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Re: Constitution be damned
In my line of work I spend a fair amount of time reading the American Constitution, and the text assures me that it is the “supreme law of the land.” Since I am an unrepentant believer in the rule of law, I cannot subscribe to Mario Moretto’s assertion that “it is important not let any document be the sole deciding factor in what is the right thing to do.” Throw out fidelity to the law, and you make everyone a law unto themselves. Allowing or advocating extra-constitutional steps because “it’s the right thing to do” can lead in many directions, hardly any of them happy ones.
In their famous interview, now the subject of a major motion picture, David Frost asked Richard Nixon, “so what …you’re saying is that there are certain situations … where the president can decide that it’s in the best interests of the nation or something, and do something illegal,” and Nixon replied, “Well, when the president does it that means that it is not illegal.” Achieving “good” ends and enduring unseemly scandal easily result from Moretto’s logic. It is no help at all to assert that it’s only when the end is just or right or good that we can safely ignore the demands of the Constitution. I do agree with Mario that residents of Washington D.C. should have representation in Congress, but I would suggest that the legal challenges to legislation providing for it be made and allowed to run their course (assuming the legislation passes), and if that option is in fact unavailing there is a constitutional remedy in the amendment process.
- Dr. Timothy Cole
Bangor Daily News