Since the passage of Obamacare, the federal government’s role in American citizens’ lives has grown significantly. In a recent lecture, Heritage expert Robert Moffit discusses how passage of the health care law has not only grown the size and scope of government, but has also ignited a debate over the proper role for Washington in Americans’ everyday lives. Moffit writes that, under Obamacare: Over the next eight years, millions of Americans will be on the receiving end of a flood of red tape—tens of thousands of pages of new rules, regulations, and …
The fireworks rarely fly on Sept. 17, but that holiday – Constitution Day – is just as significant as Independence Day. At least, that’s the thought behind a new joint venture of Constituting America and Let Freedom Ring. The two organizations have joined forces to promote a nationwide public reading of the Constitution one month from yesterday on Sept. 18, the Saturday following Constitution Day. The event – called “We Read the Constitution” – aims to inspire citizens across the country to host or attend local gatherings to read the …
Prior to his presidency, Senator Obama famously announced that empathy would be his criteria for selecting judges. Although Sonia Sotomayor deemphasized her empathetic understanding of the law, many on the left still advocate empathy as the criteria for judges. James Gibson is no exception. In a recent article, “Expecting Justice and Hoping for Empathy,” Gibson discusses his recent survey that revealed 68% of polled individuals strongly agree with the statement that justices should “Be able to empathize with ordinary people – that is, to be able understand how the law …
What do you think most Americans would say if the U.S. government created a new and exclusively race-based government with the authority to exempt itself from the U.S. Constitution and state authority at its own discretion? As ridiculous as it sounds, that is exactly what the House of Representatives voted for yesterday by a vote of 245-164. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs explained that the passage of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act of 2010 pleased President Obama, and that he, “looks forward to signing the bill into law …
This Bill of Rights day, Let’s Celebrate the Constitution Many Americans praise the first ten amendments to our Constitution, collectively called the Bill of Rights, as providing the true protection of our liberty. What if there were no Bill of Rights? Would our fundamental liberties still be protected? Would we still have the rights to speak freely and to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience? Sure we would! The Bill of Rights was never considered to be chief guard of our liberty. In fact, many founders argued …
This is the third in a four part series. Matthew Spalding’s new book, We Still Hold These Truths, examines the timeless principles and practical wisdom that have been the source of America’s monumental success. In this video segment Spalding details how the rise of Czars in American government – unelected bureaucrats with great regulatory power - pose a grave threat to the liberty of all Americans and fly in the face of the nature of the Constitution. Watch:
This is the second of a four part series. Matthew Spalding’s new book, We Still Hold These Truths, examines the timeless principles and practical wisdom that have been the source of America’s monumental success. In this video segment Spalding discusses the progressive assault on the Founders’ principles that began more than a century ago and that continues—indeed, is accelerating—in our time. Modern political leaders and cultural elites have all too readily abandoned the principles to which America is dedicated; even more troubling is how readily we all let it happen. Progressivism …
This is the first of a five part series. In the midst of frenzied efforts to remake our nation—of endless government initiatives involved in virtually every aspect of our daily lives—Americans are increasingly concerned: How did we get so far off track? And how can we get America back on course? Matthew Spalding answers these questions in a new book, We Still Hold These Truths, by looking to the timeless principles and practical wisdom that have been the source of America’s monumental success. An expert in American political history at …
Ed Whelan has a strong column in yesterday’s Washington Post on the Attorney General’s attempt to suppress an Office of Legal Counsel opinion concluding that the pending D.C. “voting rights” bill is unconstitutional. (We share that view.) This is not, as the Post had put it previously, a case of different parts of DOJ having different opinions, but an end-run around the Department’s usual clearance process: Now, it’s legitimate, if exceedingly rare, for an attorney general to contest OLC’s advice…. But there’s a right way to overrule OLC, and then …
Robert Bork at Heritage / Photo by Andrew Blasko Former judge Robert Bork delivered the first lecture in Heritage’s Joseph Story Distinguished Lecture series that is a part of a larger 10-year initiative started by the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies to bring back judicial restraint and the rule of law. The title of Bork’s lecture was aptly named, “A Republic — If You Can Keep It.” It was taken from a quote by Benjamin Franklin when asked what the Founding Fathers were giving to the American people when …
