Robert Kagan has written an extraordinary essay in the Washington Post detailing the danger that Donald Trump and his followers pose to the viability of the American constitutional order. One point that deserves attention is that the many sophisticated academic and journalistic arguments that seek to trace the roots of Trump in conservatism, in the modern Republican party, or in the pathologies of the constitutional order itself unwittingly contribute to the demise of democracy today. It is not that there is no truth to those sophistications. It is rather that the truthful elements pale in comparison to the ways in … Continue reading A Must Read Essay in the Washington Post

Following up on the most recent posts by Greg and Ben, let me highlight a book by my Texas Law colleague, Calvin Johnson, Righteous Anger at the Wicked States. Calvin’s book underscores Ben’s point that the federalists, including Madison at the convention and during ratification, were very much nationalists — just as the Anti-Federalists claimed. The concessions to the states were grudging and reluctant and, as Herbert Storing argued, did not actually represent the states qua states. The Anti-Federalists understood this well, pointed it out repeatedly, and it was the main reason they opposed the Constitution. Why did it come … Continue reading Misunderstanding State and Nation in the Constitution

Given the stakes and high pitched tone of politics for the last five years, and the pandemic, I know many Americans are tired of the relentless drumbeat of political news and opinion. I feel that way myself. But it is in precisely circumstances like the present that the American constitutional order is in greatest danger. I added my signature to those of many others who study democracies for a living to warn our fellow citizens of just how perilous our present condition is today. Here is our Statement of Concern. Continue reading New America Statement of Concern