A 90 Day Study of – the Intrigue of Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact February 15, 2016 – June 17, 2016
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A 90 Day Study of – The Intrigue of Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact February 15, 2016 – June 17, 2016 Featuring essays by Constituting America’s Guest Constitutional Scholars 1 The Intrigue of Presidential Elections and Their Constitutional Impact Constitutional Scholar Essayists Steven H. Aden, Senior Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom Sam Agami, History Teacher, Princess Anne Middle School, Virginia John S. Baker, Professor of Law Emeritus, Louisiana State University Law School Michael Barone, Co-author of The Almanac of American Politics and Senior Political Analyst for the Washington Examiner; Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute James D. Best, Author of Tempest at Dawn, a novel about the 1787 Constitutional Convention; Principled Action, Lessons from the Origins of the American Republic Andrew Bibby, Interim Director, Center for Constitutional Studies, Utah Valley University Mark Cheathem, History Professor, Cumberland University, Tennessee Brian Chilton, Former University Of Virginia School Of Law Associate Editor & Executive Editor, Virginia Law Review; Author, Issachar’s Heirs Robert Lowry Clinton, Professor and Chair Emeritus, Department of Political Science, Southern Illinois University Carbondale; Author, Marbury v. Madison; Judicial Review Horace Cooper, Legal Commentator; Adjunct Fellow, National Center for Public Policy Research Daniel A. Cotter, Adjunct Professor, The John Marshall Law School; Immediate Past President, The Chicago Bar Association Scot Faulkner, Served as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives and as a Member of the Reagan White House Staff; President, Friends of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park 2 Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation, Grand Rapids, Michigan Kevin Gutzman, Professor and Chairman, Department of History, Western Connecticut State University and Author, James Madison and the Making of America Kirk Higgins, Senior Manager of Education Bill of Rights Institute The Honorable John N. Hostettler, Former Congressman from Indiana; Director, The D. James Kennedy Center for Christian Statesmanship; Author of Ordained and Established: A Statesman-Citizen’s Guide to the United States Constitution Lisa Ice-Jones, Administrator, President William Henry Harrison’s Grouseland Mansion and Museum Joerg Knipprath, Professor of Law at Southwestern Law School David Kopel, Research Director at the Independence Institute, and Adjunct Professor of Advanced Constitutional Law at Denver University, Sturm College of Law Andrew Langer, President, Institute for Liberty; host of the LangerCast at RELMNetwork.com James Legee, Program Director at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and Adjunct Professor at Albright College John Marini, Senior Fellow, Claremont Institute, California; Fourth book in progress, American Constitutionalism and the Administrative State Brion McClanahan, Author of The Founding Fathers Guide to the Constitution Robert McDonald, Professor of American History, United States Military Academy, West Point; Author, Confounding Father: Thomas Jefferson’s Image in His Own Time (forthcoming) 3 William Morrisey, William and Patricia LaMothe Chair in the United States Constitution at Hillsdale College; Author, Self-Government, The American Theme: Presidents of the Founding and Civil War and The Dilemma of Progressivism Forrest Nabors, University of Alaska at Anchorage Professor of Political Science Steve Knott, Co-author with Bill of Rights Institute’s Tony Williams, Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance That Forged America Joe Postell, Professor of Political Science, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Peter Roff, Constituting America advisory board member, U.S. News and World Report contributing editor, and One America News Network commentator Tara Ross, Author of Enlightened Democracy, the Case for the Electoral College, and We Elect a President: The Story of Our Electoral College Karl Rove, Former Deputy Chief of Staff to President George W. Bush and author of The Triumph of William McKinley, Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters Kyle Scott, Professor of Constitutional Law, University of Houston Rachel Sheffield, Policy Analyst, DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society, The Heritage Foundation David Shestokas, Author, Constitutional Sound Bites; Host, Constitutionally Speaking Matthew Spalding, Ph.D., Associate Vice President and Dean of Educational Programs, The Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies & Citizenship, Hillsdale College Janine Turner, Constituting America Founder & Co-Chair Juliette Turner, Constituting America National Youth Director, Author of Our Constitution Rocks and Our Presidents Rock 4 Tony Williams, Author of five books including Washington and Hamilton: The Alliance that Forged America J. Eric Wise, Partner, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP in New York City Millennials’ time to choose – Guest Essayist: Juliette Turner By Juliette Turner – – Friday, February 12, 2016 The Washington Times ANALYSIS/OPINION: If one were to look through the list of America’s past presidents, one would quickly conclude that many of the men who held our nation’s highest office would not have reached the Oval Office if they ran today. For example, James Madison’s soft voice and small stature would have branded him as too meek and complacent to serve, Andrew Jackson’s mistake of marrying a technically-still-married-woman would have been the subject of countless attack adds, Abraham Lincoln’s strange looks and history of deep depression would have deterred many voters, Theodore Roosevelt’s choice to leave his infant daughter behind while he wrangled the wild west would have been looked upon as unsound judgment, Warren Harding’s extramarital flings would have inevitably surfaced quickly in the primaries, Franklin Roosevelt’s fragile health would have caused his opponents to label him as unable to serve…and the list goes on and on. So what changed? In 1960, an event transpired which would ever change the way the American people chose their presidential candidates: the first televised debate. This debate, which showcased Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, is seen as the reason Mr. Kennedy was able to push past Mr. Nixon in the polls. Mr. Nixon’s refusal to wear makeup and his unfortunate tendency to sweat under the bright lights was, for many presidential scholars, one of the reasons he lost the 1960 election. Let it be duly noted: television can make or break a candidate. In recent decades, voters have been looking for candidates who “look presidential,” who “really care about the voter,” and who have the most sophisticated flyers and mailers (and who have the most volunteers to distributed said flyers). Highly qualified candidates who struggle with “presidential appeal” are slowly pushed toward the bottom of the candidate pool. There’s a reason every president over the past 46 years has stood over 5’ 11” ½ (yes, the ½ is important). And the media, mainly televised media, has undeniably played an important role in this conundrum. The television gravitates toward candidates who are popular, have money, and look the part. Candidates who are eloquent get more air time, candidates who have the most money get the prime ad times, and the guys (or gals) who are highest in the polls get center stage on the debates. 5 But is this the way a country should be run? If you were to ask George Washington, he would reference the electoral college and wonder why popular elections are taking place in the first place. They imagined a convention where all candidates of any political viewpoint would gather and the electorate would decide then and there. Election of 1800 anybody? Unfortunately, our Founders’ ideal presidential election protocol has not been in affect for quite a while. Ever since the Democratic party formally mobilized behind Andrew Jackson in 1828 and the Republican party convened for the first time in 1856, the electoral college has only been responsible for circling “blue” or “red.” Our two party system which dominates our electoral college has bled over into our primary process, preventing any candidate who does not align with either of these two parties from running. This inculcated system has only been disrupted twice in our history (Teddy Roosevelt in 1912 and Ross Perot in 1992 both received electoral votes), but never has a third party candidate reached the white house. For a country that was founded without any political parties by men who warned of the dangers of party faction, this is strange indeed. This is exactly why this election is so intriguing. On the Republican side, the current top two contenders, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, are both men who promise to challenge the status quo. Some would even argue that these two men are so radical they don’t even belong in their political party. These candidates are not only challenging Washington, they are challenging the media and the party system’s modus operandi. On the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders, the dark horse candidate who has pulled to the front, likewise promises to challenge the status quo and even America’s political and economic system itself. But maybe this radical behavior is the reason these candidates are succeeding. Americans, especially my generation, are sick of politics as usual—not just in Congress, but in America as a whole. According to a recent Gallup poll, only 26% of American voters identify as Republicans, only 29% identify as Democrat, and a shocking 42% identify as Independent. Furthermore, according to a poll