A Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University is calling for the United States to give up on its Constitution because he believes adherence to it is responsible for our broken government. In a bold Op-Ed that appeared in the New York Times this morning, Louis Michael Seidman, a Constitutional Scholar and former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, wrote that he believes the United States Constitution is over-valued because it contains archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.
Seidman's latest book is entitled On Constitutional Disobedience. In it he argues that the Constitution should be treated as a piece of poetry to liberty and self-government.
Contrast Seidman's ideas with those of outgoing Congressman Ron Paul, who wrote the following this week:
"In just a few days, Congress will solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. They should read Article 1 Section 8 and the Bill of Rights before taking such a serious oath. Most legislation violates key provisions of the Constitution in very basic ways, and if members can’t bring themselves to say “no” in the face of pressure from the special interests, they have broken trust with their constituents and violated their oath. Congress does not exist to serve the special interests. It exists to protect the rule of law."
These are profoundly different viewpoints that mirror the chasm between Progressives and Constitutionalists in the United States today. Just a few short years ago, there was a constitutional revival afoot that was symbolized by the burgeoning Tea Party Movement. The Progressives appear to be fighting back and are now apparently emboldened to come out publicly with anti Tea Party rhetoric. Provocations like this from scholars like Seidman may serve to inflame the passions of the Constitutionalists that agree with Dr. Paul.
This is a division that is not likely to go away soon and may even get worse before it gets better.
You may read more from Kevin at his common sense wisdom blog. His book, Discovering Possibility: A Common Sense Conservative Manifesto, is now available on Kindle. The working title for his upcoming book is, Discovering Possibility: The Revolution for Virtue and Common Sense. Kevin offers common sense community building coaching to grass roots groups around the country that are interested in pursuing common sense approaches to community building.
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