by jpitney | Apr 2, 2021 | Constitution, Impeachment, Presidency
At AEI, Joseph M. Bessette and Gary J. Schmitt have a report titled “Crafting a Republican Executive: The Presidency and the Constitutional Convention.” Key points: The Constitutional Convention of 1787 knew the young nation needed a strong executive that...
by jpitney | Feb 21, 2021 | Congress, Constitution, Deliberation, House of Representatives, Senate
Yuval Levin at National Review: If the problem to be solved is that cross-partisan agreement is necessary for Congress to legislate but such agreement is very rare now, then there are broadly two sorts of possible paths toward reform: You could look for ways to make...
by jpitney | Feb 14, 2021 | Congress, Constitution, Impeachment, Presidency
Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE): “An impeachment trial is a public declaration of what a president’s oath of office means and what behavior that oath demands of presidents in the future. But here’s the sad reality: If we were talking about a Democratic president, most...
by jpitney | Jan 21, 2021 | civic virtue, Congress, Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Electoral College, History, Polarization, US Constitution
The national anthem has seldom resonated as much as it did when Lady Gaga emphasized the words “our flag was still there” and pointed to the flag on the capitol which had been attacked just a fortnight earlier. It was all balm for America’s wounded soul....
by jpitney | Jan 6, 2021 | Congress, Constitution, Elections, Electoral College, House of Representatives
We have sworn an oath under God to defend the Constitution. We uphold that oath at all times, not only when it is politically convenient. Congress has no authority to overturn elections by objecting to electors. Doing so steals power from the states & violates the...
by jpitney | Dec 15, 2020 | Constitution
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment: No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a...