Thomas Jefferson destroys originalism as a legitimate form of constitutional interpretation

[usregimechange]

Inside Thomas Jefferson Memorial...



Sorry, Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas, you have been one upped. Now go forth and retire.

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. Hence the reason he is being erased from school history.

[thereismore]

2. Thomas Jefferson was a godless radical Muslin who had relations with black slaves.

:hide:

[Deep13]

7. The last five words are true.

:7

[thereismore]

14. Yes, but they are equally heinous in the minds of fundie purist notw "christians". nt

[Geoff R. Casavant]

3. Worst. Bumper Sticker. Ever. n/t

[usregimechange]

6. eh...what?

[jah the baptist]

19. good one

unfortunately it reminds me of a lot of progressive bumper stickers

too much text

rwingers know how to get to the point

liberal bumper sticker =

why do we kill people who kill people to...

light changes and car drives away before you finish

freeper-fundie sticker =

abortion is murder

[Gold Metal Flake]

4. The custom these days is to impeach his writings with his personal life.

Therefore nothing Jefferson wrote is relevant in modern America.

Just watch this thread for proof.

[Deep13]

8. The thing about hypocrisy is that one may be a hypocrit...

...and still be right.

[jah the baptist]

5. if only we had good christian leaders like tj today nt

[Deep13]

9. He was a deist. nt

[jah the baptist]

10. more liberal lies!1!!

i was being sarcastic

[Deep13]

11. sorry. nt

[jah the baptist]

13. no prob. i guess sarcasm doesnt always come across they way you think it will nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Use this, :sarcasm:

:sarcasm: works like a charm

:hi:

[jah the baptist]

18. i wondered how that was done

:sarcasm:
it works

cool, thanks

[Deep13]

12. While I don't know that Jefferson's views are necessarily dispositive...

...it still seems pretty clear that "original intent" is untenable as a judicial approach. The fact is the Constitution was one written by one person whose intention can be inferred. It was written by a committee, each member of which had his own ideas about what the new government should be. The result was a compromise that probably did not satisfy anyones preferences completely. So there was no single original intent. There are completed original documents like the Constitution and its amendments and what they actual say ought to be the starting point for any interpretation.

[dtexdem]

15. Nah, Scalia and Thomas want to be the next generation of barbarous ancestors.

As do Roberts and Alito.

[LiberalFighter]

17. AND they forget that Article 5 allows Amendments.

The last I knew the intent of amendments is to provide a mechanism to allow changes.

AND they forget that the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution) was not part of the original Constitution.

AND the original Constitution was adopted September 17, 1787 while the Bill of Rights were not introduced until 1789 and did not go into effect until December 15, 1791. Over 4 years later.