Tag: James Madison

Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Deep Dive on the Declaration of Independence and Its Relevance Today

Ben Weingarten
By Ben Weingarten
Ben Weingarten Contributor
Ben Weingarten is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research. He writes on national security and foreign policy, economics, and politics for publications including The Federalist, where he is a senior contributor, as well as City Journal, Conservative Review and PJ Media. Ben is the founder and CEO of ChangeUp Media, a media consulting and production company dedicated to advancing conservative principles. He is also a 2015 Publius Fellow of the Claremont Institute. You can find his… [more]
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In honor of Independence Day, for this week’s Big Ideas with Ben Weingarten podcast I take a deep dive into the Declaration of Independence, discussing:

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Recommended by Ricochet Members Created with Sketch. Quote of the Day: This is not Heaven

Susan Quinn
By Susan Quinn
Susan Quinn Contributor
Retired consultant, avid biography reader and meditator
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“The Progressives think the Founders’ system imperfect. The Founders thought so, too. Men, they thought, are not angels. They can live well and freely, but this is not heaven.” — Dr. Larry Arnn, The Founders Key

Our Founders knew that creating a Constitution that would last through the ages was a risky business. Designing a democratic republic was a unique endeavor, and writing a document that would preserve the country for the future, no matter how well intended, was being written for men and women: flawed and power-hungry beings. It wasn’t just that the Founders were so deeply informed about human nature; they only had to look at themselves, their goals, weaknesses, limitations, and desires to know that an extraordinary document would need to be produced. As James Madison said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”

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Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. Yesterday’s Non-Originalism

Saint Augustine
By Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine Member
I read and talk and write about philosophy for a living. I am also a Southern Baptist. I don't see any conflict between the two. I like things like my wife, good fiction books, good sci-fi television, the theory of hylomorphism, and a nice cup of tea. The closest thing I have to a personal website is my Academia.edu profile. I also run TeacherOfPhilosophy on YouTube, which probably has the best (and perhaps the only) collection of cartoons based on the dialogues and speeches of Plato and other g… [more]
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James_Madison_Portrait2Conservatives tend to be originalists in constitutional interpretation. But not all to the right of center are originalists, and not all non-originalists are hard-core, leftist living constitutionalists. There’s a view of non-originalism that’s remarkably compatible with conservativism. I don’t endorse it myself, but it’s well worth looking at.

Another way of putting it: There’s an alternative to originalism that’s not today’s alternative. It’s not the Left’s. It’s old, or at least it has old roots. It has a lot to do with Madison. Let’s start with some of his principles and build up to that alternative:

First, Madison tells us that the Constitution is given its authority by the people:

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Promoted from the Ricochet Member Feed by Editors Created with Sketch. George Will Gets It Wrong

Saint Augustine
By Saint Augustine
Saint Augustine Member
I read and talk and write about philosophy for a living. I am also a Southern Baptist. I don't see any conflict between the two. I like things like my wife, good fiction books, good sci-fi television, the theory of hylomorphism, and a nice cup of tea. The closest thing I have to a personal website is my Academia.edu profile. I also run TeacherOfPhilosophy on YouTube, which probably has the best (and perhaps the only) collection of cartoons based on the dialogues and speeches of Plato and other g… [more]
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Madison
Madison

George Will writes in “Some GOP Candidates Are Becoming Unhinged”:

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Contributor Post Created with Sketch. Wanted: A Jealous Congress

Tom Meyer, Common Citizen
By Tom Meyer, Common Citizen
Tom Meyer, Common Citizen Contributor
Conservative libertarian, former Ricochet East Coast/Morning Editor. I post on Twitter @tomdmeyer
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One of the more depressing aspects of recent constitutional history is the decline in institutional opposition between the branches of our Federal government.

Institutional opposition stems from the separation of powers described in the Constitution, in which the three branches of government exist as separate and co-equal institutions, each with their own prerogatives and responsibilities. If Congress were, for instance, to negotiate a treaty directly with a foreign power, the President should oppose the action on the grounds that Congress has usurped his rightful authority. Likewise, if the President attempted to take out a loan on behalf of the country, Congress should should rightly raise Hell. Whether the president and congress* agree on the substance of these issues should be irrelevant; the point is that each is wrongly poaching on the other’s territory.

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