Jonathan Zasloff

When Michael McConnell speaks on constitutional law, people listen, as well they should. And he says that the argument that the President can unilaterally issue new debt is “bunk,” for basically the same reason that Andrew Grossman said a few days ago: only Congress has that power. That in and of itself is arguable, but […]

Sometimes it’s easy to overthink things. Andrew Sullivan asks: My own view is that the interests of the US require pressuring Israel to agree to a reasonable two-state solution soon. Maybe I’m wrong. But could a Jewish person convinced of the same argument remain a Jew in good standing? Yes. Next question? Is a commitment […]

Watching the NBA Playoffs and Stanley Cup Finals on the web has introduced me to a relatively new and disturbing development: sweet, fruity distilled spirits. No, not a distilled spirit made out of fruit, such as applejack or grappa: the products I’m talking about are things like Jim Beam’s Red Stag, which is black cherry […]

Some observers, including Garrett Epps, who is a legal scholar, and Bruce Bartlett, who is not, have argued that Section 4 of the 14th Amendment makes the debt ceiling invalid. That Section reads, in relevant part: The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law…shall not be questioned. That’s it, at […]

Senate Republicans have filibustered Goodwin Liu’s nomination, and it’s silly to think that this won’t happen with virtually every Obama nominee, especially with a McConnell-led caucus. For example, Caitlin Halligan, Obama’s first nominee to the DC Circuit, was opposed by every single Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and if you think that doesn’t mean […]

By now it is pretty obvious that the House GOP leadership is essentially devoid of ideas outside of Social Darwinism and Objectivism. But I noticed the other day that its cultural pose is also one of pure puffery. Consider “Young Guns,” the “book” theoretically authored by Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy. “Young Guns” […]

To the surprise of exactly no one, Senate Republicans will filibuster Goodwin Liu’s nomination to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. As I argued yesterday, this really shouldn’t matter if the administration’s eventual goal is to appoint Liu to the United States Supreme Court: many of the greatest justices had no or virtually no judicial […]

Goodwin Liu is a 39-year-old professor at Berkeley Law School, whom President Obama has nominated to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Like the vast majority of Obama appellate judicial nominees, Senate Republicans have filibustered him. Is this because Liu is liberal? Perhaps, but Adam Serwer says that the stakes are bigger: The real reason […]

Garrett Epps thinks that the debt ceiling is unconstitutional; Bruce Bartlett agrees. I’m not so sure; the question would turn on whether appropriations and entitlements that the Treasury would need to borrow to pay for would be regarded as “public debt” within the meaning of Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment. You could argue it […]

Well, not quite. But just look at the quotes. Clarence Thomas, in a recent speech to Georgia attorneys: “This job is a humbling job,” he said. “It’s the end of the food chain. And some people can do it, and some can’t. But what it teaches you is that you don’t have all the answers. […]