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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

How the Constitution Caused Our Dysfunctional Government

Over the past few decades, many of the unwritten rules of American political life have been discarded. Presidential appointees, once routinely confirmed by the Senate, now spend months in limbo. Signing statements have increased in frequency and scope, as presidents announce which aspects of a law they intend to enforce, and which they intend to ignore. Annual spending bills stall in Congress, requiring short-term extensions or triggering shutdowns.

The system isn’t working. But even as the two parties agree on little else, both still venerate the Constitution. Politicians sing its praises. Public officials and military officers swear their allegiance. Members of Congress keep miniature copies in their pockets. The growing dysfunction of the government seems only to have increased reverence for the document; leading figures on both sides of the aisle routinely call for a return to constitutional principles.

What if this gridlock is not the result of abandoning the Constitution, but the product of flaws inherent in its design?

The history recounted in a recent book on the Constitution’s origins, by Eric Nelson, a political theorist at Harvard, raises that disturbing possibility. In The Royalist Revolution, Nelson argues that the standard narrative of the American Revolution—overthrowing a tyrannical king and replacing him with a representative democracy—is mistaken. Many leaders of the patriot cause actually wanted George III to intervene in their disputes with parliament, to veto the bills it passed, even to assert that he alone had the right to govern the American colonies. In short, they wanted him to rule like a king. When he declined, they revolted.

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8 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Articles of Confederation were and still are the only legitimate document.

Anonymous said...

Our system of government was designed to be a representative REPUBLIC to be populated by public servants from a moral society to prevent the usurpation of citizens' rights by an unfettered leviathan government populated by self-serving bureaucrats and ruling class elites. Something has certainly gone wrong!

Anonymous said...

When you STOP using the constitution or put amendments on it because a president doesn't want to go through congressional approval. We our ROME!!!

Anonymous said...

The author of this article (Yoni Applebaum) is a moron. Because our congress is now full of narcissistic special interest idiots he wants to suggest the framers of the constitution (arguably some of the most selfless and brillianlt men of history) had is completely wrong? Yeah Yoni...go have some of your mommies corned beef and come up with some one else to blame. Stick with picture books and leave the ones with words for the adults in the room.

Anonymous said...

We ARE Rome, dummy!

Anonymous said...

Another eastern shore redneck calling someone dummy. Priceless.

Anonymous said...

he wants to suggest the framers of the constitution (arguably some of the most selfless and brillianlt men of history)

OMG!! Go READ something. The framers were human with human faults and weaknesses. they were not gods. the constitution will be this country's downfall. it has already started over a 100 years ago.

lmclain said...

9:40.....nothing like a bigoted and arrogantly elitist dummy to say something like that.
There are MANY people on the Eastern Shore that would make your IQ look like the ending score of a soccer game.
Get off your knees now and wipe your mouth off. You might just get nominated for a government job.
Oh, "job" offends you? That's what I thought. No, I'm not sorry.
Use your name if you're going to insult people.
I'd say "man up", but I'm sure that's not possible for you.....