The Constitution on Latin TV (And by “Latin,” we don’t mean Latin American)
Institute Research Director Dave Kopel has long urged me to do a broadcast production on the Constitution in the Latin language, and now it’s here! Produced by II web monkey Justin Longo, the program features an interview of me by my daughter Sarah on the American Founding and the nature of the Constitution. Sarah, 23, […]
The Founders as Mythology
Recently when commenting on how Americans view the Founding, an associate of mine observed that in many people’s minds the Founders had become mythological rather than historical figures. That is, many people routinely ascribe ideas and actions—both good and bad, wise and stupid—to them that have little to do with historical reality or even human […]
No, the Necessary and Proper Clause Does NOT Empower Congress to Control an Amendments Convention
A few days ago I heard a presentation by a spokesman for a group that claims to defend the Constitution and revere the Founders. Yet the spokesman trashed the Constitution’s framers for allegedly exceeding their authority and claimed they added a provision that largely rendered another provision useless. In other words, the spokesman charged the […]
Rob Discusses How He Researches the Constitution
Failure to Call Amendments Conventions Helps Explain Modern Federal Overreaching
This Article is a modified version of one appearing in the American Thinker. If President after President failed to veto bills, would it surprise you if congressional power grew at the expense of the presidency? If the Senate never blocked the President’s appointments, would it surprise you if presidential power expanded at the expense of […]
“Progressive” Misrepresentations of the Public Trust Doctrine
While hosting a Montana radio talk show in the late 1990s, I interviewed a prominent left-wing environmental activist. He was promoting an anti-mining ballot measure. During the interview, he read from a 16th-century book that (he said) had shown that mining had all sorts of evil effects. But something about the quote did not ring […]
New Article: Government’s Obligation To Be Impartial
The Constitution was adopted amid a belief that government is a public trust.* Does the Constitution require federal and state governments to adhere to formal duties of public trust—that is, to fiduciary duties? In some places, at least, it clearly does: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment imposes on the states what is […]
New Article: Government's Obligation To Be Impartial
The Constitution was adopted amid a belief that government is a public trust.* Does the Constitution require federal and state governments to adhere to formal duties of public trust—that is, to fiduciary duties? In some places, at least, it clearly does: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment imposes on the states what is […]
Did Obamacare Violate the Constitution’s Origination Clause? No. . . and Yes
Note: This a modified version of an article that appeared at The American Thinker. Two years ago, the Supreme Court declared Obamacare’s penalty for failure to purchase conforming insurance to be a “tax.” Several plaintiffs subsequently sued in federal court arguing that the penalty is invalid for violating the Constitution’s Origination Clause. The Origination Clause […]
How Much Authority Does Congress Have Under the Treaty Power? The Question the Supreme Court Dodged in Bond v. U.S.
In its recent decision in Bond v. United States, the Supreme Court avoided deciding whether Congress, in executing a treaty, could exceed the enumerated powers to which the Constitution otherwise restricts it. For example, if a treaty requires a signatories to make it a crime to use a particular chemical, may Congress pass a law […]
The Dark Side of Hobby Lobby: Contraceptive Coverage as a ‘Compelling Government Interest’
Note: This item originally appeared at the website of The American Thinker. The Hobby Lobby case is being hailed by freedom advocates as a great victory. On balance it certainly it is a victory for those who value personal freedom. But it also contains land mines that may one day prove destructive to freedom. One […]
More evidence that “progressivism” increasingly is totalitarianism
Early this year in The American Thinker and in this column I discussed state marijuana legalization and federalism. I cautioned against advocates of freedom and federalism forming alliances with the “progressive” left on those issues in which the left claimed to favor free choice. I pointed out that that for that bunch”free choice” is nearly […]
