by jpitney | Aug 30, 2025 | Constitution, Economic Policy, Judiciary, Madison, Taxes, Trade
Tony Romm and Ana Swanson at NYT: A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that many of President Trump’s most punishing tariffs were illegal, delivering a major setback to Mr. Trump’s agenda that may severely undercut his primary source of leverage in an expanding...
by jpitney | Jul 16, 2025 | Bipartisanship, Federalist, Madison, Polarization
Jay Cost at AEI: There are many reasons for the dramatic rise in partisanship at the end of the 1820s, mainly related to economic diversification and rapid democratization. The number of voters had more than doubled between the elections of 1800 and 1820, and while an...
by jpitney | Nov 9, 2024 | Democracy, Madison, Uncategorized
Nathan Gardels at Noema: To base the idea of democracy solely on elections invites illiberalism because it implies that majoritarian rule is all that is necessary. But, as the American founding fathers well understood, the will of the majority does not embrace all...
by jpitney | Nov 2, 2024 | Elections, Madison
James Madison, June 20, 1788 But I go on this great republican principle, that the people will have virtue and intelligence to select men of virtue and wisdom. Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks—no form...
by jpitney | Feb 28, 2024 | Congress, Deliberation, House of Representatives, Madison
Don Wolfensberger at The Hill: In grappling for an appropriate analogy for this new procedural game in town, I finally settled on circle dodgeball, labeled here as “procedural dodgeball.” A large circle is drawn and, in the middle a smaller circle with five or so...
by jpitney | Sep 29, 2022 | Congress, Dreier, Madison
