[Political Junkie Too]

It may be a reality now, but it wasn't expected to be so by the Framers. They expected the people to oust the self-motivated. See my Madison Federalist #46 post.

-PJ

[Jacquerie]

No republic can survive without an element of societal virtue.

What is also true is that in the short 1776-1787 period, wise men came to the conclusion that virtue alone was insufficient to secure freedom. It is why the design of the constitution was so very complex. It didn’t fit any historic descriptive term known to political science. No other system in history so cut up the natural division of legislative, executive and judicial powers.

Since you brought up Madison, recall his “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.”

Bingo. That is the system they designed. It turned men’s passion toward the common good.

[1010RD]

We are so far past the Constitution it’s not funny. The people are in thrall via the government school system and the media. They don’t know the truth.

Hoping it wasn’t so, doesn’t change political reality. How do you walk this all back?