Patriot Act Treason
The question of the 14th. Amendments' requisite oath to: "... Protect and Defend The Constitution of The United States" is, as you say, "Legally Binding", but the object of any law is, logically, its intended effect. With that in mind, I would pose the following: Is it reasonable to expect every government office-holder to become an expert in Constitutional Jurisprudence, lest he inadvertently "Act" to the detriment of 'The Constitution' and possibly to his own foolhardy vilification, and is that specifically 'The Defect' the provision sought to correct, or is it rather the work of those members who would stifle, or refuse participation to certain new members coming from the newly reconstituted "South"? In any case, is the 14th. Amendment the best mechanism to address this or other threats to our nation today? I fear instead, a wholesale breakdown in the polity, where charges and counter-charges are leveled