https://www.heritage.org/constitution The Heritage Guide to the Constitution is a landmark, one-of-a-kind book that presents the U.S. Constitution as never before. It includes: Clause-by-clause analysis of the entire Constitution and each amendment Input from more than 100 constitutional scholars and legal experts including former Attorney General Ed Meese 475 pages reviewing what the Constitution actually says and how it applies today A copy of the Constitution and the documents that serve as its foundation
I notice Ed Meese, former Attorney Gemeral is one of those Constitutional Scholars. I remember him. From the New Yorker: "Yes, that Ed Meese: the longtime Reagan aide and conservative legal activist who, when serving as Attorney General, from 1985 to 1988, was directly implicated in not one but three major scandals—the secret sale of arms to Iran to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, a corruption scam involving efforts by the construction firm Bechtel to build an Iraqi oil pipeline, and an even bigger scam involving the allocation of U.S. military contracts to a New York company called Wedtech. Meese was never charged with any crimes, but the evidence suggested that he misled Congress about Reagan’s knowledge of the Iran-Contra scheme, which Oliver North ran out of the White House; turned a blind eye to the bribery of foreign governments in the Bechtel case; and did favors from the White House for his close friend E. Robert Wallach, a lobbyist for Wedtech, who, in 1989, was sentenced to six years in prison for racketeering and fraud. In 1988, half a dozen senior Justice Department officials, including the Deputy Attorney General and the head of the criminal division, resigned to protest Meese’s leadership of the department." From here: https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-ed-meeses-presidential-medal-of-freedom-says-about-the-gop-and-impeachment#:~ From three major scandals to a "Constitutional Scholar" and the Presidential Medal of Freedom? Was there a religious conversion in there, or .... how? I hardly see this as a selling point for the Heritage Guide to the Constitution.
There's some truth in both sides, I guess. The amount in each side is in the eye of the beholder. From what I remember back in Reagan days, he was often in the news -- and the news was not good. As to his work in the "war on drugs" - it seems nobody's work could prevent the catastrophic failure of the program. https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/democracy-and-society/colombia-6242/#:~ I do not blame Meese personally for the program's failure. Just saying it failed. And the ringing endorsements from the two Supreme Court Justices and Trump - well, they're something I, personally, would not want in my Christmas stocking. But that's just me, of course.
I expect that it presents it the same way that conservatives have been presenting it since "Meese Is a Pig!" posters could be found in Washington forty-ish years ago and before: that government shouldn't do anything conservatives dislike, but the things they do like, well, that's different.
Wait a minute. Two Supreme Court Justices endorsed the book? For any other Judge, Federal, State or municipal, such a commercial endorsement would be a serious violation of Judicial Ethics.
"Don't git the rope, Clem - leastways, not yet." Their endorsements (and Trump's) pertained to Meese, not the book. My take: I like that even less than endorsing the book - but I think it's certainly within their rights. I have no problem there.
Correction. Trump's praise was for both the Heritage Foundation and Meese. I think he's entitled. The Justices' quoted remarks were solely in praise of Meese. https://www.heritage.org/article/the-life-and-legacy-edwin-meese-iii "Lord, them Justices knows how t' dot thar T's and cross thar I's. Yep. Time t' put th' rope back, Clem. Th' time'fer hangin'll come." "Awright, Zeke. Hope it's soon. Ah'm gittin' tired o'waitin...bin four days wivout a hangin'..."
