Constitutional Vanguard: The Constitution Doesn’t Mean a Damned Thing to the So-Called “Constitutionalists”
My latest Substack newsletter is out, and it addresses a very simple concept: you don’t get to call yourself a “constitutionalist” if you always read the Constitution in a way that is politically convenient for you. With the impeachment trial set to start next week, it does a deep dive into the arguments that the impeachment is unconstitutional because Trump is out of office. Here’s a sample:
“OK,” I can hear you say, “but doesn’t the person being impeached have to be in office at the time of conviction?” No, and any other result would create an absurd result that the Framers could not have intended: that an officeholder could simply avoid future disqualification by resigning moments before the vote to convict is held. Under this view, an impeached president whose conviction was imminent and certain could simply burst in through the wall of the Senate chamber, like the Kool-Aid Man, minutes before the vote of conviction, only instead of yelling “OH YEAHHH!” the president would yell “I RESIGN! OH YEAHHH!” And unlike Michael Scott “declaring” bankruptcy by yelling “I DECLARE BANKRUPTCY!” at the workers in his office, the president’s resignation probably could take effect that quickly. I don’t think the Founders meant to allow a president to escape disqualification so easily.
Also, I believe I have created the opportunity for you to become a paid subscriber. The benefits begin tonight. I think around 5 p.m. my time, I plan to send any new subscribers two emails. One will be my analysis of a likely upcoming ruling in a lawsuit filed by the Association of Deputy District Attorneys against one George Gascón. The ruling could come down as early as tomorrow, so you’ll be able to see right away just how good my predictive powers are.
In addition, I’ll be opening a thread for paid subscribers to talk about anything. It will be like the open threads here, except that people will ponying up for the chance to speak to other like-minded people. Over the years we have talked about the idea of setting up a more exclusive comment section, and this is probably the best way to do it. Something about having some skin in the game may make the interchanges more civil and meaningful. I’d love to see how it works out.
If you are already a paying subscriber to the blog (it’s possible, on the right sidebar), you are automatically on the paid subscriber list.
In general, I’ll probably be sending out emails to paid subscribers midweek, around Wednesday, with the free version continuing on Sundays. But please do consider a subscription. I think those posts are likely to be more thought-provoking and controversial.
