> Anyone who tries to make a claim of "unconstitutionality" -- or argue against someone making a claim of "constitutionality" -- is wasting their time. The Constitution means precisely whatever the people can be convinced it means
Seems to be a very good reason why persuasion based around "constitutionality" is not a waste of time.
> and that in turn is decided largely by a handful of individuals in power.
Well, no, its decided by what the people accept, which depends pretty much entirely on the arguments they are exposed to. Certain individuals in power in government and the media have some advantages in terms of inherent trust with some segment of the population on the issue, or just a bigger microphone, but those can be overcome. Even in states where the means of mass communication have been far more tightly controlled than they are in the US, "what the people can be convinced of" has often conflicted with what those in power want; preaching defeatism of the kind you are here is precisely the thing that serves to reinforce the power of the elites, which mostly comes from other people giving up.
>Seems to be a very good reason why persuasion based around "constitutionality" is not a waste of time.
Perhaps, but it's not a very good reason to engage in an argument with someone making positive claims about "constitutionality" (e.g., rayiner).
Personally, I'm disinclined to participate in a lie merely in the hopes of yielding a favorable outcome, particularly when doing so cedes the fundamental point of my position. I am content to simply note the lie.
Seems to be a very good reason why persuasion based around "constitutionality" is not a waste of time.
> and that in turn is decided largely by a handful of individuals in power.
Well, no, its decided by what the people accept, which depends pretty much entirely on the arguments they are exposed to. Certain individuals in power in government and the media have some advantages in terms of inherent trust with some segment of the population on the issue, or just a bigger microphone, but those can be overcome. Even in states where the means of mass communication have been far more tightly controlled than they are in the US, "what the people can be convinced of" has often conflicted with what those in power want; preaching defeatism of the kind you are here is precisely the thing that serves to reinforce the power of the elites, which mostly comes from other people giving up.