To the editor: I listened to the Supreme Court's argument and read numerous articles in The Times about whether former President Trump should be disqualified from the 2024 election. Most raise the question that applying Section 3 of the 14th Amendment would have the antidemocratic effect of prevent citizens from voting for their preferred candidate.
Of course! The whole point of that clause was to do exactly that: prevent voters, Southern voters at the time, from electing Confederate heroes.
The idea of allowing those who had so violently and brutally violated their oath to the Constitution to return to power was abhorrent, of course. The drafters of the 14th Amendment had the foresight to apply it to any future insurrection as well.
And, of course, it applies to the president. The linguistic pretzels the Supreme Court engages in in trying to make this an issue are almost humorous.
Even if Trump were to win 51% of the vote, his devotees should not be able to subject American democracy to a president whose oath of office means nothing to him and is willing to attack constitutional government to stay in office.
Paul Stull, Carpentry
