Critics have attacked the Constitution’s allocation of two senators for each state, irrespective of the size of each state’s population. This column explains why each state has equal representation in the Senate. The critics fall roughly into two categories: extreme and moderate. Among the more extreme ones is the author of a 2018 GQ article….

A lawyer in Boulder, Colorado, has been buying billboard space to attack the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. One billboard reads: IMAGINE HIGHWAYS USING TRAFFIC LAWS WRITTEN IN 1791. IMAGINE RADIO, TELEVISION, AND INTERNET RUN BY 1791 REGULATIONS. IMAGINE LIMITING YOURSELF TO MEDICAL CARE AVAILABLE IN 1791 THE SECOND AMENDMENT WAS WRITTEN…

The previous essay explained that the Constitution is fundamentally a document granting enumerated (listed) powers. Like all such documents, the powers it grants are limited. These limits are one of the Constitution’s most important features. And they have been targets of a hostile propaganda campaign for many decades. “Progressive” commentators in politics, academia, and the…

Commentary I fled academia in 2010 because of its increasingly bizarre environment. Since that time, the situation has only gotten worse. This is reflected in the scholarly journals, where they publish more and more silly stuff. Recently, for example, I learned that a journal published an article (pdf) claiming that those of us who interpret…

Commentary Every so often you read about a survey in which scholars rate the performance of previous American presidents. A good example is one recently conducted by C-SPAN. You can see its presidential rankings here. The C-SPAN survey awards the top two positions to Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, respectively. There are some good reasons…

Commentary Some in the media and academia have been hyperventilating about a point of constitutional law they call the “independent legislature doctrine.” They worry that the doctrine could produce more Republicans in Congress. The hysteria has been matched only by the detractors’ astonishing constitutional ignorance. Proof of this ignorance is how they describe the independent…

Commentary Last week’s installment covered the first three parts of Section 1 of the 14th Amendment—the Citizenship Clause, Privileges or Immunities Clause, and Due Process Clause. This week’s installment addresses the remainder of Section 1 as well as Sections 2 through 5. Section 1 (concluded): “nor shall any State … deny to any person within…