The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution
The Constitution of the United States created a representative republic  marked by federalism and the separation of powers. Yet numerous federal judges--led  by the Supreme Court--have used the Constitution as a blank check to  substitute their own views on hot-button issues such as abortion, capital  punishment, and samesex marriage for perfectly constitutional laws enacted by We the People through  our elected representatives.Now, The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Constitution shows that  there is very little relationship between the Constitution as ratified by  the thirteen original states more than two centuries ago and the  "constitutional law" imposed upon us since then. Instead of the system of  state-level decision makers and elected officials the Constitution was  intended to create, judges have given us a highly centralized system in  which bureaucrats and appointed--not elected--officials make most of the important policies.In The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Constitution, Professor Kevin  Gutzman, who holds advanced degrees in both law and American history:* explains how the Constitution was understood by the founders who  wrote it and the people who ratified it * follows the Supreme Court as it uses the fig leaf of the Constitution  to cover its naked usurpation of the rights and powers the Constitution  explicitly reserves to the states and to the people * shows how we slid from the Constitution's republican federal  government, with its very limited powers, to an unrepublican "judgeocracy"  with limitless powers * reveals how huge swaths of American law and society were remade in  the wake of Supreme Court rulings * reveals how the Fourteenth Amendment has been twisted to use the Bill  of Rights as a check on state power instead of on federal power, as  originally intended * exposes the radical inconsistency between "constitutional law" and  the rule of law * contends that the judges who receive the most attention in history  books are celebrated for acting against the Constitution rather than for  itAs Professor Gutzman shows, constitutional law is supposed to apply the  Constitution's plain meaning to prevent judges, presidents, and congresses  from overstepping their authority. If we want to return to the founding  fathers' vision of the Republic, if we want the Constitution enforced in  the way it was explained to the people at the time of its ratification,  then we have to overcome the "received wisdom" about what constitutional  law is. The Politically Incorrect Guide(tm) to the Constitution is an  important step in that direction.--This text refers to thePaperbackedition.