No one would mistake the Supreme Court’s liberal justices for adherents to the concept of “originalism,” or the belief that one should consider—first and foremost—the Founders’ intent when ruling on constitutional issues. And yet their opinions in the Maryland “Peace Cross” case suggests that they, at least implicitly, support the idea. In American
Members of the mainstream media understandably resent President Trump’s description of them as purveyors of “fake news.” After all, they do the public a service by reporting a great deal of true and relevant information. And when they get the facts wrong, they usually correct the record. Nevertheless, the president’s criticisms of the
The recent debate over a Congress member’s obscenity reveals something interesting and troubling not only about the style of our public discourse but also the substance of our politics: the contemporary American Left’s growing disenchantment with the traditional American politics of pluralism. The obscenity was provided by freshman House Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who
America’s political and media elites are amazed and appalled by the loyalty of Donald Trump’s core supporters. How, they wonder, can these voters continue to stand behind such a man, with all of his evident faults? To ask and answer the question actually says more about our elites than it says about Trump’s
Some sophisticated polling analysts say an electoral “blue wave” is going to sweep Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) back into the speakership of the House of Representatives and consign the Republicans to minority status in the chamber they have run for the past eight years. Certainly, Republicans would be foolish to ignore the polling data
“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” So said Polonius, one of the most famous political advisors in the Shakespearean canon. If Polonius, who was rather silly, could see this about Prince Hamlet, why can’t our most seasoned political commentators and practitioners see that the same thing could be said about Donald
“We have to protect sources and methods!” This claim has been deployed repeatedly by those who want to impede the efforts of President Trump and his supporters in Congress to pry the lid off the origins of the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign for supposed “Russian collusion.” As I argue at The
On the eve of the first anniversary of Donald Trump’s inauguration, it is worthwhile to reflect on the significance of his presidency for the quality of our nation’s politics. Some Americans have criticized the president as a threat to our democratic way of life. They point to his brawling rhetoric, his tendency to
Donald Trump is a famously paradoxical figure: A nonpolitician who vaulted directly into the nation’s highest political office. A billionaire who seeks to speak for the working class. A media personality at war with the media. One paradox, however, has been largely overlooked: Trump does not seem personally to be a very religious
