by jpitney | Oct 30, 2020 | Constitution, Federalism, Separation of Powers
James Wallner at R Street: Madison believed that the Critical Period events were a sign that America was falling into the destructive cycle that befell all previous experiments in self-government. The Greek historian, Polybius, called this phenomenon “the cycle of...
by jpitney | Oct 11, 2020 | Claremont McKenna College, Congress, Constitution
From AEI: In Federalist 51, James Madison argued that as “the legislative authority necessarily predominates,” Congress needs to be divided into two branches to constrain its immense power. Two centuries later, it seems Madison’s fears were unfounded, with both the...
by jpitney | Sep 17, 2020 | Constitution, Elections
For Constitution Day, a talk on elections and the Constitution by Zach Courser: r:
by jpitney | Sep 14, 2020 | Constitution, First Amendment, Freedom of Press, Public Opinion
From the Annenberg Public Policy Center: Americans’ ability to name the five rights protected by the First Amendment has jumped since 2017, when we last asked this question. Their ability to specify some of them more than tripled. Asked to name any of the rights...
by jpitney | Sep 2, 2020 | Congress, Constitution, Presidency, Separation of Powers
Mort Halperin and Soren Dayton at The Washington Post: Consider one proposal for limiting the president’s national emergency powers: Sen. Mike Lee’s Article One Act. Under this, a presidentially declared national emergency would expire after 30 days — unless Congress...
by jpitney | Aug 16, 2020 | Civil Rights, Constitution, Deliberation
General James Mattis: America is not some finished work or failed project but an ongoing experiment. And it is an experiment that, by design, will never end. If parts of the machine are broken, then the responsibility of citizens is to fix the machine—not throw it...
