Cass Sunstein ( a U. Chicago legal academic for whom I otherwise have a lot of respect) has been peddling nonsense about conservatives trying to resurrect something called the " Constitution in Exile." (You've doubtless seen Sunstein's recent debate with Randy Barnett over the term and its alleged content; if not, it's a must read.)
Dick Polman spelled my name wrong but otherwise nailed my thoughts on the issue in a recent news article:
University of Chicago law professor Cass Sunstein contended the other day that the phrase reflects "a partisan movement masquerading as law." And George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen said, "These ideas are serious, they have consequences, and the consequences are radical."
Conservatives insist that the propagation of the phrase is just a liberal trick to make them look bad. Steven Bainbridge, a business law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, barely concealed his pique in an e-mail the other day: "The Constitution in Exile buzz is being generated by liberal academics who basically want to paint [us] as Neanderthals who want to turn back the clock...
"It's the legal equivalent of the theocracy scare being drummed up in the liberal media. Both are designed to delegitimate having any debate over the proper size and role of the federal government. It's dishonest and cheap."