“What would fix this country? Almost the number one thing would be: take money out of politics.”
We continue our current theme of constitutional discussions by reading and considering listener mail, including a number of specific suggestions for constitutional amendments. We also share a report from a listener who visited Monticello when Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were there.
This episode includes correspondence from Gina Douglas, Paul Kaster, and Cheryl Leonhardt.
Further Reading
The Economist Intelligence Unit: Democracy Index 2018
Wikipedia: Democracy Index
So, This Is Representation?
The Jefferson Watch
Read this week's Jefferson Watch essay, “So This Is Representation?”
What Would Jefferson Do?
“They watched with some fascination, but also condescension, as we attempted to create an American republic.”
Tune in to your local public radio or join the 1776 Club to hear this episode of What Would Thomas Jefferson Do?
Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky and Clay Jenkinson discuss the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Clay Jenkinson speaks with Beau Breslin, author of A Constitution for the Living: Imagining How Five Generations of Americans Would Rewrite the Nation's Fundamental Law. The book examines an idea that Jefferson shared with James Madison in 1789: "What would America's Constitutions have looked like if each generation wrote its own?"
We welcome back Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky to discuss her recent post "How Did the Senate End Up With Supermajority Gridlock?" She and Clay talk about the filibuster and congressional gridlock which they both feel is the product of decades of legislative machinations and not what the Constitution, nor the framers, intended.
When reading Thomas Jefferson’s correspondence, one often sees examples of his belief that the less government, the better. In this week's episode, President Thomas Jefferson discusses the writing of the Constitution and comments on The Journal of the Federal Convention by James Madison. Jefferson wrote, "it may be proved that no society can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs always to the living generation."