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Constitution

SOURCE: The Nation
11/17/2020

American Democracy Was Never Supposed to Work

by Richard Kreitner

"Merely ousting Trump is not enough without addressing more fundamental weaknesses in our political system, especially an outdated Constitution that continues to serve a minority of wealthy and white citizens and to curb any movements that might threaten their wealth and power."

SOURCE: The Atlantic
10/21/2020

The Forgotten Third Amendment Could Give Pandemic-Struck America a Way Forward

by Alexander Zhang

Could the Third Amendment's ban on quartering of troops in private homes be expanded to establish a right to protection against pandemics? The history of troop quartering shows objections to it were closely connected with fear of disease.

SOURCE: New York Daily News
10/12/2020

Our Unrepresentative Republic

by Mark Boonshoft

We should understand that plans to add states or end the Electoral College are plans to restore actual representation. Their opponents are defending a system of virtual representation. You don’t have to be a party hack to see these similarities.

SOURCE: Bloomberg Opinion
10/8/2020

Yes, Mike Lee, America is a Democracy

by Jonathan Bernstein

Mike Lee's insistence that the US is "a republic" and not "a democracy" is a petty distinction that ignores the historically interchangeable usage of the terms in American politics in order to justify undemocratic rule by a minority party.

SOURCE: New York Magazine
10/8/2020

Republican Senator Blurts Out That He Hates Democracy

Jonathan Chait says that Senator Mike Lee's insistence that the US is a republic and not a democracy is not a point of constitutional principle but a political defense of minority rule.

9/6/2020

The Headless Horseman: William Barr and the Attorney General in History (Part 2)

by James D. Zirin

In the conclusion of his two-part analysis of William Barr's actions as Attorney General, former prosecutor James Zirin argues that Barr has hitched his office completely to the Trump Train.

SOURCE: TIME
8/24/2020

How a Political Dispute Over the Early American Postal System Could Have Jeopardized the Whole U.S. Constitution

by Robert W.T. Martin

The nation has always depended on systems for sharing information and ideas. Disruptions to those systems can be devastating. Ask the Anti-Federalists.

8/23/2020

James Madison’s Last Stand: Are We Witnessing the End of Liberal Democracy?

by Richard Matthews

The Trump presidency is a stern test of James Madison's design for a government that could govern without becoming tyrannical. The people and the ballot may be the last of Madison's checks and balances left.

8/16/2020

The Paradox of Executive Underreach

by Michael A. Genovese

While the Constitution says more about limiting the overreach of the executive branch, functioning government must beware of an underreaching executive that abdicates responsibility.

SOURCE: Washingtonian
8/10/2020

Would DC Statehood Also Give the Trumps Three Electoral Votes?

A proposal for DC statehood would preserve a Capital District around the White House and Capitol, which is granted three Electoral College votes by the Constitution. It's possible that the only residents of the district would be the inhabitants of the White House.

How Has the Electoral College Survived for This Long?

by Alexander Keyssar

Long after the abolition of slavery, Southern political leaders continued to resist any attempts to replace the Electoral College with a national popular vote.

SOURCE: New York Times
7/30/2020

Federalist Society Co-Founder Writes Trump Efforts to Postpone Election Grounds for Removal

by Steven G. Calabresi

One of the founders of the Federalist Society argues that Trump's call to postpone the 2020 election is grounds for removal from office if not rescinded.

7/23/2020

What the Faithless Electors Decision Says about SCOTUS and Originalism

by Ray Raphael

The outcome of the "faithless electors" case shows that judicial "originalists" use that principle pragmatically and selectively.

SOURCE: The Atlantic
7/20/2020

The United States Needs a Third Reconstruction

by Wilfred Codrington III

At two previous moments, the federal government has responded to the unavoidable reality that racism subverts democracy, but has allowed two periods of national reconstruction to be undermined and demolished. We need a Third Reconstruction and need to make it stick.

7/12/2020

For Deep and Lasting Reform, We Need to Amend the Constitution

by John Davenport

After the upheavals of June, we may now have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get to the constitutional roots of so many national problems.

SOURCE: The Atlantic
5/26/2020

There’s No Historical Justification for One of the Most Dangerous Ideas in American Law

by Julian Davis Mortenson and Nicholas Bagley

The delegation of regulatory power to federal agencies is the indispensable foundation of modern American governance. And it is under siege.

SOURCE: USA Today
1/23/20

Impeachment: Republicans are in the tank for Trump, but Democrats aren't impartial, either

by Jonathan Zimmerman

As of right now, I think Trump should be removed. But I must keep my mind open to new arguments and evidence, instead of closing myself off before we have heard them.

SOURCE: AP
1/22/20

Trump’s Lawyers Say a Crime Is Required for Impeachment, But Experts Say That’s Not What Founding Fathers Intended

Featuring historians Rachel Shelden, Jeffrey Engel, and David Stewart.

SOURCE: NPR
12/10/19

From Consensus To Deadlock: Is Impeachment Still A Check On Presidents?

The arc of partisanship in impeachment, to some extent, matches the increased polarization of politics in America over the last 45 years. It moves from consensus to deadlock.

SOURCE: NYR Daily
12/3/19

The Framers’ Answers to Three Myths About Impeachment

by Garry Wills

Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who has been overseeing the impeachment hearings, is badly misrepresenting the Constitution when he says that the Congress is a co-equal branch of government with the presidency.