The Constitution Doesn't Need an Extreme Makeover

For the second year in a row, a new book by a constitutional scholar seeks to redo our nation's founding document. Professor Larry Sabato's "A More Perfect Constitution" proposes an extreme makeover, calling on a new Constitutional Convention to make 23 specific revisions to revitalize the document and make it fairer.

But his idea of updating the Constitution is really an assault on the founders. America is not, after all, a national democracy, but a republic, with institutions such as the U.S. Senate and the Electoral College, designed to recognize the role of states. Strengthening the federal government, at the expense of state and local rule, clearly violates limits established by the founders.

The Constitution has worked pretty well for over 200 years. It hardly needs an extreme makeover by a professor.


By David Davenport