Five Questions: What Is a Constitutional Crisis?

Tonight, a different kind of Five Questions. So many of you have asked, “What is a constitutional crisis?” “Are we in one?” “What does it mean?” This feels like a good moment to take on the nuances behind those questions.

A constitutional crisis is not like the stock market, where the opening bell signals the start of trading. No one defines the moment we are actually in crisis. As Justice Potter Stewart wrote about the definition of obscene material, “I know it when I see it.” And I think we all do.

But it’s helpful to tease out what’s behind the questions, as well as answering the questions themselves.

From your comments and your emails I know that many of you, like me, are struck by the normalcy of daily life as the country wanders into dark territory. Tonight’s Five Questions is a starting point for conversations about that, both here and in our daily lives. Our guests tonight are retired federal judge Nancy Gertner, law professor Leah Litman, Supreme Court expert Dahlia Lithwick, law professor Paul Butler, law professor Ryan Goodman, and authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat. It’s an extraordinary group to explore questions none of us would have expected to face a decade ago.

“Five Questions” is a feature that is just for paid subscribers. The rest of the newsletter is available to free subscribers as well. This is my way of thanking people who support my work financially, so I can devote more time and resources to it. I value having all of you here. Thank you for reading Civil Discourse.