-
SEQUESTER: The Horror!
March 1, 2013 | 4 comments
-
SOTU Preview: Human Props, Budget Fights, and Wedge Issues
February 12, 2013 | 0 comments
-
Hello, I Must Be Going
August 14, 2012 | 18 comments
-
Weekend Political Wrap-Up, Paul Ryan Edition
August 12, 2012 | 16 comments
-
Esquire Blogger Sees Paul Ryan, Shreds His Safety Net
August 11, 2012 | 13 comments
The Spectacle Blog
Like Joe, I appreciated Ramesh Ponnuru’s article on constitutionalism. He writes of the constitutional amendments Rick Perry has supported, “[T]he principal argument for all of them is precisely that they would undo the damage to the constitutional order that departures from constitutionalism have done.” Ponnuru argues that Perry “wants to amend the Constitution in order to restore it to its proper meaning.”
There is, however, one real sense in which conservative constitutional amendments cut against this objective. They create the appearance, even if this is not what supporters intend, that there is something wrong with the Constitution necessitating a change rather than something wrong with the judges Congress has other constitutional means of controlling.
It’s not Rick Perry’s fault that strong political norms against impeachment and jurisdiction-stripping have made constitutional amendments seem like the only way of resisting judicial assaults on the Constitution. But the constitutional amendment strategy embraced by the broader conservative movement is one that has contributed to misunderstandings of constitutionalism. It is also a strategy that has seldom succeeded.
View all comments (8) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by W. James Antle, III
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/09/27/constitutionalism-and-constitu
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
H/T to National Review Online
ADVERTISEMENT
Rogue Elephant| 9.27.11 @ 5:29PM
The answer isn't impeachment, but term limits. The courts are creatures of Congress. Judge for life is not in the Constitution. Judges should be appointed for terms, subject to re-appointment. Judges need to be held to account. It is time to reform the judiciary.
Al Adab| 9.27.11 @ 5:30PM
The Ponnuru article and these collums regarding it point out the handicap under which we as Conservatives battle. Anything which might be considered Conservative Activism violates the movements principles. That leaves us at a disadvantage in implementing an agenda. We seek a return to originalism and the rule of law, not outcome based legislation. To layer amendments upon amendments and regulations upon regulations leaves us with a Talmudic government of hair-splitting not one of Liberty and general principles. A dilemma yes, but surely not an insurmountable one.
W| 9.27.11 @ 7:59PM
Al Adab,
On Saturday I attended a speech by Judge Scalia. He is great. His principle is simple: What does the constitution state, not what we would like it to say. And it does not evolve. It is what it is.
He made a great point in that there are certain eras that produce outstanding creativity. For example the Renaissance in art in Europe, especially Florence, and the Greek period of Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and others that is the foundation of all philosohy.
He said the Founding Fathers era with Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, Mason, Washington, Adams, Marshall, and others was such an era for political science/government.
C Bowen | 9.27.11 @ 5:58PM
"It is also a strategy that has seldom succeeded."
It has succeed perfectly well for the Republicans. The Republicans voted to fund Planned Parenthood year after year under the Bush Administrations (and the Reagan Admin) , and how many pro-life leaders like Rick Santorum--voted for Planned Parenthood funding year after year, but oh wait, they are for a Constitutional Amendment.
Laughing all the way to the bank with DC professional Pro Lifers.
bobmontgomery| 9.27.11 @ 9:51PM
What Rogue said. There are 864 federal judges.
There are more federal judges overseeing Indiana than there are Senators in the Indiana State Legislature.
Reduce Weight Fruta Planta | 9.28.11 @ 4:41AM
Yes,just as what bobmontgomery said,there are more also more federal judges in other counties than there are senators in the Indiana satates.
yisong| 10.26.11 @ 9:53PM
Slewing ring bearings support extreme axial, radial, and tilting moment loading in a single bearing unit. http://www.1stbearing.com