The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in a case that asks whether Minnesota violated the First Amendment when it banned voters from wearing a vast array of political badges, buttons, insignias, and other attire at polling places.
Daniel Rogan, the lawyer representing Minnesota elections official Joe Mansky, did not exactly do a winning job of countering Breemer’s claim. In fact, Rogan all but conceded that the state law is indeed an arbitrary violation of the Constitution, as evinced by this revealing exchange he had with Justice Samuel Alito:
Justice Alito: How about a shirt with a rainbow flag? Would that be permitted?
Mr. Rogan: A shirt with a rainbow flag? No, it would be—yes, it would be—it would be permitted unless there was—unless there was an issue on the ballot that—that related somehow to—to gay rights….
Justice Alito: Okay. How about an NRA shirt?
Mr. Rogan: An NRA shirt? Today, in Minnesota, no, it would not, Your Honor. I think that that’s a clear indication—and I think what you’re getting at, Your Honor—
Justice Alito: How about a shirt with the text of the Second Amendment?
Mr. Rogan: Your Honor, I—I—I think that that could be viewed as political, that that—that would be—that would be —
Justice Alito: How about the First Amendment?
(Laughter.)
There you have it. Minnesota’s lawyer was forced to admit that this sweeping law allows the state to forbid voters from wearing t-shirts at polling places that feature an excerpt from the Bill of Rights. If that’s not an overreaching restriction on constitutionally protected speech, what is?
Two things become clear.
The left only wants to allow speech that supports the left. The left feels the constitution does not align politically with their views.
The left is despicable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=7Xrw0gbnNuU
The Left is about controlling people. Speech is only free if it reflects their ideology.
I wish Ailto asked if a CNN shirt was OK and then ask if Fox News would be as well. I think we all know the answer the folks from MN would give.
I know all my votes have depended on what shirts I see at the polling place.
Sounded more like an anal argument, liberals are like children
How about a T-shirt that says
DON’T DRAIN THE SWAMP
MAKE IT A GAME PRESERVE
How I wish I had been there.
When an appellate level or SCOTUS justice wants to punish a lawyer that way, they can be brutal. Its doesn’t happen a lot, but when it does, you know it was deemed necessary. Meanwhile, the target lawyer has to stand there and take it, be respectful, maybe with his career on the line, with zero defense to what is happening. If you want to see a lawyer sliced and diced, hang around courtrooms.
Its a thing of beauty to see close up, as long as its the other guy and not you.
“The left is despicable.”
That pretty much says it all on every issue the left injects itself in to.
In a nutshell: “The left feels the constitution does not align politically with their views.”
That’s all anyone needs to know about the Left. Dissenting opinion that argues the fine points of the constitution, okay. But a wholesale attack on the constitution itself is sedition. We have pathways to change the constitution through amendments. Jefferson was wrong when he mused that constant struggle against the ratified constitution was necessary to liberty. A country can neither live nor thrive on the knife edge of legal certainty. I really hate him for suggesting it.
This is how yew know yew’ve been led down the path by an expert pulling yew by the Politically Correct Leftist ring in yer nose!
You’ve been shown up to everyone what a biased Asshole you really are to everyone in the room!
The real morons are the politicians that enacted this legislation. Someone should have (and probably did) stood up and mentioned that pesky First Amendment that progressives kind of like when it suits them and hate when it doesn’t.
Minnesota should have the constitionality of its laws vetted by an eight grade civics student.
Yeah, if you’re swayed by a t-shirt then you pretty much gave up thinking long ago.
Burn notice updated to kick in the balls notice
What got me was that Alito spoke to the moron like he was a child. Such simple questions. Judge Scalia had the same approach.
MINNESOTA! If you can’t make it to San Fransissyco or Seattle, it’s the NEXT worst thing! 😳
I suppose one could show up wearing a shirt with the Twitter/Facebook/YouTube/Google logos claiming support for the 1st A.
Of course we know which lever you’ll be pulling.
Minnesota? Why not just make everyone don their burkas before entering the poling place? No, today’s gender doesn’t matter. Voting burkas for everyone!
Judge Alito is so refreshing with his sense of humor. The libtards hate him I am sure.
Vote Naked!
Glad he made him look the fool. The real morons are the state legislators, hang them.
SECEDE!
How much more clear does this have to be? It’s a dysfunctional relationship of two masses of people that want to live by totally opposite rules.
If they split India and Pakistan, we can split the U.S.
I’m more than ready to square off with the lefttard morons and get it over with.
Libstains have no concept of an unwavering rule. Right and Wrong are determined by their emotions at the moment.
The left is The Borg.
The hive mind collective is allowed. No individual thought, speech, beliefs or actions. Everyone should be like the Borg drones. Do your assigned job. Force everyone to be assimilated to the collective.
Or you could compare them to Dr. Cocteau in Demolition Man.
Stalin, Mao, etc obviously for actual history. But tv and movies the lefties produce are actually great illustrations of what they want.