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Ramsey Says The Constitution is Organic Not Dead

By: AndrewHyman (Diary)  |  January 30th, 2013 at 12:44 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Over at MSNBC, legal genius Nick Ramsey reports that the U.S. Constitution is our nation’s “organic” law. Abraham Lincoln said so. Ramsey concludes that it is a living document, contra Scalia.

So now we know. The Constitution is organic. Here is how Dictionary.com defines the word:

1. noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon.
2. characteristic of, pertaining to, or derived from living organisms organic remains found in rocks.
3. of or pertaining to an organ or the organs of an animal, plant, or fungus.
4. of, pertaining to, or affecting living tissue: organic pathology.
5. caused by neurochemical, neuroendocrinologic, structural, or other physical impairment or change: organic disorder.
6. having an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things.
7. characterized by the systematic arrangement of parts; organized systematic: elements fitting together into a unified, organic whole.
8. of or pertaining to the basic constitution or structure of a thing; constitutional; structural: The flaws in your writing are too organic to be easily remedied.
9. developing in a manner analogous to the natural growth and evolution characteristic of living organisms arising as a natural outgrowth.
10. viewing or explaining something as having a growth and development analogous to that of living organisms an organic theory of history.
11. pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals: organic farming; organic fruits.
12. of or pertaining to the constitutional or essential law or laws of organizing the government of a state.
13. noting or pertaining to any work of architecture regarded as analogous to plant or animal forms in having a structure and a plan that fulfill perfectly the functional requirements for the building and that form in themselves an intellectually lucid, integrated whole.
14. of or pertaining to the shapes or forms in a work of art that are of irregular contour and seem to resemble or suggest forms found in nature.

I don’t suppose that Lincoln could have been using definition #12. Nah. That’s impossible. Lincoln didn’t have Dictionary.com back then!

UPDATE (February 1): As discussed above, Ramsey warped Lincoln’s words. Turns out he warped Scalia’s words too. Ed Whelan quotes Scalia as follows:

I used to say that the Constitution is not a living document. It’s dead, dead, dead. But I’ve gotten better. I no longer say that. The truth is that the Constitution is not one that morphs. It’s an enduring Constitution, not a changing Constitution. That is what I’ve meant when I’ve said that the Constitution is dead.

I like the way Scalia’s phrasing has morphed here.

COMMENTS

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  • Sir Aaron

    Lincoln was a great man in many ways, but I do believe that he set a precedent for applying more liberal interpretations of the Constitution.

    • AndrewHyman

      Example?

      • Sir Aaron

        I don’t want to get into a lengthy debate on Lincoln. He was trying to keep the Union together and suppress a rebellion. The prosecution of the Civil War, itself, was debateable in its interpretation. The emancipation proclamation was debateably unconstitutional. It is well known that Lincoln pushed the envelope of his Presidential authority (some would argue worse than that). So yeah, Lincoln accomplished a noble goal, but in doing so it opened the door for interpreting or outright ignoring the constitution when the ends justify the means.

        • AndrewHyman

          Well, you’re correct that some people at the time thought the Emancipation Proclamation exceeded Lincoln’s powers. But I think they were wrong. The Proclamation only applied to slaves in rebel states, and not to slaves elsewhere. Shooting that Proclamation at the South was a more effective military measure than shooting any amount of artillery.

          • Sir Aaron

            People today still debate the excesses Lincoln may have gone to with regards to the Constitution. The point is that when you push the boundaries of the Constition even for noble ends, results in a weakened Constitution.

          • AndrewHyman

            This last comment of yours is 100% correct, and I totally agree with it. But I still think Lincoln gets a bad rap. It’s often modern-day liberals who say “Libcoln overstretched the Constitution so it’s fine fir us liberals to do so now.”

            The primary offense that Libcoln allegedly committed was suspending the writ of habeas corpus on the rail line between Annapolis and the District of Columbia, without any congressional authorization. But if you look at this incident closely, Congress was not in session. I don’t see anything unconstitutional with the president suspending habeas corpus if the constitutional criteria are met, until such time as Congress is available to address the matter.

  • kipling

    Whenever I run into someone who argues that the U.S. Constitution is a living, breathing document that changes over time, I always ask them if they would like to play poker with me. The catch is that the rules for our poker game are a living, breathing document that change over time, when and how I [the house] say they do. I have yet to have someone accept the challenge to play poker along those lines.

    • AndrewHyman

      Same thing with a “living” deed to your house. :-)

  • Jim_Riggs

    The Merriam-Webster archaic definition of the word organic is “instrumental”. It’s possible that’s how Lincoln was using it.

    • AndrewHyman

      Lincoln almost certainly meant #8 and #12 listed above. In law and government, an “organic act” means a law that establishes an organization or that is the fundamental statute governing an organization’s structure.