http://www.heritage.org/research/ The Heritage Foundation Papers: Thought Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:33:14 EST http://www.heritage.org/ui/icons/thflogo.gif http://www.heritage.org/ en-us heritage.org Copyright 2010 The Heritage Foundation The rise of government by bureaucrats--due to the delegation of power from Congress to administrative agencies, combined with the removal of those agencies from the President's control--has given rise to efforts by Presidents from both parties to get the bureaucratic state under control through various mechanisms. The rise of "czars" in the current administration is just another manifestation--albeit, an unfortunate one--of this phenomenon. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/tst100809a.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. Thought Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:10:10 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/tst100809a.cfm The Constitution is our fundamental law because it represents the settled and deliberate will of the people, against which the actions of government officials must be squared. In the end, the continued success and viability of our democratic Republic depends on our fidelity to, and the faithful exposition and interpretation of, this Constitution, our great charter of liberty. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2616.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Edwin Meese III Thought Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:10:27 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2616.cfm Written constitutionalism implies that those who make, interpret, and enforce the law ought to be guided by the meaning of the United States Constitution--the supreme law of the land--as it was originally written. This view came to be seriously eroded over the course of the last century with the rise of the theory of the Constitution as a "living document" with no fixed meaning, subject to changing interpretations according to the spirit of the times. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2617.cfm The Heritage Foundation - David F. Forte Thought Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:36:32 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2617.cfm If we are ever to stop the advance of the administrative state, recover our liberty, and reassert our dignity as citizens rather than as clients and subjects, we must first understand what has occasioned central administrations' seemingly inexorable march. Here, Alexis de Tocqueville is our best guide, for what he feared with regard to his native France is increasingly true for the United States. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0028.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Paul Rahe, James Ceaser, and Thomas West Thought Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:13:44 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0028.cfm The modern term-limits movement arose in response to the professionalization of politics and growing popular discontent with Congress, but its supporters misunderstood the nature of the problem. The long tenure of incumbents is not the cause of higher spending or lack of deliberation, but rather a symptom of a larger problem: expansion of the modern bureaucracy and the rise of the administrative state. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/sr0048.cfm The Heritage Foundation - H. Abbie Erler, Ph.D. Thought Mon, 31 Aug 2009 09:56:36 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/sr0048.cfm A proposed constitutional amendment to require that all vacancies in the Senate be filled by election is susceptible to insuperable objections. It fails to understand the unique role that the Senate plays in our constitutional structure, it is unnecessary under current circumstances, and it is inconsistent with core political principles of American government. A better option would be to protect states' flexibility to provide for temporary appointments, which would prevent lengthy vacancies in the Senate. The current constitutional framework, which protects states' prerogative to choose how best to proceed in the event of senatorial vacancies, is therefore the best solution. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/tst082809a.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. Thought Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:13:21 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/tst082809a.cfm The 20th century transformation of domestic policy in America into a climactic struggle between the national government and every conceivable social ill inherited from the 19th century raised the scale of the solution along with that of the problem. This eliminated civil society from the picture, made social problems too big for little people, and thus guaranteed that the war would be impossible to win. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0027.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Brian Brown Thought Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:29:22 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0027.cfm It is not obvious to much of the world that the United States has the moral high ground against the terrorists. If we truly believe in the principles upon which the United States was founded, we owe the world an explanation of why it should choose those ideas over the vision of the terrorists. http://www.heritage.org/Research/PublicDiplomacy/sr0064.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Robert R. Reilly Thought Mon, 27 Jul 2009 09:46:40 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/PublicDiplomacy/sr0064.cfm America's birthday is also that of Calvin Coolidge, the only President to be born on the Fourth of July. This is altogether fitting, as the man remembered as "Silent Cal" is one of the most eloquent voices for the great and enduring principles expressed in our Declaration of Independence. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2514.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Julia Shaw Thought Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:23:05 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/wm2514.cfm James Wilson was one of six men to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. He was also a sophisticated thinker who had a significant impact on America's Founding. Although he did not win every battle in the Federal Convention of 1787, America's constitutional system as it has developed over time closely resembles his vision. http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0026.cfm The Heritage Foundation - Mark David Hall, Ph.D. Thought Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:19:03 EST http://www.heritage.org/Research/Thought/fp0026.cfm