By Jessica Orsini
Crusades are curious affairs. Driven by religious fervor, they are one of the ultimate expressions of the philosophy of “the end justifying the means”. The supposed righteousness of the cause is used to excuse the tactics employed. And most often, the end result is harmful to all involved.
Jessica Orsini
Missouri’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey is no stranger to crusades, and Missourians no stranger to all of the inherent harms thereof. During the greatest pandemic in a century, he crusaded against public health measures, attacking cash-strapped school districts for trying to do their level best to balance the need for in-school instruction with the safety of students. When a federal judge tossed a blatantly unconstitutional Missouri firearms law, he vowed to crusade against that crystal-clear interpretation of the Supremacy Clause. He crusaded against the voters’ right to a ballot initiative restoring reproductive rights, fighting tooth and nail to prevent the initiative from reaching the ballot. He crusaded against student debt relief, claiming to do so on behalf of MOHELA… despite that company’s disinterest in him doing so. He crusaded against the right of parents to make informed choices with their doctors regarding the treatment of their children, doing so via a tortured interpretation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act. He crusaded on behalf of three lawmakers who decided to use social media to defame an innocent bystander at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade shooting, vowing to use state funds to defend them in court.
No, A.G. Bailey is no stranger to crusades. And now, he’s taken on a new one, crusading against the state of New York for having the audacity of enforcing that state’s laws to the detriment of former President Trump. Bailey asserts that the New York case – and indeed, all other criminal cases against Trump, both in federal and state courts – are “unconstitutional lawfare”.
For the complete column, see this week’s edition of the Centralia Fireside Guard
