Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

In February of this year, the Supreme Court heard arguments in Ohio v. EPA.  This case challenges the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to enforce the Good Neighbor Plan which aims to curb pollution carried by the wind into neighboring states. As usual, legal proceedings can easily become confusing as a lawsuit makes its way to the Supreme Court.  Fortunately, we are welcoming back Steve Bradbury, a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation, to help us unravel this case as we discuss the background and ramifications of this lawsuit.

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Federally, we have 536 elected positions between Congress and the President.  We then have 2.8 million federal employees.  How do we limit the power among the unelected officials we have in our federal government?  To tackle this very important question, the Supreme Court introduced the Chevron Doctrine (also called the Chevron Deference) as a result of the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron USA v Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.  To help us understand the complexities of the Chevron Doctrine, how the powers of unelected officials have grown over the years and how...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Presidential immunity is in the news a lot lately.  It derives from a notion that all three branches of government retain powers to execute their duties under the constitution.  But there is also a tradition in our country that no one is above the law.  In a nation that follows established law, not following those laws can lead to anarchy or distrust in the government.  We have a lot to unpack with this very timely and relevant topic. To help us do so alongside our student panel, we are delighted to welcome fan-favorite guest Adam Carrington, associate professor of politics...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Did you know the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear four cases pertaining to social media this term?  One of the major issues is whether or not an elected official has the authority to limit speech on social media accounts by blocking critical comments pertaining to their work in office.  We know government cannot prohibit your speech, but are elected officials required to permit all comments on their official pages, or can they censor them? What about their personal pages?  Can the government pressure social media companies to take down posts the government seems...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Who is the Speaker of the House and what are his duties?  How does a bill become law?  What are the three branches of government.  Let’s be honest, so many in our country are not fully educated on civics.    If we don’t understand how Congress works, we get frustrated with the whole process.  This leads to an overall sentiment that Congress is broken.  Our guest today likes to say “without public trust, you cannot govern.  Without governing, people get angry and hostile and walk away from the system.” Today, joining our student panel to discuss...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Winning a war was just the beginning for George Washington’s service to our new country.  After retiring to Mount Vernon post-war, Washington saw a weakness in our country under the Articles of Confederation.  He felt the future of republican democratic self-government globally was dependent on the American experiment.  If it were to fail in that perfect post-war moment, man was probably not destined to govern himself. Washington’s views on what the government should look like can seem to be contradictory in that he wanted a strong central government, as opposed to what the...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

The relationship between the federal and state governments is not always clear.  These two governments exist simultaneously but at times have different goals and objectives.  The federal government can use its purse strings to coerce a state government to take an action and that state can simply refuse.  The Founders wanted states to solve major issues that were not under the federal purview to establish “laboratories of democracy.”  Joining our all-star student panel, we are happy to welcome Ken Cuccinelli, former Virginia state senator,  Virginia attorney general...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Can you name the President?  We hope yes!  Can you name your state’s governor?  More than likely yes.  But can you name your mayor and city council members?  While the issues nationally get the most attention, your local government’s actions impact your day-to-day life more.  Issues like your water supply, trash pickup, sewage, and police and fire departments are all controlled by local entities.  Some mayors aren’t paid a salary at all but one defining feature of mayors is they come directly out of the community in which they are serving.  They...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Regular listeners will certainly recognize this famous phrase from the Declaration of Independence: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  As the governed who give consent to the government, we have several mechanisms through which we can give that consent and voice approval or disapproval with an elected official.  Perhaps the most direct mechanism is through a town hall discussion.  A town hall is simply a public meeting between an elected official and their constituents where...

Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

At Constituting America, we love to talk about federalism.  Federalism is a founding principle that government authority is best when one central government does not have all authority, but it is divvied up between local, state and national government.  Have you ever thought about why we have this system and what its virtues are?  In a large country with varied geographical interests, why does this system work?  Should those closest to a problem be the ones to solve that problem, and what are the benefits of this principle of subsidiarity? To help us further grasp the...