Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution

by Elie Mystal

But we don’t see them doing that, do we? We don’t see conservative justices demanding a better, more fair Constitution than the one they claim we’re stuck with. Instead we see these justices regularly giving talks at fundraising dinners of the Federalist Society, praising the limitations and cruelty of the current Constitution, promising to rule for more of the same, and vowing to defeat the “liberals” who imagine the country as something better than it is. We see the conservative politicians who appoint and confirm conservative judges constantly argue against the amendments that would bring fairness and equality to the document their judges have decided doesn’t already include it. And we see conservative jurists, throughout American history, work to limit the scope and effectiveness of what amendments have been passed to make us a more perfect union.