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Are We Living in Carl Schmitt’s America?

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Protestors dressed as "Handmaidens" line the hallway near Judge Brett Kavanaugh's nomination hearing to become the next Associate Supreme Court Justice, September 3, 2018 (Patsy Lynch/MediaPunch/Alamy Stock Photos).
We should be mindful of what is lost when a politics of enmity becomes our way of life.

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Objections to Impeachment, Part 3: Overturning the Result of An Election

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Protest outside the White House, July 18, 2018 (bakdc / Shutterstock.com).
To object that the use of impeachment power is “anti-democratic” is to miss the point: democracy yields to the Constitution, not the other way around.

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Social Media Suggests a Deeper Threat to Democracy Than Russia: Us

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Pathdoc/Shutterstock.com
Social media reveals little about democracy that a serious student did not already know, but the inanity is so relentless now that it is hard to ignore.

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Leave the Constitution Alone

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Preamble to the U.S. Constitution (Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com).
Judged by rational and practical standards, America’s Constitution has been a remarkable success: aiming at "more democracy" is not necessary.

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“Democracy” Cannot Unlock the Meaning of the Constitution

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The U.S. Capitol building, as seen between the columns of the Supreme Court (Dan Thornberg/Shutterstock.com).
Republicanism, not democracy, might be a structural principle we can use to guide our interpretation of the Constitution.

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Jacobin Writers Actually Agree with Madison on Democracy

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Federalist 9 and 10 (Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com).
Americans should argue with Madison, but we should also take his words seriously when we do so.

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Returning to Throne and Altar? Integralism, Liberalism, and Toleration

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The Coronation of Charles VII of France (1429), depicted in Jeanne d'Arc (1886–1890) by Jules Eugène Lenepveu.
In leaving liberalism behind, is it possible integralists have failed to remember the benefits of toleration?

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The Road to Iranian Democracy

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The suppression of the Green Movement last time around widened the gulf between Iran's elite and its people.

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Tocqueville and the Tragedy of the Democratic Average

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Li Wa / Shutterstock.com
Conservatism should help us negotiate the tragic tradeoffs of life: a way between market and political liberalism versus solidarity. Tocqueville can help.

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Competing Liberalisms and the Metaphysics of Democracy

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Stained Glass window depicting Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 - 1274), Italian Dominican friar, with Cardinal Mercier, in the Cathedral of Mechelen, Belgium. (Jorisvo/Shutterstock.com)
There are many roads to liberalism, and not all liberalisms are about the deepest questions.

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