I was prompted to take a look at this again by news yesterday that Sen. McConnell signed a brief by Sen. Cruz in the Colorado case that asserts that the Colorado Supreme Court usurped Congress' authority in disqualifying Trumpie from its ballot. Baude, Paulsen and their sympathizers like Tribe argue forcibly that 1) 14A sec 3 applies to the president and that 2) it is self-executing.
It seems to me that by exclusion the Amendment does not apply to the president; that is, the Amendment mentions Senators, Congresspersons, officers, presidential "electors", if they had meant the Amendment to apply to the president they could have used the word "president". I still see it that way.
I have expressed confusion on how 14A sec 3 could be self-executing that could be and 14A sec 3 does not say how that can be. It seems to me somebody has to find facts for disqualification. The Colorado Supreme Court and the Maine Secretary of State are somebodies and they did find facts and disqualified Trumpie. Congress is composed of somebodies but 14A sec 3 does not give Congress the role of disqualifying. It seems to exclude Congress from finding facts to disqualify because it says "Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability." It seems that Congress is the appellate authority, not the Supreme Court of the United States, once somebody other than Congress finds facts and disqualifies.
So whatever else the Cruz brief argues it seems to me that it is backasswards that the Colorado court usurped Congress' authority. No, Congress' authority is intact and clear from the Amendment. If Congress wants Trumpie on the Colorado ballot Congress must "by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove" the disqualification.
