The criminal prosecutions that Democrats have brought against Donald Trump are all flimsy to various degrees. But the current effort to bar Trump from the 2024 ballot as an “insurrectionist” is possibly their weakest attempt yet.

Nevertheless, it continues to gain traction, as reflected in this news from a few hours ago:

This theory is based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which reads in part:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President…who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States…to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

Tom Cotton comments pithily on this legal theory:

I don’t doubt that the Democrats would have liked to charge Trump with “insurrection” under Title 18, §2383 of the U.S. Code, but they didn’t attempt to do that, presumably because the theory is so transparently stupid. So evidently their fallback theory is that in a particular state, Colorado in the above instance, local officials should take the initiative to bar Trump from the ballot, thus forcing him to go to court to reverse their decision. Or else, prior to any administrative action, there could be a proceeding in which a court would determine whether or not Trump “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” within the meaning of the Amendment. How far this gets presumably will depend on the integrity of local officials and courts, but likely the Democrats’ real objective is to embroil Trump in as many legal proceedings as possible in the months leading up to the election.

All of which confirms, as Senator Cotton says, that the Democrats will do anything, engage in any dishonesty, violate any norms, shred the fabric of civil society, if it will increase their power.