Essays
Judgment / July 17, 2026
Every time a by-election is called, the political establishment treats it like a minor inconvenience. A footnote. A mid-term blip that gets a few days of...
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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...
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...
There is no principle in American politics more cynically exploited, more routinely caricatured, and more urgently needed than states' rights. Say those two...
Every time a president issues a controversial pardon, the same tired circus begins. Cable news explodes with moral outrage. The chattering class demands...
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...
Every time the word impeachment enters the national conversation, you hear it: high crimes and misdemeanors. It is quoted, tweeted, and shouted on cable...
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...
Every election cycle, some populist from either party stands up and thunders about the "revolving door" in Washington. The former senator who becomes a...
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...