Free Republic

“Every great cause,” wrote the philosopher Eric Hoffer, “begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” Having led the anti-slavery movement to its culmination some 160 years ago, and since setting the stage for explosive national growth and prosperity in the latter 19th century, the guiding principle of today’s GOP is . . . ?We shouldn’t be disappointed, ever, by the Racket Republicans. As a group, what do Republicans in Congress stand for other than reelection? Hardly a week goes by in which patriots aren’t saddened. Name the issue. Democrats pack up like dogs. Pubbies...

In 1918, Scotus settled the issue of WWI conscription v. the 13th Amendment’s ban on involuntary servitude. Borrowing from Vattel, the court majority wrote in the Selective Draft Law Cases:The highest duty of the citizen is to bear arms at the call of the nation. This duty is inherent in citizenship; without it and the correlative power of the State to compel its performance, society could not be maintained. It is a contradiction in terms to say that the United States is a sovereign and yet lacks this power of self-defense.So, the Scotus boldly defended the survival of society and...

A book by George C. Edwards III, 2004. Democracy is always an easy sell. If you admire democracy, if you feel that America is or should be a democracy, you’ll enjoy this book. If the 2000 election angered you not because Al Gore sought to extend recounts until Florida “got it right,” but instead because he won half a million more votes nationwide than George Bush and still lost, then this book is for you. Purpose of the Electoral College. However, if you believe the Framers’ system served a distinct and noble purpose, that of providing an endless succession of...

A book by George C. Edwards III, 2004. Criticism of the status quo is easy. What is harder is to create a better alternative. I confess to having little patience with those who fault the 1787 Framers for the condition of our government in 2019. They didn’t write a Bible. They didn’t hand down immutable Commandments. Their Constitution, one that’s consistent with republican principles unique to the American experience, is infinitely amendable. Don’t like it? Amend it. But one must be aware of what one is doing. Nearly all of the twenty-seven amendments are wise and contribute to the lofty...

The first distinction between Progressives and Constitutional Originalists is their polar opposite emphasis on process. Progressive couldn’t care less for constitutional process. Oh, they’ll utilize constitutional processes if they can arrive at the desired progressive conclusion, but it ultimately doesn’t matter whether they arrive at social justice via popular referendum, statute, administrative regulation, or judicial decisions. Constitutional Originalists cherish proper processes, and the most important process in the American republic is lawmaking, and limited lawmaking, by Congress. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, Originalists sniff out tyranny with every regulation or court decision, regardless of its perceived social justice benefit, which has...