Today, we sued the South Carolina GOP on behalf of Republican voters, including @bobinglis, for illegally cancelling the party’s presidential primary. Read the complaint here: bit.ly/2mDqs7W #scpol#sctweets
South Carolina election law makes it illegal for party leaders to break their own rules to cancel an election just because they believe one candidate is more likely to win or because they prefer that candidate. #scpol#sctweets
So it violated party rules *and* state law for a small group of South Carolina Republican Party insiders to cancel the Republican primary. #scpol#sctweetsthehill.com/homenews/campa…
Note: This is different from past primary cancellations. In 2007 & 2013, GOP-led SC legislature changed state law to make it harder to cancel a primary. So the cancellations in 1984 & 2004, when Reagan & Bush were running, happened under entirely different laws. Current rule:
A small group of SC GOP insiders has chosen a nominee by fiat, effectively disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of Republican voters—and denying them their voice in shaping the Republican Party and what it represents. #scpol#sctweets
Don’t take our word for why this is bad. In 2014, SC GOP unanimously resolved that “spirited & competitive primaries are a healthy way to grow the Republican Party” & any perception of unfairness could “irrevocably damage the integrity of our primary[.]” #scpol#sctweets
And in 2015, SC GOP said that failure to hold a primary would cause “irreparable harm” because “the citizens of South Carolina deserve an opportunity to vote on the Republican nominee for President of the United States.” So true! bit.ly/2nt2756
So today, Plaintiffs are asking the Court to protect their core democratic rights. Voters must have a voice in shaping their own political party. Voters must be able to vote for the presidential nominee of their choice. We’ll keep you posted. #scpol#sctweets
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Today 19 retired 4-star officers & service secretaries urged #SCOTUS to reject Trump’s immunity claim, citing the disastrous impact presidential criminal immunity would wreak on the chain of command, civilian control of the military, & national security. protdem.org/NatSecAmicus4_…
The Constitution enshrines rule of law & civilian control of the military, “bedrock features of our democracy & are deeply rooted in our nation’s history,” and…[Trump’s] theory of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution is an assault on these foundational commitments.”
Retired General George Casey, one of the signatories had this to say:
Here are the six major threats that we can expect from an authoritarian president occupying the White House in 2025
(plus, threaded below for more ⬇️🧵)
1⃣ Pardons to license lawbreaking: As president Trump was a pioneer in pardon abuse and has promised to further abuse that power to reward violent actors and place himself above the law
Trump, the likely R nominee for POTUS, has promised to enact policies threatening core democratic institutions.
In a new report, our experts analyze whether & how those promises might override the checks designed to constrain POTUS abuses of power. authoritarianplaybook2025.org
The report, written by a cross-ideological team of experts, thoroughly compiles Trump’s stated plans and tackles the question: Is our system of checks & balances robust enough to constrain an autocrat in the White House?
It focuses on 6 threat areas 🧵⬇️
1⃣ Pardons to license lawbreaking:
During Trump’s 1st term, he used pardons to induce witnesses against him into silence. In a 2nd term, he's indicated to further abuse pardons to incite political violence, incentivize lawbreaking for his benefit, & place himself above the law.
BREAKING: The city of San Marcos and its police dept have agreed to settle our case alleging they turned a blind eye to the so-called “Trump Train” engaging in political violence against passengers on the Biden-Harris bus in lead-up to the 2020 election. protectdemocracy.org/work/san-marco…
In settling this case, the City on behalf of the police department has admitted to falling short of its policing standards and has agreed to institute mandatory training for all its officers and to compensate the victims they failed to protect.
🔗 ➡️ protdem.org/4054mJN
In filing this case, the victims claimed police violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871—a law that makes it illegal for law enforcement to negligently fail to take steps to prevent certain conspiracies to engage in election-related violence or intimidation. protectdemocracy.org/work/klan-act-…
“From what began as one woman’s fight, the excuses for silence have been lifted, and this illegal barrier between truth and the American people is forever removed. Democracy dies in fear and silence, but only if we let it. We refused, and we won.”
This decision is a significant win for our democracy by establishing a bright line for all future candidates who might attempt to silence staff and prevent critical information from reaching voters.
NEW: “For a Better Democracy: Proportional Representation” from @DemJournal assembles insights from over a dozen leading scholars, examining how a more proportional electoral system could address some of the most enduring issues undermining our democracy. democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/fo…
Our winner-take-all electoral system is “dangerously warping our politics,” write our own @g_tudor & @btremitiere. Proportional representation is “one way out.” democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/wh…
@g_tudor @btremitiere “The constitutional uncertainty that surrounds § 2 presents an opportunity to fundamentally rethink... American electoral structures of representation for a 21st century multiracial polity,” write @ProfGuyCharles of @Harvard_Law & @Prof_lfr of @IUMaurerLaw democracyjournal.org/magazine/70/wh…