Author Archives: Bennett Minton

Virginia’s high court silently joins gerrymandering conversation

Posted on March 2, 2018 by Bennett Minton

Gerrymandering has broken through the din of partisan grenade-throwing to become a top-tier issue of voter concern across the political spectrum. If we cannot fix this party- and incumbent-protection racket, We the People are coming to understand, we will cease … Continue reading →

Posted in gerrymandering, Supreme Court, U.S. Constitution, Virginia legislature, Voting, Voting Rights Act | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

That fantasy about the Second Amendment

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Bennett Minton

I keep seeing these fairy tales about the origins of the Second Amendment — that its purpose was to guard against the tyranny of the government by enshrining an individual’s right to own a gun. The Constitution was ratified in reaction to … Continue reading →

Posted in Bill of Rights, James Madison, U.S. Constitution, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Anniversary of a call to citizenship

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Bennett Minton

Fifty-five years ago this week, I woke up in Arlington for the first time, a four-year-old transplanted from Texas. Upon finishing law school in Austin, my dad had answered Kennedy’s call, “Ask what you can do for your country,” and … Continue reading →

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Denouement of ‘repeal and replace’

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Bennett Minton

As societies become more complex, the government (the instrument of our social compact) is called on to do more to arrange commerce – the exchange of goods and services. Market regulation is a necessary component of development, to ensure some … Continue reading →

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Of inclusion and prosperity in a global community

Posted on May 21, 2017 by Bennett Minton

Last week I attended commencement exercises at a prestigious university in the nation’s most diverse and creative city. The standard of living between rich and poor is nowhere greater than in New York, and the opportunities for graduates of Columbia … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, education, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 2 Comments

A 100-days report card

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Bennett Minton

Any list of President Trump’s accomplishments will reflect the biases of its creator. Justice/Immigration/Civil Rights Trump signed two executive orders banning immigrants from seven, and then six, countries. The January order was halted by a federal appeals court. The March … Continue reading →

Posted in civil rights, climate change, Congress, environment, LGBT rights, Uncategorized, Voting Rights Act | Tagged | 2 Comments

The meaning and the drama of Trump’s budget

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Bennett Minton

Newt Gingrich lives in President Trump’s first pass at a federal budget. The purpose of a budget – government, corporate or household – is to put vision in numbers. First identify the goals, the strategies to execute them and their … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, federal budget, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Degrading our ‘City Upon a Hill’

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Bennett Minton

The phrase “American Exceptionalism” always irritated me, as it was about waving the flag while ignoring a history that, checkered like most countries, began with slavery, our original sin, and continued with Manifest Destiny, the doctrinal foundation for a genocide. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Upon an inauguration, advice from an altar to democracy

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Bennett Minton

If Donald Trump asked me what he should consider in composing his most consequential address yet, I would advise him to go read the two greatest speeches in American history, which are conveniently inscribed on the walls of the Lincoln … Continue reading →

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The Electoral College: Will no one rid us of this meddlesome relic?

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Bennett Minton

On the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, the Electoral College is expected to demonstrate not only its uselessness but its destructiveness by choosing for president a candidate who lost the national popular vote by more than 2 … Continue reading →

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