Even if one is a hard-core news junkie, the name Jocelyn Benson probably doesn't ring a bell. But as this election cycle continues from the sublime to the ridiculous, the Michigan Secretary of State should be someone to which you should at least pay a little attention. 

If you'll recall, back in late 2023, a lawsuit was filed in the state of Colorado claiming that Donald Trump was ineligible to be on the ballot due to his alleged violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, something never adjudicated in any court proceeding, and yet the case quickly worked its way to the Colorado Supreme Court, and they upheld the finding in fact, based again on no prior court proceeding. There simply was no due process. The Colorado Secretary of State, Jena Griswold, hailed the move and gleefully struck Trump from the ballot. In Maine, without any action in their state court system, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, like Griswold, a hyper-partisan Democrat, decided that Trump was ineligible to be on the ballot in the Pine Tree State, and arbitrarily removed him. 

It took until March of 2024 before the United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Colorado Supreme Court got way out in front of their skis, and reversed their decision. Griswold and Bellows sheepishly restored Trump's standing on their respective state ballots, complaining bitterly every step of the way, although it's very hard to fight a 9-0 ruling from a Court that includes Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and Elena Kagan. 

So the out of control lefty secretaries of state were put on notice, as well as rogue state supreme courts. That means no more shenanigans, right? Enter Michigan Secretary of State Benson.

Last week, Benson, the state's Democratic Party, and a token Democratic Michigan voter challenged the standing of left-wing independent candidate Cornel West's appearance on the ballot. West is polling in the 1-2% range, but would theoretically pull votes away almost entirely from Kamala Harris. West's campaign immediately sued to reverse the decision, and on Saturday, Judge James Robert Redford ordered West's return to the ballot. Benson has promised to appeal the decision. For muh democracy. 

Simultaneously, Benson this week made another decision about who will and who won't be on the Michigan ballot. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. made national news last Friday in Arizona when he announced he was suspending his campaign, and would be filing motions to withdraw from the ballot in all of the swing states where his appearance could affect the outcome of the election negatively for Donald Trump, the candidate RFK endorsed. Benson responded by rejecting the filing from Kennedy, in essence forcing his name to remain on the ballot, because it is widely believed that on the margin, Kennedy's name takes more votes away from Trump than from Harris. Her logic is non-existent when applied to the decisions in West and Kennedy unless you view it through a partisan Democratic lens, and are using the power of your public office in order to put your thumb on the scale for the top of the ticket from your side. For muh democracy. 

Here's what makes the case of Jocelyn Benson even more special. On January 6th, 2023, in the famous gold-draped East Room of the White House, President Joe Biden muddled his way through a Presidential Citizens Medal ceremony for the aforementioned Benson, the second-highest civilian media the government can bestow upon a citizen of the United States. Why, you ask? For her exemplary service to protect election integrity and for defending democracy.



January 6th was a bad day. It just was. But the Democratic Party has hijacked January 6th as their own personal Patriot Act. Democrats truly believe that because of what happened on J6, they are entitled to serve as judge, jury, and political executioner of Republicans in order to save democracy. And what can save democracy more than making sure Democrats have an electoral advantage at every turn in order to be in a future position to protect it?

I remember very well the dog days of November and December of 2000, when the knife fights were waged over dimpled, dangling, and pregnant chads on election cards in Broward, Palm Beach, Volusia, and Miami-Dade counties in Florida. Democrats - from poll watchers all the way up to the rogue Florida Supreme Court, spent 36 days gleaning the intent of voters that did not cast a vote for Al Gore but certainly must have meant to, so we must count it for him anyway, was the kind of election interference Republican were fighting from Democrats believing democracy was at stake then, too. In addition, to further defend democracy, Democrats tried to discard thousands of military votes from active duty personnel serving tours of duty. This idea of Democrats cheating and attempting to steal elections is nothing new. Their tactics are just changing. 

Instead of actually trying to reverse the results of elections, which Democrats in power are certainly still willing to do, they're much more likely to try rigging the contest before early voting begins. It seems they have discovered that rigging the ballots ahead of time is much neater and easier than going in with a hatchet afterwards to change the outcome. 

Muh democracy - it's not a statement of patriotic pride with the left. It's a shield from which they hide behind while systematically destroying it.