When at Times the Mob Is Swayed

June 15, 2019
A veteran civil liberties lawyer delivers the sobering message that "there is no constitutional mechanic in the sky ready to swoop down and save American democracy from Donald Trump at the head of a populist mob. The fate of American democracy is up to us." Neuborne (Civil Liberties/New York Univ. School of Law; Madison's Music: On Reading the First Amendment, 2015, etc.), who has been a part of more than 200 cases in the U.S. Supreme Court and has sued every president since Lyndon Johnson, draws on his decades of experience to discuss the depths of today's political threats. Most disturbing is the second chapter, in which the author points to the influence of Hitler on the current president's penchant for "demagogic manipulation." From "fake news" and promises to restore greatness, many similarities are too close for comfort. Most readers are already cognizant of the current situation, but Neuborne provides a helpful legal view of what could happen in the future. The author examines two kinds of "brakes" in our political system: internal electoral brakes and external judicial brakes, both of which are under siege. His solutions are difficult but doable. He really lets loose on the Supreme Court, noting that with the newest judges, we should obviously expect more right-leaning decisions in the years to come. The author also shows how Republican judges favor the autonomy of the strong over equality of the weak and how the Constitution's purposeful ambiguity continues to confuse. Even the drafters of the Constitution couldn't agree on the meanings of certain passages. Neuborne sees how different readings and interpretations of the Constitution will always cause problems. The Constitution is not above politics; it is often shaped by it. As the narrative morphs into a Supreme Court history, the author points out any number of possible events that have affected the court's decisions and our lives. Though Neuborne's thoughts on the Mueller Report are already out of date, he provides timely, frightening, and, hopefully, galvanizing reading.

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