Our political institutions were shaped from their inception by the fear that self-government could degenerate into the tyranny of the majority—or allow a leader to gain absolute power. As a result, we now have considerable political resources to oppose Donald Trump: The system of checks and balances, outlined in high-school social studies classes in a tone of vacuous admiration, was put in place for this very moment. But the Founding Fathers recognized that a carefully drafted Constitution could never defend itself; at best, it could empower its defenders. In any moment of peril, the survival of the republic would be up to the American people. Are we meeting this test? There are some bad...
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