“That’s the real conservative sensibility at work: If progressivism is about making incremental improvements in the direction of utopia, conservatism is about avoiding catastrophe. And if democracy is a hedge against Caesarism, constitutionalism is a hedge against democracy—against the horrifying things that the people will do when you give them political power without checks and accountability.”
Read MoreThere was more than just the lack of power that the central government needed to function properly that the current alliance circumvented. There was also an abuse of democracy that mere modification of the Articles could not address.
Read MoreThe critical point is not that we are simply a republic and not a democracy, but that we are a very carefully constructed republic, reflecting an understanding of human nature, with numerous firewalls that are designed to prevent the democracy from degenerating into anarchy and tyranny.
Read MoreThe difference between progressives and conservatives today is far greater than their positions on issues; that is merely a distraction. There is a fundamental difference between their position on the purpose of government, their understandings of human nature and knowledge, and their philosophy that ensues from that understanding.
Read MoreA mechanical view is not an obstruction to progress. An organic view is less flexible in its design than we need and it depends on an expertise and competency that is illusory.
Read MoreEach side justifies divisive means to achieve their ends; but even when you win a race to the bottom you end up at the bottom.
Read MoreBoth sides refuse to re-examine the proper role of the presidency, and focus on the president in power. It may seem unrealistic to return to constitutional norms, but the alternative seems to be an escalation of the bitterness of our politics.
Read MoreClarity in words and thoughts decay over time. When opposing views retain respect for the same words and principles, those ideas become ripe for interpretation, transposed to meet our current personal and political objectives as much as we may profess fidelity to its conception.
Read MoreThe progressive effort to remove the obstacles to a purer democracy exposed the faults of democracy. The administrative state moved law making power away from the accountability of an electorate. Deliberation and debate were replaced by referendums and mobs. In frustration the voters sought their objectives from the courts and the executive. It should be no surprise that those contests have become so hostile.
Read MoreThe belief in a ‘general will’ or the ‘people’s will’ is a myth. It is the calling card of the progressives as well as the socialists and Mussolini’s brand of fascism. We are a collection of interests and factions and the constitution is a system to balance those interests, not to ignore them or oppress them.
Read MoreJudge selection was a key reason many skeptics supported Trump over HRC. While we may have cheered many decisions made by the court that would never have made it through Congress, we have made that the focus of our voting. The result may be that liberals will become less activist on the court and more deferential to the states’ power.
Read MoreThe idea of central control of individual freedom is fraught with contradictions and has become our greatest challenge. The Progressive Era is where this came to a head and majoritarian democracy edged priority over individual and minority rights. This battle between Progressive majoritarianism manifested in an activist president and the Constitutional protection of individual rights defines our current political debate.
Read MoreHistorians can debate if Jackson moved us further away from the vision of the Constitution and its framers, as so many of his critics contended, or was a step in the evolution or the practical clarification of the vision to address the issues of his day. There is much less agreement that his term was one of the most pivotal in the direction of our history.
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