>>No, the Constitution, it seems to me, is rapidly becoming a non-factor in American politics<<
They do so at their own peril. What is the logical outcome if the laws that govern us all are disregarded? Anarchy!
Ignore the Constitution and you sign your own (figuratively speaking, of course)death warrant.
on the contrary, it is tyranny.
When the laws restraining the governors are ignored, they exercise their power arbitrarily and visciously.
You could make that same argument about nearly every revolution that has ever taken place, because every revolution overthrew the existing government. Doesn’t matter whether it’s a constitutional republic or a despotic dictatorship.
Sure, some degree of anarchy results from the upheaval, simply because there’s always an element of society looking for an excuse and an opportunity to run wild. How wide and deep the anarchy goes depends on many factors, of course.
We don’t believe it can happen here. Coups happen in faraway places, third-world countries. The Revolutionary War and the Civil War are likewise distant to us, fiction-like stories we read about but which (to our comprehension) almost didn’t really happen.
We have this irrational faith in the Constitution and in our Republic - as if the Constitution were Scripture itself and America were God’s invincible nation. Well it’s not and we’re not.
(The Constitution isn’t what preserved the Union in 1861-65. Force did - for better or worse.)
The overthrow of constitutional government in America has, until now, proceeded very slowly. Why have those in power today decided to pick up the pace? I wish I knew.
Their tactics aren’t hard to discern, but their strategy is.