Book Review
Securing the Blessings of Liberty

Securing the Blessings of Liberty

The author of this book on the Constitution believes in a “living Constitution,” insofar as a Constitution that isn’t strictly followed is a dead document. ...
Steve Byas
Article audio sponsored by The John Birch Society

Our Republican Constitution: Securing the Liberty and Sovereignty of We the People, by Randy Barnett, Northampton, Massachusetts: Broadside Books, 2016, 320 pages, hardcover.

“The only living constitution is one that is followed; a constitution whose text is ignored is a dead one.” With that, Georgetown constitutional law professor Randy Barnett challenges the dogma of those who argue that the U.S. Constitution should allow ever-increasing grants of power to government officials, and the contraction of our liberties.

Barnett was the attorney for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in its Supreme Court challenge to the constitutionality of ObamaCare. Although then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cackled, “Is that a serious question?” when someone asked her about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, the NFIB’s challenge almost succeeded, losing 5-4. And it would have succeeded had the chief justice, John Roberts, not adopted the position of judicial deference to the legislative branch of the federal government.

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