Can Demagoguery be Good Sometimes? A Republican Defense of Trump

Bernard J. Dobski, Jr. is a Professor of Political Science at Assumption University in Worcester, MA where he teaches classes on political philosophy, American foreign policy, and international relations. He has published on classical political philosophy, Shakespeare and is currently … Continue reading Can Demagoguery be Good Sometimes? A Republican Defense of Trump

Upcoming Event

An event of interest to readers of The Constitutionalist. h/t Jeremy Fortier On March 30th CCNY will host a forum over Zoom to discuss Danielle Allen’s contributions to scholarship and public life. Speakers are Ryan Balot, Susan McWilliams Barndt, Jamelle Bouie, Simone Chambers, Roosevelt Montás, and Deva Woodly.  Details and registration information are available at this link, in the event that it’s of interest: As the list of speakers hopefully indicates, the objective of the forum could be expressed by The Constitutionalist’s stated aim of “Using expertise in political philosophy, American political development, public law, and political culture and literature… to foster conversation … Continue reading Upcoming Event

Constitutional Conservatism and the Electoral College

At The New York Times, J. Michael Luttig, formerly a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, makes a compelling conservative case for clarifying the Electoral Count Act. Self-described constitutional conservatives like Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri exploited the Act’s ambiguity to attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election last January 6, adding oxygen to the fire that Donald Trump had lit and fanned with weeks of falsehoods. Luttig’s conservative case for the Electoral College is firmly rooted in federalism and equally firmly opposed to centralization. He writes: “It should be … Continue reading Constitutional Conservatism and the Electoral College

Trump v. Thompson and the Meaning of Executive Privilege Today

Gary J. Schmitt is a senior fellow in Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.  Jeffrey K. Tulis is Professor of Government and Professor of Law at The University of Texas at Austin. On January 19, in Trump … Continue reading Trump v. Thompson and the Meaning of Executive Privilege Today

Trump ’24: On Running for President from Prison-He Wouldn’t be the First

Michael A. Genovese serves as the President of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount University and is the author of over fifty books including the forthcoming THE MODERN PRESIDENCY (Columbia University Press).  There is a joke making the rounds … Continue reading Trump ’24: On Running for President from Prison-He Wouldn’t be the First

More on January 6

After his superb speech, President Biden was asked questions by reporters in the hallway of the Capitol. Some had questions born of Ben Kleinerman’s perspective. Ben praised the end of the speech where Biden called for unity and healing. A reporter asked whether that was inconsistent with the bulk of the speech. How can you ask people to heal and unify after you had skewered the former President? Biden’s response was that before one can heal one has to face up to the wound. The January 6 investigation in Congress, the Vice President’s speech, the President’s speech, the Attorney General’s … Continue reading More on January 6