The King George III Prize

FOR THE WORST ABUSES OF CIVIL LIBERTIES

An “Award” Calling Out the Worst Abusers of Civil Liberties

The New Civil Liberties Alliance is proud to announce the Fourth Annual King George III Prize – a campaign to call attention to the most egregious violations of our basic civil liberties by highlighting the people and institutions responsible for those abuses. In many cases, especially where the Administrative State is involved, the perpetrators are unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats protected by byzantine layers of regulatory process. Their violations are often hidden from public view, obfuscated by a lack of notice, circumvention of due process, and a damnably incurious press.

But no more! The King George III Prize is here to shine the light of transparency on these constitutional misdeeds! They say sunlight is the best disinfectant. Look on these execrable works, ye reader, but despair no longer!

 

Wait … Are You Serious?

While NCLA is seriously committed to defending our most basic civil liberties, these awards are intended to be a satirical take on some of the people and institutions who have the most impact on our civil liberties. Inspired by examples such as the Golden Fleece Awards and the Golden Raspberry Awards (The Razzies!), the King George III Prize competition (aka, the Georgies) is a light-hearted way to discuss topics about which everyone should care deeply.

 

This Year: Two Brackets!

In keeping with the spirit of the madness of March and King George, we introduce two tournament brackets: one with 16 nominees comprising the state and federal agencies and officials who committed the worst abuses of civil liberties in 2023 and a second bracket devoted exclusively to 16 state and federal officials who dedicated their efforts to censorship and violating the First Amendment in 2023. Join us as we thumb our noses at these runaway regulators, officious bureaucrats, and god-complex governors. Watch gleefully as we force them to battle it out head-to-head in tournament-style match-ups.

 

Not familiar with a tournament-style bracket like this? Don’t worry! You don’t need to be a sports fan to enjoy voting for the nominee you think most deserves to “win.”

 
For the next f weeks, we will present a series of match-ups and collect your votes for which agencies or officials should win their match-ups. All you have to do is pick a winner in each head-to-head face-off! For example, whom do you choose between Miguel Cardona and Danny Werfel? Say you vote for Cardona and he beats Werfel, then Cardona advances to the next round. And so on.
 

All of the nominees will face off, two at a time, until there are only two nominees left standing. Those two ignominious officials will face each other in the championship, with the winner to be announced at the Fourth Annual King George III Prize Banquet in early June 2024.

 

Who Is Eligible to Win a King George III Prize?

To be eligible for the King George III Prize, the nominee must be a policy-level decision maker at a federal, state, or local government agency or institution. So, most elected officials and bureaucrats are eligible. However, judges and front line field officers are not. These folks no doubt violate civil liberties, too (inexcusably at times), but this ‘prize’ focuses on deliberate policies, not wrong conduct. Moreover, the action for which the official is nominated should be one with broader policy implications for the vindication of a constitutionally protected right. This award isn’t for policies we don’t like, but rather for people who implement rules that infringe our civil liberties.

We also exclude past winners (like Anthony Fauci and Merrick Garland), as well as US Senators and Representatives, the latter because their misdeeds have to survive bicameral presentment and an executive veto. Lastly, we exclude the President of the United States because if the most powerful executive in the nation was allowed to compete, that official would likely be the runaway winner every year. So, let’s just call POTUS a given and have some fun singling out the other abusers!

Vote Right Here! Right Now!

This is your chance to vote on the match-ups in the current round of the tournament for the King George III Prize!

Lampooning King George III Prize Nominees on Social Media

2023 Winner

Merrick Garland

United States Attorney General

See voting bracket

You may think and say ONLY what I allow! Merrick Garland garnered more votes than any other nominee this year! Bad enough that he has presided over the reckless and corrosive politicization of the Department of Justice, but he trampled all over the First Amendment to do it. Whether to protect the government’s precious COVID narrative, or tamper with electoral outcomes, Garland’s DOJ has worked to silence Americans, trying to control them in the process. His reward? The King George III Prize!!!

2022 Winner

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Former Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States

See voting bracket

Took the prize by a landslide for undermining public understanding of naturally acquired immunity to Covid-19, pretending for many months—in a way that led thousands or more people to lose their jobs—that a vaccine should still be mandated for those with antibodies from natural immunity. So much for following the science!

2021 Federal Winner

Nina Witkofsky

Former Chief of Staff, Centers for Disease Control

See voting bracket

NCLA sued the CDC over its unconstitutional eviction moratorium, because it violates the right to access the courts, exceeds limits on the Supremacy Clause, raises serious non-delegation doctrine concerns, and implicates anti-commandeering principles and precedents. Forget for the moment that the CDC’s jurisdiction cannot possibly extend to regulating local real estate. It’s not even clear the federal government has the power to do this. The CDC claims that the power comes from the Commerce Clause to the US Constitution, which allows the federal government to regulate interstate commerce. But what, we ask, could be more local (and less interstate) than a property interest in a location, a.k.a. land?!

2021 State Winner

Andrew Cuomo

New York Governor (2011-2021)

See voting bracket

Do we even have to explain how Governor Cuomo (NY) ended up our number one seed in the state bracket? We could point to the deadly consequences of forcing nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients. Or the infringement of religious liberty and other freedoms. Or perhaps the economic devastation wrought by the endless series of lockdowns, restrictions, and other tyrannical abuses of power. And for what? The evidence now seems to indicate that those unlawful and abusive policies did nothing to improve health outcomes for New Yorkers. And, of course, the nursing home edict was downright lethal.

#TheGeorgies

We must admit, we are having tons of fun coming up with memes for these nominees. They provide so much material and it’s our job to call them out on it on social media. We invite you to download, share and use our hashtag #TheGeorgies

+  2023 KG3 Memes Collection

+  2022 KG3 Memes Collection

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