“Your purpose, then, plainly stated, is that you will destroy the Government, unless you be allowed to construe and enforce the Constitution as you please, on all points in dispute between you and us. You will rule or ruin in all events.”
– Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address (1860)
When Abraham Lincoln issued this prophetic warning, he was talking about the secessionist threats of southern Democrats who would soon tear the nation apart and spark a bloody civil war. But his words are equally haunting today as Democrats are once again demanding that the rule of law take a back seat to their partisan ambitions. This “rule or ruin” radicalism has been on full display over the past several days in Virginia.
On May 8, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Democrats had violated the State Constitution in the process of putting a redistricting referendum before voters that narrowly passed on April 21. What has transpired since then must be regarded as one of the most shocking and outrageous assaults on judicial independence and the separation of powers in American history.
The Virginia referendum, which was on an amendment to the Virginia Constitution, would have allowed Democrats to abolish the nonpartisan redistricting commission which voters had approved in 2020 and implement new U.S. House maps for the 2026 midterms. Democrats’ new map would have almost certainly returned a 10-1 Democrat advantage, whereas the current map is 6-5 Democrat.
But the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that Democrats in the state legislature had not followed the Virginia Constitution in passing the amendment. Under Virginia law, proposed amendments must pass the legislature, then there must be a general election, and then the amendment must pass the legislature again before it goes to voters.
When Virginia Democrats passed the amendment for the first time last October, early voting for the November election had already begun. More than one million people had already cast ballots. As the Republican challengers – led by Virginia Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle – successfully argued, the point of that provision is so that voters know that when they vote for members of the Virginia General Assembly, their vote carries implications for which constitutional amendments may or may not pass.
“Early Virginia voters unknowingly forfeited their constitutionally protected opportunity to vote for or against delegates who favor or disfavor amending the Constitution by not anticipating a legislative vote on a constitutional amendment four days before the last day of voting,” the justices wrote.
The timing of the amendment’s passage through the legislature was only one of many possible constitutional violations which Republicans could have prevailed on. Most egregiously, Democrats also inserted shockingly dishonest language in the referendum language itself, claiming that its purpose was to “restore fairness” – a clear attempt to deceive voters.
The Virginia Supreme Court’s decision should have been the end of the matter – and it initially seemed like it was. Democrat Speaker of the Virginia House Don Scott issued a statement on behalf of his party reading, “we respect the decision of the Supreme Court of Virginia.” State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell and Governor Abigail Spanberger seemed equally resigned.
But then came the flood of outrage from national Democrats and the progressive establishment. Just hours after the ruling was handed down, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated that he was “exploring all options to overturn this shocking decision.” Jeffries made no argument that the ruling itself was flawed.
Those “options” have been as desperate as they are dangerous. On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Jeffries and Virginia House Democrats had discussed Democrats in Richmond lowering the mandatory retirement age for State Supreme Court justices to 54. This would allow Democrats to pack the court with enough liberal activist justices who would overturn the decision and restore the 10-1 map.
Then, on Monday, Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal to the United States Supreme Court asking the justices to stay the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision. Legal experts say the appeal has virtually no merit and should be unanimously rejected, but it nonetheless represents a stunning reversal over the course of just a few hours. After Scott and Surovell claimed to “respect” the State Supreme Court decision, they are now named as the petitioners in the filing asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn that decision. Clearly, they are taking their marching orders from D.C. power brokers.
But perhaps the most revealing comment came from outside Virginia, specifically from Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, widely rumored to be considering a presidential bid in 2028. “3 million voters in Virginia made it clear what they wanted,” Van Hollen posted on X along with a photo of the 10-1 map. “We better use every tool we have to fight this.”
It’s worth pausing to consider what Van Hollen is implying. He makes no argument that Virginia Democrats did not violate the Virginia Constitution. He says that purely by virtue of the amendment passing with 51 percent of the vote, it should remain in effect, even if lawmakers did not follow the rules to put it before voters in the first place.
By this logic, any state legislature anywhere could put any law or amendment before voters and claim that it should remain in effect as long as a majority of voters support it. Following the law either matters or it does not. A judge’s job is to enforce the law as written, and that is precisely what the Virginia Supreme Court did in this case. If the U.S. Supreme Court does as Van Hollen wants, it would throw open the door to anarchy and chaos.
As much as Democrats may not like it, with live in a republican with separation of powers, not a pure majoritarian democracy.
Americans should understand that Virginia is a flashing red warning sign for the “rule or ruin” radicalism that Democrats want to take nationwide. Every time the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling that Democrats don’t like, they threaten to pack that court as well – and they will do it as soon as they have the votes in the Senate. Democrats are also angling to add Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico as states at the earliest opportunity to pack the Senate with four more Democrat seats, outlaw Voter ID and basic election integrity provisions, and pass a host of other legislation taking square aim at the American way of life.
While Democrats claim to be the party of “democracy” and “protecting institutions,” their knee-jerk reaction every time they don’t get what they want is to gut any institution that prevents them from consolidating power. As Abraham Lincoln reminds us, handing such Jacobins the keys to power is the path to destruction.
*Editor’s note: This piece is indebted to the late Tony Dolan for his ingenious mapping of Abraham Lincoln’s “rule or ruin” theme onto modern American politics, an idea which he shared with this author several years ago.
Shane Harris is the Editor-in-Chief of AMAC Newsline. You can follow him on X @shaneharris513.
Democrats are like spoiled children, but unlike children if they don’t get their way they’ll lie, cheat, steal and destroy who even stands in their way. Nothing Is off the table when dealing this political party that would scorch earth this nation than do what’s best for it. Blue states are a disgraced testimate as cities are destroyed from within. Democrat policies have decimated commerce, eliminated infrastructure and created homeless civilizations within their cities. Taxing and regulating everything and everyone if they can get away with it. Despite their pathetic record, they still seem to keep people trapped into believing they are the answer. Democrats no longer hide their agenda, they are the political party of killing the unborn, illegal immigration, voter fraud, gender confusion madness, defunding law and promoting violence. Now we are discovering the massive fraud of billions from government social programs without any oversight. A two party system was designed to have balance but with dems it’s their way or no way.
As usual the Democrats don’t want any part of fair play! They want to be a bunch of brats because they didn’t get their way. They know decent Americans won’t vote for them so as usual they turn to the only page in their playbook CHEAT, CHEAT AND CHEAT some more!
THE DEMONCRATS ARE EVIL TO THE CORE, THEY CAN’T GET ELECTED FAIRLY SO THEY TRY CHEATING, LYING AND STEALING. THEY ARE A TREASONOUS BUNCH OF POWER HUNGERY MORONS WHO CAN’T DO ANYTHING PRODUCTIVE TO IMPROVE OUR SOCIETY. EVERY ILLEGAL AND UNETHICAL ACTION THAT IS UNCOVERED SENDS THEM INTO A 2 YEAR OLDS TANTRUM.
THEY NEED TO GROW UP OR GET OUT.
The dems are reacting like a cornered rabid animal – happy to hear them loudly proclaim how they plan to cheat the system… We knew all along they were cheating to win – now they’re admitting that is their standard operating procedure.
Did they actually think that they could legally create a referendum that is supposed to be on the ballots prior to the start of the actual voting period—this is all very clearly stated in voting laws— and suddenly have it appear on newly issued ballots 4 days before the final Election Day deadline and claim that ALL voters had a chance to decide knowing that the majority of voters would have voted already. Did they think that voters would allow this to just slide past and not complain about being denied the vote like it was some Jedi mind trick. That ploy of believe the words said versus the actions that I do is not working very successfully with voters anymore. And they can throw all the fake tantrums about it they want
This move is simply what Communists do to take over a country. They will literally ruin whatever is in their path to keep them from winning. They have walked all over our Constitution and the GOP in Congress. We should have stood up to their antics long ago instead of waiting until the circumstances were dire. They have brainwashed kids in our public schools for at least 50 years. Many of us paid little attention while they taught our kids to hate America because it is “bad” and they slowly took away parental control through making parents also be “bad”. How many times did your kid come home from elementary school insisting that you change all the light bulbs in the house because you were using too much electricity? And that was just the beginning. We worked and thought our kids were safe in school. That was a big mistake because it was the most unsafe kind of education for we, the people and Democracy. Now we are paying dearly for our apathy. These people are full of Satan and are dangerous. You think all the human suffering in China is awful…it is and it is coming to this country if we are not willing to fight. Pray and do not vote for one Democrat in any election or organ harvesting will be coming to a hospital near you.
They just HATE it when somebody beats them to the punch, “doing unto them what they would do unto others”. Michael J (below) has it right–spoiled children.
That is their philosophy for the entire country. If they are not in charge, they will destroy the country! If they are not designated as a domestic terrorist group, they will burn this nation to the ground just so they can rule over the ashes
Destruction of America is the objective of the progressive left and the leaders in the Dem party. Obama started it and he is still pulling all the strings of the puppets like Schumer AOC, Jeffries. This last one has no brains he repeats what they have put in front of him to read. Pelosi is the money power with Soros behind all this. They do everything illegally and then scream foul when the law and the courts tell them you are breaking the law. They broke the law with this redistricting, they know it but keep on marching to the Supreme Court which they will disband as soon as they return to power. They don’t want legitimate elections that’s why they don’t want ID’d. Yesterday I had to show an ID at the Post Office to mail a package overseas. Or when you change your address. At the bank to change my address. But not when I vote. What is my vote worth when dead people and those here illegally can vote. That is why we see these progressive foreigners taking over our cities. These communists have nothing with our Constitution nor our Constitutional Republic. All they want is absolute power. When the courts rule against them they fight it. Common sense was never present in the dem party but with the enemies in charge of the party it has left the party in everything. All the dems state are making progressive laws and bankrupting those states while the dems in Virginia, CA and Minnesota create a distraction with their outraged policies and lawsuits to destroy this country. They scream about the cost of Operation Epic Fury while for years they were getting kickbacks from the NGO’s bringing the illegals to this country the US Aid programs, social Security payments to dead people. Medicare fraud and Medicaid frauds allowed under the nose of Tampon Timmy. Newsom burning down CA because ENORMOUS sums of money were earmarked to destroy Trump but it destroyed the state instead. And people still vote these democrat subversives in. By voting early and after passing laws so they can claim a large majority. It’s not fraud but is stinks to high heaven because it’s not honest or even legitimate which the Virginia Supreme Court ruled. But like Autopen Biden they don’t take that verdict they want their nonsense to pass. Dictatorial? I would call it that. Nobody is above the law except the Democrats in power today. Time to arrest them.
See CA Map as model of Rule to Ruin
Hakeem Jeffries talking as if he cares about citizens of Virginia and how their rights are
taken by the Republican party and the Virginia Supreme Court. Jeffries doesn’t give a damn about Virginians. All he wants is more seats in the House.
All of us are watching every day what is happening in America. If we don’t stand up now and vote in decent Republicans who will stand up for what American citizens want, not one’s like Rep Massie or Senator Cassidy to name just a few. The Democrat Socialist Party is doing everything they can to take over our freedom. We must take a stand and fight to vote in people for America and our constitution. My wife and I work every day to help Republicans to get into Federal, State, County and Cities in Nevada. I’m asking all of you to do the same. What we do now can either safe our country or let the Socialist destroy our freedom. It’s up to all of us!
It will continue until they are thrown in prison for their crimes against the U.S. and/or states under which they play their criminal games and when we go after those funding such anti-constitutional behavior. Until then there is nothing to stop them from continuously causing mayhem. So if we want it to end then we need to go after them after they have behaved criminally and put them in prison as a lesson to those who seek America’s ruin.
That Abraham Lincoln quote says it ALL. Rule or ruin. Our national is in peril.
Democratic rule is mob rule, the majority decides. Republican rule is the rule of law. The democrats don’t want to follow the law, they want mob rule.
If the whining, lying, mega-corrupt, Socialist Democrats, masters of deception, waste, fraud and abuse can’t secretly and openly CHEAT, they go ballistic.
Another one of their satanic battle cries is “To hell with ANY laws. We don’t need no stinking laws. We are above the laws”.
Islamists like Jeffries can’t help but expose their inner drives against us infidels.
It’s hard to believe by 75M Americans want to destroy America from within. It’s just sad that our country has come to this.
You can see that the DIMMs haven’t changed much in 166 years! They still deny the personhood of a class of people [babies], they still support nullification of national laws [immigration], and they still support domestic terrorism [Antifa, BLM, anti-Semites].
Just like when Lincoln was President, now President Trump needs to deal with our enemies! The Democratic Party and their allies have consistently conspired to destroy America and President Trump anyway they can! They are the biggest threat and enemies we have! We the true patriots and Americans of this country must stand up together and fight for our President and our country, we can no longer stand by and accept the attacks of our domestic enemies!
If this was not so serious, it would be funny. There seems to be no shortage of people willing to march in a No King demonstration. Yet here are representatives from a state and national party willing to do exactly what a king that despises his people would do. Say like King George 250 years ago? I suppose that the state legislature could mandate a retirement age. But I don’t see how they could make it retroactive. If such a law is passed, the DOJ, GOP and others should file suit. If nothing else, VA would be tied up in litigation until way past November.
Some dude in Europe did this very thing in the 1930s. It did not turn out very well for the millions who were on the losing side of these decrees by populist support.
Democratic Socialist, National Socialist, Progressive Socialist. All the same.
This all goes back to the 1960’s and 70’s when education began to ‘dumb down” no longer requiring students to read and understand our U.S. Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Students no longer Pledge allegiance to our Flag and Country. Very few know to place their hand over their heart when the National Anthem is played before sporting events. Democrats took a page out of the Communist playbook and went after under educated young people who are now adults with no idea that they have been played by the Democrats. Old persons like me find the Democrats behavior despicable and un-American. Shame on anyone who can’t think for themselves
Remember this…every assassination attempt in our history against a sitting president was done by a democrat.
Democrats are already ruined and seek to ruin the rest if the United States. They are without salvation. Nothing can restore their souls.
So why didn’t anyone ask the senator why Democrats were not prepared to let Trump stay in office during his first term. Isn’t impeachment overruling the votes of millions?
Can someone explain how a congressional minority leader representing NY can “legally” go to another state and help fight their battles? Is it because the illegal map was to benefit the House of Representatives and allow them
the power to impeach our president & all his cabinet members?
He looks like a Pedo .
Democrats ARE the party of democracy. Democracy is simply an elected dictatorship. Once they are elected, they rule over the population until they die or are removed from office. If this sounds like communism, Ding Ding Ding, you’re right, it’s the same thing.
The United States is a Constitutional Republic where elected officials serve the public with their power limited by the Constitution. Tyrants hate being constrained by anything but their own lust for power.
Rule of ruin? Yea, that’s been done to the tune of over 100 million people murdered by their own government since 1900. Actually it’s well over that number, but if that number doesn’t shock you then you’re a heartless piece of garbage anyway.
NEVER VOTE FOR A DEMOCRAT, AND CHOOSE YOUR CONSERVATIVES WISELY!
Excellent article. It puts the matter in plain English for everyone to read.
Yep, starting with Trump in 2016, the more the Dems lose, the more desperate they get, and the more they are drawn out into the daylight, drawn into revealing what communists they really are.
Question is — will that 48% that voted for Kamala/Walz ever EVER figure it out ??
Robert Welch once said,'”The best example of pure democracy in action is a lynch mob.”
Back in the days when lynch mobs were a Soluthern Democrat thing.
Welp. The west coast has Kalifornia. Now the EAST coast has Virginia…
Doesn’t leave much choice for the rest of U.S.. does it?
I would like to see a jail cell reserved for Chris Van Hollen. This man is a traitor among traitors. How did we end up with all these installed rats in our congress? This is the guy who fought for the MS13 criminal to take him back from jail in El Salvador and put him back in the USA to prey again on our citizenry. Lock him up please !
The Marxist/Communist Dems are so evil and pathetic. Their philosophy, burn it down and destroy everything. Totally insane, but here we are. Please vote! The future of the country depends on it!
Yet another sound and poinient article, mapping the fact that while the Dems may change tactics at times, the fact is that they are still the Racist, profiteering, anti Republic party they’ve always been and will rig and ruin anything they have to for the ultimate prize, Power and Rule as a Monarchy!
It is the Democrat Way of doing business. Democrats have done NOTHING good for America since they started.
Putting the Supreme Court on the national agenda would the last nail in the coffin for the Democrats. All of America would turn out to crush them.
“If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.” Ronald Reagan
democrats don’t want an independent judiciary. They want a judiciary full of liberal activist judges who will do their bidding the Constitution be damned. as for the appeal that legal experts say should be unanimously rejected by the Court: it probably won’t be because Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Brown-Jackson won’t let that happen.
HOW MANY DISTRICT VOTING PLACES HAVE COMPUTERIZED TABULATION MACHINES!!! THESE CAN BE ALTERED BY SEVERAL MEANS TO CHANGE THE VOTES IT TABULATES!! A USB PORT WITH A FLASH DRIVE TO CHANGE THE ALGORITHM. A MODEM THAT CAN SIGN IN FROM A LOCATION AND NEW ALGORITHMS TO CHANGE VOTES. BOTH OF THESE METHODS CAN BE CHANGED BACK ONCE THE TOTAL IS DETERMINED!!! THIS IS JUST ONE WAY THE DEMONRATS CHEAT AND STEAL ELECTIONS!!
Should be every state Constitution.
As a Virginia resident, I’m convinced that a “majority” of those voting on the amendment did not want the change. If the wording had not been so egregiously misleading, it never would have passed in the first place.
Democrats may regret going to the SCOTUS. Powell’s dissent in VA recognized that the election season (rather than day) language of the VA court majority runs afoul of the federal law and jurisprudence on absentee ballots where they maintain a fiction that early voting doesn’t count, only the consummation on election day. For VA elections, the legislature may do as they wish, but the VA court undercut the semantic fiction of lower court rulings that provided equitable relief for absentee voters couched as a semantic trick. Thomas and Alito are likely salivating at putting the proper language into their concurrence. Roberts likely will take the position “that issue is not before the court”, but a 1st year law student could then see writing on the wall to roll back “no excuse” vote by mail for federal elections. When that happens, it will be the biggest self own in political history.
The three million voters that voted for this, were misinformed, I think, but the vote tally was close. Leaders in Virgina conceded it, so the court rules in spite of the federal democrats, Good.
Jeffries is crying like a spoiled little brat because the SCOTUS decision favors Republicans. But states that had proposals to increase the number of Democrats didn’t seem to bother him. And, as usual, the one and only issue on his mind is race.
Over half of Americans KNOW that the mega-corrupt, lying, Illegals-FIRST, America-LAST, masters of WASTE, FRAUD, ABUSE, deception, deceit, violence, and law enforcement defunding DemoRATS are America’s ENEMIES WITHIN.
Now the ignorantly arrogant rest of the country needs to wake the hell up and come to terms with this REALITY.
Ironic that the DUMOCRATS are calling for mandatory retirement and term limits for others in positions held by the opposition, but have not called for the same limits on themselves as members of the house of representatives & the Senate.
Today’s democrats, socialist/democrats, Bernie Sanders/AOC communists are the products of the evolution of America’s plantation aristocracy(huh!) into U.S. neo oligarchs. Modern day robber barons fighting politically and socially to take by hook or crook each and every cent the capitalist economy of America generates. They are the
masters of form a lie and twist it into a new truth. They are products of the slime democrats of Bill and Hillary Clinton, control the public parlance and the education system, control the nation. Intentionally or not they have established all of the basic socioeconomic conditional prerequisites to a civil war. The dumbing down of the greatest nation in the history of mankind.
I used to think that, but now I see them as narcissists with wildly inflated opinions about how smart they actually are. Almost everything they do boils down to self-flattery. They care more, they are more just, more logical, cleverer, than you. And the only way to show you that is to take control of your life and run it for you.
It always baffled me – wind and solar simply don’t make much sense and are very expensive. So why do progressives favor them? Then I figured it out – the giant wind towers and fields of solar panels are billboards to their superiority, to their caring. It’s why they love even when they double the price of energy.