Donald Trump has been kicked out of the mile high club. In a 4-3 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot in the state under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. “The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.” For now, the decision is stayed, giving the Supreme Court time to weigh in on the matter. Will this be the court decision that finally takes America to that Grand Junction where history drops a Boulder on Trump’s campaign, providing the kick in the Crested Butte and the punch in the Rocky Mountain oysters that makes Trumpism Telluride off into the sunset, maybe all the way to Aspenitentiary, as democracy’s Aurora rises once again? Don’t get your Castle Rocks off just yet. I don’t want to predict how this SCOTUS will rule, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find Clarence Thomas out shopping for a new RV over Christmas break. There’s not much doubt Trump incited an insurrection (we all saw it with our own eyes). The bigger question is whether the 14th Amendment applies to someone running for president. The even bigger issue is whether we want courts to save America from a lying, criming, insurrecting, Hitler-quoting monster that somehow still holds sway over his enablers and his base, or whether we want to trust that there are enough sane voters to get the job done. The idea that this is even a serious contest is enough to make me want to get Rocky Mountain high from now until the election.

+ “The Colorado Supreme Court harshly condemned Trump personally. It ruled him an insurrectionist, in effect a traitor. It joined his name to the roster of the Confederate rebels whom the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment wanted to ban from politics. And at the same time, that court offered emancipation from Trump to Trump’s party.” David Frum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): The Colorado Supreme Court Just Gave Republicans a Chance to Save Themselves. (The ink wasn’t even dry on this article before Team Enabler started defending Trump and falling into line…)

+ Why 14th Amendment bars Trump from office: A constitutional law scholar explains principle behind Colorado Supreme Court ruling. In Slate, Lawrence Lessig explains why the 14 Amendment actually doesn’t do that at all. The Supreme Court Must Unanimously Strike Down Trump’s Ballot Removal. Once you’re done reading the analysis, you might want to shift your focus to the 21st Amendment, because you’re gonna need a drink.