Throw them out ?
MSN News
With less than a year to go, the 2024 election cycle is already filled with intrigue - third parties, voter suppression laws, simultaneous felony prosecutions and more. Now consider this scenario:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules Donald Trump cannot be president again because he broke his first oath of office when he rebelled against the Constitution. Meantime, a 125-year-old clause in the Constitution purges Congress of more than half of its Republicans. Democrats and Independents use the opportunity for a historic collaboration to restore the people’s confidence in democracy.
A purge on this historic scale may be implausible, but it’s theoretically possible because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as the Disqualification Clause. It says public officials who aid or take part in an insurrection against the U.S. Constitution violate the oaths they took to support it. Section 3 disqualifies them from serving in state or federal government again.
Taken literally, the clause applies not only to Trump but to scores and even hundreds of people in Congress, state legislatures and other public offices who aided or participated in his plot to defy the Constitution and remain in power after losing the 2020 election. Many plan to run for reelection next year.
Voters and voter organizations have filed lawsuits in more than half the states to enforce the Disqualification Clause. The news media have faithfully reported on lower-court rulings so far, so I won’t rehash the details. But a few points deserve more attention:
With less than a year to go, the 2024 election cycle is already filled with intrigue - third parties, voter suppression laws, simultaneous felony prosecutions and more. Now consider this scenario:
The U.S. Supreme Court rules Donald Trump cannot be president again because he broke his first oath of office when he rebelled against the Constitution. Meantime, a 125-year-old clause in the Constitution purges Congress of more than half of its Republicans. Democrats and Independents use the opportunity for a historic collaboration to restore the people’s confidence in democracy.
A purge on this historic scale may be implausible, but it’s theoretically possible because of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution, also known as the Disqualification Clause. It says public officials who aid or take part in an insurrection against the U.S. Constitution violate the oaths they took to support it. Section 3 disqualifies them from serving in state or federal government again.
Taken literally, the clause applies not only to Trump but to scores and even hundreds of people in Congress, state legislatures and other public offices who aided or participated in his plot to defy the Constitution and remain in power after losing the 2020 election. Many plan to run for reelection next year.
Voters and voter organizations have filed lawsuits in more than half the states to enforce the Disqualification Clause. The news media have faithfully reported on lower-court rulings so far, so I won’t rehash the details. But a few points deserve more attention: