By Earl Taylor, Jr. |

The U.S. Constitution is very clear with regards to the requirements to hold any public office in the United States. One of the requirements is as follows:

“Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—’I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.’” (Article 2, Section 1, U.S. Constitution)

Also:

“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution…” (Article 6, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution)

The requirement of taking an oath is in addition to other qualifications listed in the Constitution to hold public office, such as age, birth, citizenship, residency, and more. No person, even if elected, may legitimately hold any office in the United States or any particular state unless that person promises under oath to support, protect, and defend the principles of the U.S. Constitution.

Some may ask, then, what about candidates today who have announced they want to eliminate some basic constitutional provisions, such as the executive or judicial branches of our government? Such actions would destroy our system of checks and balances and limited government. The nation first tried this type of government in the Articles of Confederation, which had neither executive nor federal courts. It was a disaster and led to the Founders wisely adopting the U.S. Constitution in its place with limited, enumerated powers distributed among three branches.

The Founders also provided that the Constitution may be amended, allowing for changes to be made within the document as time and circumstances required, but not to throw out the whole document. It has been amended 27 times.

Those who advocate for the complete dismantling of our system of government should be stopped at the gate—not allowed to lie their way into public office by taking an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution” while intending to destroy the very heart and structure of the Constitution they have sworn to uphold. That’s especially true when America’s enemies have openly pledged to do precisely that. The Founders called such action by would-be public officials treason, which they defined as giving aid and comfort to enemies of the United States.

The people must awaken to this awful situation.

Earl Taylor, Jr. is the President of The National Center for Constitutional Studies.