Because Article V demands supermajorities that are unattainable in a polarized era, formal constitutional change has stalled. Both parties increasingly route major policy shifts through executive orders and Supreme Court rulings instead of amendments, sidelining voters in foundational decisions.
— If durable reform is funneled through courts and the presidency, democratic legitimacy weakens and the risk of executive overreach and institutional backlash grows.
Ilya Shapiro, Rafael A. Mangual
2026.04.23
66% relevant
Hosts discuss the scope of executive power and the role of independent agencies, and anticipate how Court composition and retirements could shift doctrine — tying into the existing pattern that legislative gridlock pushes policy making into executive and administrative channels contested before the Court.
Cass Sunstein
2026.03.05
75% relevant
The article emphasizes constitutional checks (separation of powers) as barriers to the 'dark impulses' of powerful actors; that connects to the existing idea that when constitutional amendment pathways stall, pressure shifts to executives who expand authority — both diagnose institutional failure modes that produce concentrated executive power.
Tim Brinkhof
2025.10.10
100% relevant
Jill Lepore’s interview claims that since the New Deal, and especially today, Democrats and Republicans bypass Article V and reshape government via executive action and Supreme Court rulings.