And You “Can’t” Defund Obamacare . . . Why?
Freedom and popular government in Britain and America became possible because over the course of many years the House of Commons, and later the American colonial legislatures, were willing to exert the power of the purse to discipline an overreaching executive. In Britain, the House of Commons—Parliament’s lower chamber—sometimes defunded the executive in order to […]
The Problems With Repealing the Direct Election of Senators/17th Amendment
Some political activists argue for repeal of the 17th amendment. In other words, they want to end popular elections of U.S. Senators and return to the original constitutional system of election by state legislatures. Repeal advocates argue that the pre-17th amendment system better preserved federalism than does direct election. Whatever the theoretical merits of their […]
Where is the Power to Suspend Habeas Corpus?
The Constitution’s Suspension Clause (Art. I, Section 9, cl. 2) limits when the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended. But the Constitution doesn’t seem to grant the federal government power to suspend the writ in the first place. Why not? And why limit a power never given? In an Aug. 17 Wall Street Journal […]
Mark Levin's New Book on Amendments
I have received many requests that I review radio talk-show host Mark Levin’s new book, The Liberty Amendments. Although I favor adopting one or more amendments to restore the federal government to constitutional limits, I generally do not take positions on specific proposed amendments. My mission is to research our Constitution and educate others about […]
Must the Federal Government Honor an "Equal Protection" Rule?
Does the Constitution require the federal government to afford “equal protection of the laws?” At first glance at the Constitution’s text, it would appear not. There is no general Equal Protection Clause in the Constitution applying to the federal government—although there are a lot of clauses requiring equal treatment in specific situations. The Equal Protection […]
The Supreme Court’s Latest Voting Rights Case
(This is the last of five commentaries on recent Supreme Court decisions.) The Fifteenth Amendment, adopted five years after Civil War ended, was designed primarily to secure the right to vote for newly-freed slaves. Section 1 of the Amendment provides that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied […]
The Defense of Marriage Act Case: A Carcass for Constitutional Vultures
(This is the fourth of several short commentaries on recent Supreme Court decisions.) U.S. v. Windsor—the case in which the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)—is a carcass from which constitutional flesh-pickers will feast for a very long time. It is one of those cases like Dred Scott v. Sandford or […]
Justices Make It Tougher for State Universities to Discriminate, But Not Tough Enough
(This is the third of several short commentaries on recent Supreme Court decisions.) The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fisher v. University of Texas has made it tougher for state universities to run their ethnic spoils systems. But not tough enough. First, the background: The Fourteenth Amendment requires states to extend “equal protection of the […]
Do the Feds Belong in Indian Adoption Law? (Together with another Natelson citation in the Supreme Court and an acknowledgment of Lisa Morris)
(Note: This is the second of several short commentaries on recent Supreme Court decisions.) There is little more heart-rending than the sorrow of a child. The sorrow of a child—and of her adoptive parents—created one of the Supreme Court’s more compelling cases this term. I was happy to be cited extensively in one of the […]
Without The Constitution You Might Be Someone’s Slave Today—And Other Crucial Facts About The Founding
On June 14, I keynoted a conference on the American Founding. The conference was sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, an educational and publishing non-profit that focuses on civic education for college students. The keynote included six crucial facts about the framing and ratification of our Constitution: First: The Constitution was the product of careful […]
The Breakdown of America
A nation’s health and prosperity depends on good institutions. These institutions are political and private. Good political institutions include balanced government with a significant amount of popular control, the rule of law, freedom from corruption, and respect for individual rights. Good private sector institutions include free and open markets and positive moral codes in religious […]
The Constitutional Convention Did Not Exceed Its Power and the Constitution is not “Unconstitutional”
Judging by recent claims in the media such as this one, there is still a lot of life in the old tale (dating back to the Anti-Federalists) that the 1787 federal convention “ran away” and that the Constitution was unconstitutionally adopted. I’ve dealt with both claims in this column occasionally (see, e.g., here and here), […]
