Recess Appointments: Forgotten Constitutional Limits from the Founders
Even Alexander Hamilton – no opponent of big, centralized government – held a far more restrictive view of executive power on “recess appointments” than most politicians and judges today. That tells you just how far things have gone off the rails. In this...
Repeal the 17th Amendment: Ignored Anti-Federalist Warnings on the Senate
Repealing the 17th Amendment is the right move to help restore federalism – but is it enough? The Anti-Federalists warned us about dangers in the Senate’s structure long before the 17th came along, and without understanding those warnings, we could still end up...
17th Amendment Myth Busted: There was no Recall Power
A lot of people believe that before the 17th amendment, state legislatures had the power to recall and replace senators in congress. But that’s nothing more than a myth. Records from the ratification debates show that this power never existed under the Constitution....