Lawsuits challenging Biden's vaccine mandates target federal overreach
The health of our citizenry has traditionally been a matter exclusively within the purview of the states.
To the Republic: Rediscovering the Constitution
About the project
In her nearly 250 years of independence, America has endured brutal wars, catastrophic natural disasters and ravaging economic depressions. Through every challenge, she has survived because of a singular focus on the founding principles that launched one of the greatest experiments in human history and that tested the very boundaries of the capabilities of man.
Can a free people govern themselves?
Today, America faces a crisis unprecedented in her history. Not that we are more hopeless than we were during the frozen winters of the Revolution. Not that we are more riven than during the Civil War. Not that we live with a greater injustice than slavery. Not that we are more frightened and hungry than we were during the Great Depression. Not that we are more outraged than we were after 9/11.
What makes this troubling time unlike any other is the full-scale assault — from the criminal class to the highest levels of governmental power — on the very principles of our Founding. The simple yet powerful ideas of equal justice under law, of self-governance, of rights given by a Creator, not a man or a king, and of freedom of speech and religion have come under open attack from every level of society.
So the time now is ripe to revisit those principles. Remind ourselves how the Founders grappled with every question. Test their answers. Reevaluate their thinking for a modern world that, at least on the surface, looks different from the ink-quilled days when those principles were set to parchment and made into history.
The Washington Times has laid that challenge at the feet of some of the country’s pivotal thinkers. Each week in the coming months, we will present their findings and arguments to you as we rediscover the Constitution.
Recent Stories
Classical education critical for preserving Constitution
The Constitution sometimes seems out of sync with the spirit of our times. This is troubling for those of us who value individual rights, federalism and institutional safeguards against tyranny.
Supreme Court's Chevron deference to federal agencies was a mistake
Who gets to interpret what statutory provisions mean in certain circumstances? That question was as pointed and as important during consideration of the Constitution as it is today.
The Lame Mule Act is today's Flat Earth Society
When thinking about the Constitution, we often focus on what has gone sideways or just plain wrong. It is useful, from time to time, to reflect on how our constitutional processes and limits have resulted and can result in a government that is better, more responsive, more adaptable, and more likely to be able to repair itself if something is broken.
Third-party settlement payments, misused by Obama, violate Constitution
One of the more troubling evasions of constitutional protections in the arena of environmental issues is the use of supplemental environmental projects in settlements of government enforcement actions.
America's powerful administrative state would be unrecognizable to the Founders
The Biden administration's slow, weak response to protests in Cuba is nothing if not predictable.
Federalism: A cure for what ails the U.S.
We all have a direct stake in protecting federalism, even if we don't always like what it produces.
Governments must pay owners more than 'fair market value' when seizing property
The Fifth Amendment specifically mandates that owners receive "just compensation," which the Supreme Court has long interpreted as the "fair market value" of the property.
Government's power to seize private property must be reined in
Despite the deep polarization of American politics right now and the concurrent divides on a wide range of constitutional issues, there is at least one issue on which there is considerable cross-ideological agreement: limiting the power of eminent domain.
State legislatures have the power to fix election processes
State sovereignty is at the heart of the election system. The Constitution places responsibility for success squarely on the shoulders of state legislators. The Founders' decision to place elections in the hands of states followed months of debate about the proper balance of power between the states and the national government.
Chip Roy: America's new crisis and new choice: Freedom or fracture
Our federal government has become powerful enough to enact a train of abuses against the American people and the states through both action and inaction.
Anthony Caso: We risk losing our republic without active participation
Elizabeth Powell was a leading woman in Philadelphia and a political thinker who hosted salons during sessions of the Continental Congress. It did not surprise Benjamin Franklin, then, when Powell approached him at the end of the Constitutional Convention and asked: "What have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's answer: "A republic, if you can keep it."
Clint Bolick: Independent judiciary crucial to protecting Constitution
One of the most important components of the constitutional scheme of checks and balances is an independent judiciary.
David S. Jonas and Erielle Davidson: War Powers Resolution should be repealed
With the possibility of a more interventionist foreign policy approach looming, questions will inevitably resume over which branch of government actually is responsible for sending U.S. troops abroad.
Pete Stauber: Developing American natural resources encourages hard work, innovation
Americans in pursuit of the American dream have helped create a global superpower, and in turn, a more prosperous future for themselves and their families.
Jim Banks: Illegal immigrants should be omitted in congressional count
The House of Representatives, otherwise known as the "People's House," was designed by the Framers to be the body of the federal government most sensitive and receptive to voter opinion. That's why almost all members represent fewer voters than senators do, and it's why each member represents as equal a number of constituents as is possible and practical.
Justin Owen: Give power back to the states, as Founders envisioned
With the Democrats holding a slimmer-than-expected majority in the House and a 50-50 split in the Senate, the next two years will represent an almost equal tug of war between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
![“[Former President Donald] Trump was a norm-breaker. Some of those norms should not have been broken. The impeachment process is one means by which Congress can attempt to reestablish those norms,” writes Keith E. Whittington. (Senate Television via AP)](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2021/02/09/Trump_Impeachment_47127.jpg-cc78e_c48-0-2762-1582_s326x190.jpg?29835a23821b8d4544310e10de9655ef132368a4)
Keith E. Whittington: What is the Senate impeachment trial's purpose
The Senate is starting a most unusual impeachment trial. For only the second time in its history, it is likely to proceed to trial to consider articles of impeachment against a former government official.
Tara Ross: Founders created Electoral College as a check to tyranny
The 2020 presidential election felt surreal. U.S. elections typically end with certainty and acceptance as a new president is inaugurated and a new phase of American political life opens.
Michael McKenna: States must stand up to feds to stop poaching of their power
The word "federalism" does not appear in the Constitution, yet it is the guiding principle that preserves the United States from the defects of unitary governments, like Great Britain, in which all power flows from one central government, and the defects of confederation, in which power is dispersed and consequently attenuated beyond usefulness.
David Jonas: Invoking 25th Amendment would set dangerous precedent
The "To the Republic" series has primarily addressed the original Constitution rather than the subsequent amendments. However, there has been much discussion of the suddenly popular 25th Amendment during the Trump administration, particularly since last week's riot at the Capitol.
Tom McClintock: Electoral vote certification rests with states, not Congress
Many Americans still have serious concerns about the integrity of the vote in this election, and rightly so.
David S. Jonas: Joe Biden should treat Iran nuclear deal as treaty
Most Americans believe that the Senate ratifies treaties, but that is the president's function and is one of many brilliant checks and balances in our system of government, as noted by Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers.
Daniel Gade, Richard Crespin: American republic in danger as power seeps out of Congress
Before republics fall -- from ancient Rome to modern America -- their legislatures show signs of dysfunction. They avoid tackling the tough challenges facing their societies, defer to other branches of government, and fail in their basic obligation to represent the popular will.
Tom McClintock: Mother's Rule shows importance of Constitution's separation of powers
In Federalist 51, James Madison noted the difficulties of loaning power to a government-run by men and not angels. A degree of government is necessary to maintain order and protect liberty, but too much of it can quickly devolve to tyranny.
Jordan Bruneau: State ballot measures show tyranny of majority rule
As we head toward the Electoral College's vote on Dec. 14, it would be useful to think about the risks posed by direct democracy.
Vanishing Congress cedes too much power to regulators
If the Founders came to Congress tomorrow and saw the diminished role the legislative branch plays in the function of the federal government -- the degree to which the legislature really is vanishing -- it would be a mystery to them.
Richard Crespin: U.S. republic needs loyalty, confidence of its citizens
In "The English Constitution," Walter Bagehot compares and contrasts the unwritten English Constitution with the written U.S. Constitution.
David Jonas: Framers were dubious, but a standing army now needed
Is a standing army a good idea? Is it necessary? Is it wise? Thirty-six countries do not have armies.
Guy Reschenthaler: Electoral College protects minorities from passions of majority
The Constitution is designed to ensure that the president represents all Americans: The majority and the minority, urban communities, rural communities, big states, small states, and every region.
Tom McClintock: Far-left threatens minority rights
The Constitution, as solid as it is, ultimately relies on those who make and execute the laws to do so faithfully and with good intention.
Mike Pompeo: Every generation responsible for securing America's freedom
This project reminds me of the day I arrived at West Point as a cadet, when I was issued a copy of the 85 essays penned by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
William Barr: Founders gambled on virtue prevailing over passions
In his renowned 1785 pamphlet "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments," James Madison described religious liberty as not only "a right towards men" but also "a duty towards the Creator," and a "duty ... precedent both in order of time and degree of obligation, to the claims of Civil Society."
