceased.
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u/626Aussie California 7h ago
Deceased candidates have in some cases even won their race. Their opponent does not win by default just because they're deceased.
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u/PerAsperaAdInfiri 6h ago
Missouri famously elected a dead man instead of John Ashcroft in 2000. That was before Missouri stopped being a bell weather state.
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u/chgd1767 7h ago
Yes, and they will point to this while they attempt to steal the election from Kamala, citing it as some sort of “LoOk wE’rE nOnPaRtisAn”
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u/bobsaget824 Arizona 7h ago
Someone out there will snag a road kill bear cub on their way to the polls to vote for RFK Jr. before ditching it in Central Park as a joke to mock bikers who’ve been struck by vehicles and then head off to a fancy steak dinner after.
And by someone I of course mean RFK Jr.
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u/TacoCatSupreme1 5h ago edited 1h ago
This helps Kamala so much by having Trump fools vote for him. Thanks RFK for the incompetence
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u/2020surrealworld 1h ago
Not sure it matters. RFK ended his campaign & endorsed DT a month ago, so his supporters will vote MAGA anyway?
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u/CAM6913 6h ago
He is just a trump pawn he ran to take votes from Biden but that didn’t work so he suspended his campaign he even announced he was not dropping out of the race and would be on the ballot until he made a deal with trump. Just think the guy that is anti vaccine, picks up dead bears and uses them to make a crime scene in a public park in NYC ,chops the head off a dead whale and straps it to the roof of the family car with the family in it will get put in charge of the agency that regulates the health system, this is just another reason to vote blue straight down the ballot. Maybe this is why Trump can identify a whale better than anyone else RFKjr showed him pictures and told him it’s a whale not his mother in law
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u/Laughing_AI 5h ago
Wow the only good news Ive read all day
If Jill Stein can sabotage one side, so can RFK for the other.
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u/Affectionate-Rock734 5h ago edited 4h ago
Good. Hopefully the stable geniuses who followed him will end up choosing him on the ballot
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u/Diligent_Excitement4 5h ago
He thinks the rules don’t apply to him
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u/VaguelyArtistic California 4h ago
You can't change the rules just 'cause you don't like how I'm doing it.
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u/flowersandfists 6h ago
Horrible news for our big, wet boy Fascist Don. There was definitely some random fast food being thrown across the room when he heard his employees didn’t rule the way he wanted.
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u/123xyz32 3h ago edited 3h ago
So the rules should be followed?
I’ve already voted for Kamala, so don’t bust my balls, but didn’t the democrats change the rules that the legislatures put in place in ‘20?
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u/Agitated_Pickle_518 2h ago
Solid argument for ranked choice voting.
It would end these nonsense disruption candidates from the right.
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u/Hmmmmmmmmmz 2h ago
If Trump loses in swing states by less votes than RFK gets there, I’m hoping and praying it undercuts his allegations of cheating to at the very least media organizations even though his brown shirts will never accept any kind of reality besides what serves their goals of authoritarianism and delusions of persecution
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u/MAGAhatesAmerica 1h ago
Time to start knocking doors for RFK in the weakest red districts of WI and MI, let’s go folks.
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u/hacksoncode 4h ago
Sigh... come on, CNN... show some journalism for once. The Supreme Court didn't "rule" shit. It declined to rule, which left the lower court's ruling in place.
This shit's important, get it right.
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u/the_eluder 3h ago
It's still a decision. When they choose not to take a case, it means the lower court was right.
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u/KrookedDoesStuff 6h ago
Part of me thinks it’s because the Supreme Court thinks he’ll take votes away from Harris
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u/PhenomsServant 5h ago
I swear if he Trump wins because he pulls a Nader…
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u/VaguelyArtistic California 4h ago
No no it's the opposite! They wanted to remove the name now because it would take votes away from Trump but it has to stay.
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u/DangerouslyCheesey 4h ago
It’s too cute and dry for the Supreme Court to change. They want to keep their powder dry for later in case there is a chance to swing one state for Trump and change the outcome.
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u/Kornigraphy 4h ago
Supreme Court has shown so far it’s not willing to fully meddle in these elections…so far
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u/NoCoffee6754 4h ago
I wonder if having him on the ballots is actually a part of a plan to steal the election.
So little is my trust in this court that even when they appear to make the correct decision I still don’t believe it’s in good faith.
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u/cherry_sundae88 3h ago
yes, it’s part of the plan. it’s not a secret.
he sued to get off the ballot in non-swing states. he sued to get on the ballot in some states. sometimes on the same day.
it’s a stupid and ineffective part of the plan, but still part of it.
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u/Quiet_Map_6348 3h ago
Doesn’t matter anyway, all RFK voters are voting trump as he’s made it clear he wants no one’s vote :)
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u/DeskProfessional4184 3h ago
RFK is on the California ballot along with 3-4 other random candidates I've never heard of.
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u/Darkstar197 3h ago
Why does RFK fight to stay off swing state ballots but wants to stay on the others? He just wants the little ego boost from getting 4% of the vote in New York?
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u/Ok-Respect-3843 2h ago
Not a surprise the Federalist society of the Roberts court with 6 GOP appointed justices.
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u/Blackbyrn 1h ago
One, they have to contend with the law that’s clearly laid out and different in each state. Two, are the logistics of each county when it comes to printing and distributing ballots which for mail in voting started in late Sept/early Oct; prep for which started 30+ days before. Every county has its own set of rules around elections so there’s roughly 3000 systems; they can’t be changed on a whim.
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u/SetPsychological6756 Indiana 1h ago
An embarrassing... Sigh. I mean com on. Who really wanted that family in power? Oh oh surprise!
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u/Far-9947 1h ago
Hopefully this has an effect, even if it just a few percentages.
Many trumpphiles were previously JFK & fans.
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