Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Center For American Progress: Ian Millhiser: 'The Politicization of the Constitution'


Source:Center For American Progress- with a look at the U.S. Constitution.

"The Center for American Progress' Ian Millhiser, Senior Policy Analyst, Constitutional Policy, describes how conservatives have politicized the U.S. Constitution and offers insight into what our founding document actually says." 

From CAP

There's only one issue that I take with Ian Millhister with his little commentary here. He said that the United States is a democracy and we do things by majority rule. I'm paraphrasing here, but that's basically what he said. 

If America were a pure democracy, we (meaning the government) would do basically do everything by majority rule and there would be no need for a U.S. Supreme Court and even a Federal court system as well, at least as it relates to how our government operates and what it can do for us or to us, just as long as a majority of American voters approves of what the government is doing.

What America is, is a constitutional, liberal democratic republic form of government, meaning that we elect our leaders. But even our elected leaders are sworn to defend and protect the U.S. Constitution, which means they can't do things and pass laws simply because they're popular. Everything that government does anywhere in America, has to be constitutional. But it doesn't have to be popular or even democratic.

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