by Renee Parsons

As the mid term 2022 elections approach, there is an expectation that with thirty Democratic House retirements and the continued unraveling of the Biden Administration that the Dems are about to experience historic losses in both the House and Senate.  

However, the evil geniuses within the Democratic party have identified the Fourteenth Amendment as a vehicle to thwart Republican dreams of achieving a massive political realignment.  Therefore, it may be shortsighted to count what was once the party of Jefferson down and out until their last glimmer of frenzy has been extinguished.

Section 3, also known as the Disqualification Clause, was added to the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868 allowed that No Member of Congress or a State legislature “shall have engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”   In other words, any such official sworn to uphold the US Constitution may be banned from holding public office if engaged in what might be defined as an ‘insurrection’ or ‘rebellion.’  

Soon after the 2016 election, one hundred senior government staffers with links to Never Trumpers, former Obama White House and Open Society Foundation staffers were organized by Marc Elias, Democratic party Super Duper Fixer and top brain trust strategist.  Elias is credited with the ultimately ineffective Russiagate scandal and establishing the Transition Integrity Project which now reads like a blueprint on how to remove Trump from the White House if he won the 2020 election.  Elias’ efforts concede that if the Dems cannot win with public support on the issues, they must then resort to whatever nefarious deception they can concoct. 

With the Fourteenth Amendment in his back pocket, Elias has now taken the lead promising that 

“Before the midterm election, we will have a serious discussion about whether individual Republican House Members are disqualified by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment from serving in Congress. “ 

While a joint session of Congress was to scrutinize and certify each State’s 2020 election results during the January 6 (J6) certification process, the “Stop the Steal” Capitol demonstration became the ideal foil to allege that a violent assault was organized to stop Congress from declaring Joe Biden to be the 2020 winner.   

As the 2022 election is upon us, the Democrats have begun  a robust campaign to accuse certain  House Members of Fourteenth Amendment violations as a recent mailing from the 315electionfund.org  states that “Nearly 70 Republicans who participated in the January 6 attack on our Capitol are currently HOLDING elected office throughout the country.”    

Once a first rate investigative journal, Rolling Stone magazine relied on anonymous sources who provided no facts, no evidence and no  corroborating information while accusing seven Republican members of the House of Representatives who acting as ‘insurrectionists” in planning and participating in J6. 

Those named included Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as well as US House of Representative Members Paul  Gosar (Az), Andy Biggs (Az), Madison Cawthorn (NC), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Lauren Boebert (Colo), Mo Brooks (Ala) and Louie Gohmert (Tx) who claimed there was no evidence of an “armed insurrection” and that “Not one person has been charged with bringing a firearm to the Capitol.”

• To date, the first Fourteenth Amendment attack has been against US Rep. Madison Cawthorn  (R-NC) who attended J6 and participated in the Congressional J6 House vote count.  Under the guise of an independent nonprofit Free Speech for People,  a complaint has been lodged  on behalf of some Cawthorn constituents  with the North Carolina Board of Election.  The FSP asserted  that Cawthorn does not meet the constitutional requirements as outlined in Section 3  and is therefore ineligible to run for re-election. 

Cawthorn has responded with a suit against the five member  NCBE citing that under North Carolina law, the candidate has the burden of proof to show that he is qualified to be elected. In addition, Cawthorn cited that Section 3 is unconstitutional since it is the U.S. House of Representative’s exclusive power to determine the qualifications for its Members.   

• More recently, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks is the latest to receive a legal challenge for removal from the ballot per the Fourteenth Amendment.  Banks had been denied a place on the Democratic House J6 Investigation by Speaker Nancy Pelosi after which Republicans boycotted the panel.  Banks is Chair of the Republican Study Group and on J6 voted against Biden’s Electoral  College win. 

• While  Rep. Lauren Boebert (Co) attended the J6 rally, she has been identified as an ‘insurrectionist and is looking at a primary contest by a well-funded former RINO State Senator.  If Boebert’s opposition makes it on the ballot, it may be expected that formal accusations of being ineligible per the Fourteenth will become a campaign issue.

• One such J6 attack against a state legislator has been lodged against Colorado State Rep. Ron Hanks who is running in the Republican US Senate primary to challenge Democratic incumbent Senator Michael Bennett who recently sent out a fund raising email citing Hanks’ attendance at J6:  

“Proud January 6th insurrectionist and Michael’s leading Republican opponent, State Rep. Ron Hanks won a straw poll following a Republican primary debate, beating out other Republican Senate candidates.  This momentum is putting a spotlight on Hanks that is drawing supporters into his campaign, so we have to act fast. Ron Hanks rallied with rioters who attempted to overthrow our democracy. His views are extreme, and he doesn’t represent Colorado’s values. He is out to undermine Democracy.”

According to Reuters, the FBI found “scant evidence  of an organized plot” to overthrow certification of the 2020 election, according to four current and former federal law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.  Those same sources further declared that the  U.S. Capitol demonstration  was “not centrally coordinated” by far right Trump supporters and that “there was no grand scheme… to storm the Capitol and take hostages.”

In addition, the alleged Congressional J6 Oversight committee has yet to hold a public hearing with bona fide testimony or facts as RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, said the J6 select committee represents a “Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse.”  

While the Amnesty Act of 1872 reversed the majority of office holding disqualifications of Section 3, the Elias forces will continue to snarl 2022 campaign era in pursuit of legal retaliation.

Renee Parsons served on the ACLU’s Florida State Board of Directors and as president of the ACLU Treasure Coast Chapter. She has been an elected public official in Colorado, staff in the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender, an environmental lobbyist for Friends of the Earth and a staff member of the US House of Representatives in Washington DC. She can be found at reneedove3@yahoo.com