Another day, another whiny leftist assault on American institutions, this time using the United States Constitution as cover.
A professor of politics named John Kenneth White has penned an opinion piece for The Hill titled “The Constitution isn’t working.” It’s an odd article because White actually gets a couple of things right at the beginning but eventually veers off into a boilerplate regurgitation of the leftist fever-dream wish list: nuke the Electoral College, JANUARY 6, reform the filibuster…yeah he had a ghostwriter from the Democratic National Committee working with him on this.
First, some of what he’s close to getting right:
The U.S. Constitution is the sacred text of American government and civic life. But it’s time to face facts: The document, written in 1787, isn’t working. The signs are all around us. Just 38 percent of Americans in a recent Gallup poll expressed either a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in the presidency, down from 48 percent in 2001. Congress, never high in the public’s estimation to begin with, fell from 26 percent to a mere 12 percent. The Supreme Court has also taken a hit, down from 50 percent to 36 percent during the same period.
One reason often cited for the failing Constitution are the people who inhabit its carefully crafted institutions. In Congress, serious legislators are scarce, as many members aim for viral recognition on social media.
Professor Deep Think here is leading with the fact that the Constitution isn’t working because those tasked with making it work are failing it. Something I can agree with to a point, especially when it comes to Congress and the fact that our legislators have been punting their duties to the executive branch for decades now.
Here’s the thing though: he only takes issue with Republicans:
Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) freely admitted, “I have built my staff around comms [communication], not legislation.” Cawthorn is hardly alone: Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) represent a new breed of legislators who seek recognition and are largely uninterested in passing actual laws.
The Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate are presently led by two of the most time-wasting, grandstanding buffoons in American political history. Remember this?
I’m still embarrassed for the country.
White then waxes nostalgic for the Senate the way it once was:
In the Senate, the filibuster is no longer the rare instrument designed to halt legislation and foster debate. Instead, the 60-vote threshold has become the default mechanism to stop all legislation without a word.
When George Washington supposedly was asked by Thomas Jefferson why the Senate was created, he responded, “Why did you just now pour your coffee into that saucer, before drinking?” Jefferson answered, “To cool it.” Washington responded, “Even so, we pour our legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it.” The Senate was designed to cool legislation, not kill it.
As the Senate was originally created back when George and Tom were having that chat, senators weren’t supposed to be living long and serving terms that went on seemingly forever. At present, the five longest-tenured senators (Leahy, Grassley, McConnell, Shelby, and Feinstein) have been there for a combined 185 years. Only Leahy and Shelby are leaving soon.
You want the Constitution and the Senate to work better? Repeal the 17th Amendment.
The Constitution terrifies leftists because it prevents them from doing a couple of things: “adjusting” our rights according to whatever whims of the day are buffeting them about, and letting every American president from here on out be elected by California, Manhattan, and Chicago.
It’s working just fine. We don’t need more Supreme Court justices, we need legislators who will do their damn jobs, like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who are both representing their constituents very well.
What we most desperately need at the moment is a president who isn’t being run by a cabal of extremist puppet masters.
Which the Constitution provides a means of changing in a couple of years.
Story cited here.
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