Judgment / July 16, 2026
Ballot Measures and the Death of Political Judgment
Let me say something that will get me thrown out of most political gatherings, left or right. The ballot initiative, that sacred cow of direct democracy, is...
1 min read
Essays
Page 43 of 55
JudgmentJuly 16, 20261 min read
The Constitutional Truth About States' Rights That Neither Party Will Admit
The phrase "states' rights" is one of the most abused pieces of political vocabulary in America. It has been used to justify segregation, nullify federal...
JudgmentJuly 16, 20261 min read
The Great Federalism Betrayal: Why Both Parties Abandoned States' Rights for Power
There is no principle in American politics more cynically exploited, more routinely caricatured, and more urgently needed than states' rights. Say those two...
JudgmentJuly 16, 20261 min read
The Pardon Power Is Not a Loophole — It Is a Structural Check on Tyranny
Every time a president issues a controversial pardon, the same tired circus begins. Cable news explodes with moral outrage. The chattering class demands...
JudgmentJuly 15, 20261 min read
The Fatal Conceit Behind the Living Constitution
There is a story the legal establishment tells itself about how judges should interpret the Constitution. It goes like this: the document was written two...
JudgmentJuly 15, 20261 min read
The Founders' Forgotten Definition of High Crimes and Misdemeanors
Every time the word impeachment enters the national conversation, you hear it: high crimes and misdemeanors. It is quoted, tweeted, and shouted on cable...
JudgmentJuly 15, 20261 min read
The Quiet Suspension of Habeas Corpus: How the Administrative State Evaded the Constitution
Most Americans can name the Second Amendment. They know the First. Some even remember the Fourth. But ask about the Suspension Clause, and you will get...
JudgmentJuly 15, 20261 min read
The Revolving Door Isn't the Scandal. The Size of Government Is.
Every election cycle, some populist from either party stands up and thunders about the "revolving door" in Washington. The former senator who becomes a...
TechnologyJuly 14, 20261 min read
Ranked-Choice Voting: The Algorithm That Wants to Replace Your Vote
Every few years, some new reform arrives in a cloud of good intentions, promising to fix democracy. We have heard this pitch before: campaign finance...
JudgmentJuly 14, 20261 min read
The Elastic Clause That Ate the Constitution
Every schoolchild learns that the federal government has only the powers the Constitution gives it. Article I, Section 8 lists them - seventeen...