News
Supreme Court’s Mixed Decision on Marriage (VIDEO)
The Supreme Court announced disturbing decisions today on two important cases dealing with marriage law. The Court refused, however, to create a constitutional right to… Read More
The Arms Trade Treaty and the Second Amendment: Too Risky To Ratify
On February 26, the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Center for Human Rights issued a white paper on the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which concludes… Read More
Morning Bell: Our Constitution Is Under Fire
Today, the federal government has acquired an all but unquestioned dominance over virtually every area of American life. It acts without constitutional limits and increasingly… Read More
News
Chart of the Week: Defense Spending Dwindles Under Obama
The Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute host a Republican presidential debate on CNN this Tuesday at 8 p.m. on the subjects of foreign policy… Read More
American Sovereignty Under Attack: The Threat of Global Governance
The conflict between global governance and U.S. constitutional democracy is the subject of a new book by John Fonte, who visited Heritage last week to… Read More
Hungary’s New Constitution: Ideas have Consequences
In what will surely be a publicity boon for Apple, especially among political scientists, Hungary’s new constitution is being written on an iPad. Thus far,… Read More
Can Conservatism Hold Together?
News organizations were aflutter to report on the controversies at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this past weekend. Several socially conservative groups boycotted the… Read More
Lead Lawyer Challenging Obamacare Under Cyber Attack
While politicians are still talking about restoring civility, liberal thugs are waging an all out attack on the website of David Rivkin, lead counsel in… Read More
Top Five Constitutional Citations of the 112th Congress
When Members of the 112th Congress took the oath of office just over a month ago, the leaders of the House brought new meaning to… Read More
Don’t Be Fooled by Article V Conventions
The idea that there might be a simple fix to all our problems has seduced many thoughtful and well-intentioned men and women over the ages…. Read More
I’m Just a Bill, Yes, I’m Only a Bill: The Constitutional Way to Make Laws
Under the Progressive notion of a “living” Constitution, almost every aspect of the Constitution has been subject to reinterpretation. One section that would seem to… Read More
Morning Bell: Another Victory on the Road to Repeal
“It is difficult to imagine that a nation which began, at least in part, as the result of opposition to a British mandate giving the… Read More
Hands Off My Purse! Why Money Bills Originate in the House
The House of Representatives is not merely a larger Senate. The Constitution divided the legislative branch into two Houses, with different constituencies, term lengths, sizes,… Read More
The Appropriate Use of the Appropriations Clause
This section is commonly referred to as the Appropriations Clause stipulates that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations… Read More
Not So Sweeping After All: The Limits of the Necessary and Proper Clause
The Necessary and Proper Clause makes things happen. To many on the left, the Necessary and Proper Clause joins the General Welfare Clause, and the… Read More
The Uses and Abuses of the Commerce Clause
There seems to be a fairly significant downside to a “living” Constitution: you can’t keep it from growing uncontrollably! In the latest Constitutional Guidance for… Read More
Morning Bell: Frederick Douglass’s Irrepressible Faith in America
As we celebrate Martin Luther King Day, it is fitting to reflect upon the tortured experience of blacks in this country. Looking back upon four… Read More
Enough is Enough: Why General Welfare Limits Spending
When it comes to finding a constitutional authority to validate congressional action, the General Welfare clause is like a box without bottom: there is no… Read More
Half of All States Now Suing to Stop Obamacare
If it is allowed to be implemented, Obamacare will eventually do deep and irreparable harm to our nation’s budget deficit. But while Obamacare is more… Read More
The Coming Constitutional Debate
The Constitution has returned to Congress. It began with a ceremonial reading of the document on the House floor for the first time in US… Read More
The Colorblind Constitution: Frederick Douglass on Race and America’s Founding
In a move one blogger called “Huck Finning the Constitution,” the 112th Congress left out the infamous “three-fifths compromise” in their much-publicized reading of the… Read More
The Constitution in One Sentence: Understanding the Tenth Amendment
After the House of Representatives’ reading last week, the Constitution is suddenly the talk of the town. Congressmen and women on both sides of the… Read More
Morning Bell: Tea Party Congress Returns to Constitution
Shortly after noon today, all 435 Members of the House of Representatives will raise their right hands and take the following oath: I do solemnly… Read More
To Support and Defend: Understanding the Oath of Office
This Wednesday, all 435 Members of the House of Representatives and the 33 incoming Senators will perform a constitutional rite that harkens back to the… Read More
Constitutional Know-Nothings
The 112th Congress has an unprecedented plan. They are going to read the Constitution-the document that each member will swear to uphold-aloud on their first… Read More
Peeling Back Congressional Overreach
Americans are all too familiar with the federal government’s intrusion into our daily lives. It sometimes seems that the feds have their hands in nearly… Read More
This Bill of Rights Day, Celebrate the Whole Constitution
Many Americans praise the first ten amendments to our Constitution, collectively called the Bill of Rights, as providing the true protection of our liberty. But… Read More
Judge Rules Obamacare Mandate Goes Beyond Letter and Spirit of the Constitution
In the most significant decision to date involving the numerous challenges to Obamacare, a district court today ruled in favor of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s… Read More
News
The “Original” Fight of the Century
Twenty five years ago, President Reagan’s Attorney General Ed Meese sparked a national debate about the meaning of the Constitution that set the stage for… Read More
Morning Bell: Returning the People’s House to the People
“We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in March. No single… Read More
