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Read moreīy Brion McClanahan Regnery-History-Logo.jpgĪll rights reserved.

(Although after eight years of the Obama administration, I can see how easy it is for an executive to do as he damn well pleases when the press helps and the "opposition" doesn't oppose with any strength.)This subject, in the hands of a more gifted, organized writer, would have made for a much better, and more impactful, book.

Maybe that would have made the book too long or veered too far from the main subject, but I often found myself wondering how these people could have gotten away with these transgressions. These ten might come from the smallest states.His principal fear, however, was not that five, but that seen states-a bare majority-would make treaties to bind the Union.'"So whose principal fear are we talking about? Mason, or the person Mason was talking to? This exact thing happens over and over again making for oft-confusing reading.Another parallel point the book tries to make is which current party's view of the Constitution is more accurate? Is it limiting, as Republicans espouse, or is it a living document as often suggested by Democrats? Clearly McClanahan is conservative, but when he offers examples of how presidents and politicians have overstepped the Constitution, he goes into little or no detail. Here's an example:"George Mason remarked that 'five states may make a treaty ten senators-the representatives of five states-being two thirds of a quorum. In most cases, I assumed the speaker was referring to himself, and maybe McClanahan, in providing the quote, used "he" instead. He quotes founders constantly, which is fine, but I think the book would have been better served if McClanahan had paraphrased a bit more, as the 18th century wording and context was sometimes difficult to grasp.There were also multiple quotes that used the word "he" when it wasn't clear who "he" was. I don't think author Brion McClanahan is a bad writer I just think he didn't go about presenting the material in a clear way.

There were multiple times throughout the book where I found myself having to re-read sections. Clearly our federal government is far larger and more powerful than our founders intended. Its idea is a very important one-illustrate how far away we've gotten from the Constitution as ratified.

I'm having trouble putting my finger on why I struggled so much reading this short book.