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| Master Puppeteer |
Well, the Cherokee Nation is back in the Tiawan News, for what that’s worth.
It’s not a shining moment for APCSJC. The AP is reporting that the Cherokee Nation is in contempt of court for not complying with last week’s court order.
We find out from the associated press that some of the Cherokee Nation’s punishment for APCSJC not obeying the order is…. Giving more voting dates to the freedmen. Which only benefits Crittenden’s choice for Chief, Bill John Baker. Just asking a simple, hypothetical question: if the punishment for not following a court order is that your political ally benefits, what kind of system is that? Usually, you are supposed to feel bad after getting punished for violating a court order, but that’s not the vibe we’re getting here.
At the same time, we find out that Baker wants to reopen voting for “Cherokees living in Oklahoma” (which is either an intentional or unintentional middle finger pointed in the direction of out of state Cherokees), but not anyone else. Maybe he came to the same conclusions we did after the election commission posted the turnout numbers and decided it didn’t look good.
So if Baker wants to change the election laws after the fact, who can help him? Well, three people at least. One is APC S. Joe Crittenden. Another is Judge Kennedy in DC. And the third is the mysterious Jon Velie, the freedmen's lawyer.
If an AP report is to be believed, Velie and Crittenden are asking Kennedy to give Baker what he wants. Velie (remember, he’s the lawyer that was arguing in court last week that the Cherokee Nation should be terminated as a tribe) told the AP that the “Cherokee Nation suggested adding extra walk-in dates” for freedmen, and “Another option, which was originally promoted by the Cherokee Nation and is now endorsed by the freedmen, would allow all Cherokees to vote on the additional walk-in dates.”
Just so our factual timeline is straight:
Friday night: everything is hunky-dory with Baker and Crittenden--- Freedmen can vote extra times, but not Cherokees.
Saturday: Election Day.
Sunday: Baker realizes he’s behind and asks for more time for Cherokees to vote, something he forgot to mention before the election.
Monday: Crittenden and freedmen lawyer Velie ask a federal judge to do their candidate a solid and open up voting for Cherokees, never mind what the election laws of the Cherokee Nation are.
Tuesday: the judge may agree to give Baker what he wants.
Remember, these are SUGGESTIONS BY THE CHEROKEE NATION (APCSJC) to add extra dates for freedmen and extend the voting. If the judge orders this, its because it’s agreed upon by all parties, and apparently the freedmen aren’t having to negotiate too hard with APCSJC, who seems to be volunteering to change our election laws before anyone (except Baker) asks.
Whatever you want to say about Baker, he appears to be a master puppeteer, with the freedmen’s lawyer and the acting principal chief doing his bidding in federal court.
