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Introduction

The Constitution and Polarized Politics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 November 2024

Zachary S. Price
Affiliation:
University College of the Law, San Francisco
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Summary

Originally established by “we the people,” as its preamble majestically states, the Constitution belongs to us all. But Americans increasingly treat it as the property of one political faction or the other. In keeping with their own preferences, conservatives interpret the Constitution to protect religion, limit gun control, and obstruct administrative governance while allowing state-level regulation of moral questions like abortion. Progressives see a mirror-image constitution that advances social justice, confers broad federal power, and allows flexible administrative regulation while at the same time limiting state and local police authority and guaranteeing sexual and reproductive autonomy. As national politics have grown ever more divided and polarized, preventing either side from implementing its goals through federal legislation, both coalitions have dreamed of capturing the courts and implementing their vision instead through constitutional interpretation. A document that should be a source of unity and shared commitments has become a vehicle for extending political conflict.

Type
Chapter
Information
Constitutional Symmetry
Judging in a Divided Republic
, pp. 1 - 10
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Introduction
  • Zachary S. Price, University College of the Law, San Francisco
  • Book: Constitutional Symmetry
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009391818.001
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  • Introduction
  • Zachary S. Price, University College of the Law, San Francisco
  • Book: Constitutional Symmetry
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009391818.001
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Zachary S. Price, University College of the Law, San Francisco
  • Book: Constitutional Symmetry
  • Online publication: 14 November 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009391818.001
Available formats
×