A recent article ("Spin meter: Republicans run hot, cold on Constitution," TBO, Aug. 23) attempted to delegitimize conservatives' faith in the Constitution by claiming that Republicans often propose amending our founding document. However, faith in constitutional government does not mean accepting the laws on the books, forever and ever, amen.
What it means is that as political temperaments inevitably change over time, what remains is a respect for the democratic process and the rule of law. It is a tribute to the wisdom of the founders that they created an orderly process by which we could change our Constitution based on the consent of the governed.
This is the same process by which many Republicans have attempted to pursue policy changes, as opposed to Democrats who seek to use statutes and an unelected judiciary and bureaucracy to alter our system of government.
Whether one supports revoking birthright citizenship or an individual mandate to purchase health insurance, we can surely agree that when we cannot find the constitutional authority in our current document, we should amend it as opposed to pretending the authority was there all along.
Calls for amendments serve to highlight fidelity to the rule of law. Refusing to use the process denigrates our republic.
MATT CURRAN
Lutz
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