Opinion: Some Idaho Republicans Treat the Constitution Like a Dishrag
If the Constitution can be suspended for every designated emergency, then were we ever free? The question was raised recently by a caller to Magic Valley This Morning on Newsradio 1310, KLIX. Idaho law may allow the Governor to suspend the state document but I’m not aware he has any ability to supersede the Constitution of the United States. The rights it enumerates are given by God and not by men. The founders said as much.
These GOP apologists will do whatever they can to cover for the massive economic and personal destruction their guy caused.
I came across a column from an Idaho Falls lawyer. His specialty is bankruptcy law and apparently not constitutional law. His name is Steve Taggart. Didn’t he represent the little girl in True Grit?
“In a true emergency, like a pandemic, government has the clear power to override personal, even constitutional, liberties,” states lawyer Taggart. He cites case law from the era of True Grit. Lawyers like using precedence but if we exclusively relied upon it, Dred Scott would still be in place.
Taggart warns emergencies can’t be permanent. Really? If there’s never a successful vaccine for treating COVID-19, then we’re going to have a perpetual dilemma. People weren’t meant to live this way. And what defines an emergency? A dam busting is temporary and demands quick action, however. It doesn’t require I surrender my right to assemble or practice my faith. A Boise State loss is a crisis for some but it wears off after a 6-pack and a night of sleep.
A nuclear strike on neighboring coastal cities surely would be an emergency. I suspect it would require rationing and some roads would be closed but would it require me to close a tavern or wear a mask?
These GOP apologists will do whatever they can to cover for the massive economic and personal destruction their guy caused. And they hope you’ll forget by 2022.
I came here from a blue state almost six years ago. The Republicans there are all opposed to rule by fiat because the Governor is a Democrat, which makes me doubt rationalizations in Idaho.