When a “federal takeover of elections” is nothing of the kind.
Tag Archives: Constitution (US)
Supreme Court Appears Skeptical of Boston’s Refusal to Fly Christian Flag
The court seemed poised to rule that the city, which has approved many other requests to raise flags at its City Hall, violated a Christian group’s free speech rights.
Politics and the Supreme Court
Several readers accuse the court of making decisions based on partisanship, not legal reasoning.
Our Broken Electoral System Created the Capitol Riot
Our institutions, from the Electoral College to the media, have convinced conservatives that they are denizens of the real America.
To Save Democracy, First We Need to Make It Real
What’s often called the crisis of American democracy is the result not of too much democracy but of too little.
Why Supreme Court Justices Need Term Limits
It is the best way to address the crisis in the court’s functioning and legitimacy.
Trump Weaponized the Supreme Court
The three justices appointed by Trump are doing exactly what they were sent to the court to do.
Populism Has Reached the Supreme Court, Too
Judicial populism justifies the exercise of power without accounting for its real-world effects.
Supreme Court Seems Wary of Ban on State Aid to Religious Schools
The case, concerning a tuition program in Maine, seemed likely to extend a winning streak at the court for parents seeking public funds for religious education.
The Supreme Court Faces a Voting Paradox with Abortion Decision
Any voting system is vulnerable to inconsistency.
If James Madison Weighed In on Politics Today
Readers discuss James Madison and the role of Congress today. Also: Expanding the fight for abortion rights; a proposal for the National Mall.
Critical Moment for Roe, and the Supreme Court’s Legitimacy
As justices consider Mississippi’s restrictive abortion law, scholars debate what a reversal of Roe v. Wade would mean for the court’s credibility.
Fearing a Repeat of Jan. 6, Congress Eyes Changes to Electoral Count Law
Members of the special House committee investigating the Capitol riot are among those arguing for an overhaul of a more than century-old statute enacted to address disputed elections.
The Trump Conspiracy Is Hiding in Plain Sight
Large and influential parts of the Republican Party are increasingly untethered from any commitment to electoral democracy.
Big Tech ‘Amplification’: What Does That Mean?
Some lawmakers from both parties argue that when social media sites boost the performance of hateful or violent posts, the sites become accomplices.
I Once Urged the Supreme Court to Overturn Roe. I’ve Changed My Mind.
To overturn Roe now would be an act of constitutional vandalism — not conservative, but reactionary.
There Is Another Democrat A.O.C. Should Be Mad At
The monumental scale of the Build Back Better plan raises a difficult question: Is a fleeting and narrow majority enough for making history?
Cryptocurrency Group Loses Bid for Rare Copy of U.S. Constitution
ConstitutionDAO, a “decentralized autonomous organization,” had raised more than $40 million to bid for the artifact.
Biden’s Supreme Court Commission Shows Interest in Term Limits
But in newly released materials, members of the panel acknowledged “profound disagreement” over the wisdom of adding more justices to the court.
On Abortion and Covid-19, a Court Goes Rogue
The Supreme Court has empowered a lower court that is out of control.
They Love Crypto. They’re Trying to Buy the Constitution.
How a “financial flash mob” is trying to raise $20 million for a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution.
A Landmark Reckoning With America’s Racial Past and Present
Originally published as a series in The New York Times Magazine and now revised and expanded as a book, “The 1619 Project,” edited by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, Ilena Silverman and Jake Silverstein, undertakes an ambitious examination of slavery and its ongoing legacy for Black Americans.
Madison Saw Something in the Constitution We Should Open Our Eyes To
The guarantee clause could help Democrats push back against the threat of Republican political hegemony.
Supreme Court Looks at Puerto Rico’s Status in Case on Benefits
A federal law excludes residents of Puerto Rico from a Social Security program that provides monthly payments to needy people.
The Problem With the Supreme Court’s “Shadow Docket”
Another problem with the court’s “shadow docket.”
The Supreme Court Should Uphold New York’s Concealed Carry Law
The court shouldn’t take from the people and their legislatures the authority they have had for centuries to decide where handguns may be carried.
What Makes Change Possible?
The failures of the Articles of Confederation have a lot to teach us about the conditions that make new forms of government feasible.
Lincoln Broke Our Constitution. Then He Remade It.
He turned a messy, pragmatic compromise into an aspirational blueprint for a nation based on equal liberty for all.
Was the Constitution Pro-Slavery? Jefferson Davis Thought So. Abraham Lincoln Didn’t.
Noah Feldman’s “The Broken Constitution” argues that Lincoln had to remake the American Constitution in order to battle slavery.
The Looming Crisis for the Gun Safety Movement
If they want their agenda to survive, activists will have to stop trying to ban guns — and focus instead on reducing the violence those guns bring.
In Texas Abortion Law Case, a Spotlight on Brett Kavanaugh
If the Supreme Court is to reverse course after refusing to block the law in September, at least one conservative justice must change positions. Justice Kavanaugh is the most likely candidate.
Why I Ask More of America Than We Can Get
Our rules and institutions exist for us and our flourishing, not for their own sake.
Briefs Draw Battle Lines as Texas Abortion Law Nears Supreme Court
The justices, who will hear arguments on Monday in two cases challenging the state’s near-total ban, required the parties to file their briefs with extraordinary speed.
Facebook Is Bad. Fixing It Rashly Could Make It Much Worse.
Lawmakers should proceed cautiously when altering the rules governing the internet.
Cori Bush and AOC Are Right About Jan. 6 and 1866
The Fourteenth Amendment shouldn’t just be about the Civil War.
On the Supreme Court, Religion and a Scheduled Execution
The Supreme Court routinely rejects death penalty appeals. But it halted an execution when religion became an issue.
Biden Can End Debt-Ceiling Sabotage Once and for All
The 14th Amendment offers a way out.
The Supreme Court Has Gone Off the Rails
Justices who once derided judicial “meddling” are now meddlers themselves.
When Is a ‘Majority’ Not Actually a Majority?
The problem of the “constitutional majority” in American politics.
We Underestimated Trump Before. It Didn’t Go Well.
The former president continues to pose a threat because our political imagination fails us.
The Jan. 6 Plotters Had a Mob. They Also Had the Eastman Plan.
The storming of the Capitol closed the door on one era of American politics and opened the door to another.
What Sandra Day O’Connor Stood For on the Supreme Court
Forty years after her appointment as the court’s first female justice, it’s worth reflecting on the path she took.
A Political Road Not Taken in America
A brief look at the Confederate Constitution.
How George Washington Tried to Heal the Political Divide
As president, he went on the road to pull the new nation together.
Democrats Press Biden to Take On Texas Abortion Law
House Democrats urged the Justice Department to prosecute anyone who tries to sue women who seek abortions.
The Supreme Court Outdoes Itself by Doing Nothing
The conservative majority essentially nullified the constitutional rights of millions of American women without so much as an argument.
In Nearly All Other Democracies, This Is Not Normal
The two-year House term has profound consequences for our government — and too many of them are negative.
America Needs to Break Up Its Biggest States
How would you like to live in the state of New York City?
A Cheerleader’s Supreme Court Win for Students’ Free Speech
Students got their first free-speech win in 50 years. That’s a good thing.
Appeals Court Blocks Ruling That Overturned California’s Assault Weapons Ban
The decision by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit leaves the three-decade-old ban in place while litigation continues.