The idea of a living constitution seems to accompany the adherence to progressive ideology. But a living constitution basically says whatever a judge thinks it should say, not what the constitution actually says. The quote of the week comes from Justice Neil Gorsuch: Why Originalism Is the Best Approach to the Constitution. To wit:
I suspect the real complaint of living constitutionalists isn’t with old laws generally so much as it is with the particular terms of this old law. The Constitution is short—only about 7,500 words, including all its amendments. It doesn’t dictate much about the burning social and political questions they care about. Instead, it leaves the resolution of those matters to elections and votes and the amendment process. And it seems this is the real problem for the critics. For when it comes to the social and political questions of the day they care most about, many living constitutionalists would prefer to have philosopher-king judges swoop down from their marble palace to ordain answers rather than allow the people and their representatives to discuss, debate, and resolve them. You could even say the real complaint here is with our democracy.
Well said, Justice Gorsuch. (Bold added for emphasis.)
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2:20 PM 9/8/2019
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