What is constitutional idolatry?

Abstract

At the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Khizr Kahn-an American Muslim and father of an American soldier killed in Iraq-rhetorically asked Donald Trump regarding his proposed Muslim ban whether he had 'even read the United States Constitution?' 2 Kahn then produced a small paperback edition of the document from his jacket pocket, saying, 'I will gladly lend you my copy'. 3 The crowd erupted. It was a powerful moment, and certainly one of the highlights of the four-day event, occurring in one of the most contentious US presidential elections in recent memory. After this, the US Constitution itself had a 'moment'. Sales of the written document spiked to record levels, with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Government Printing Office, and niche publishers offering discounted rates on their versions of the document. On Amazon the pocket version of the US Constitution blazed up to #2 on the best-sellers list (only behind the latest Harry Potter book), 4 and for a spell demonstrators at Trump's rallies could be seen waving the document at him in protest, taunting him and his supporters with the sacred text. 5 The message was clear: Trump was not only a threat, but an unconstitutional threat that endangered America's most sacred values and principles.Thus, when Donald Trump lost the national popular vote by close to three million ballots, and yet the Constitution via the Electoral College secured him the presidency anyway, momentum from the increased constitutional attention-not to mention the increased readership-could have brought forward a fortuitous constitutional moment. At a time of historic national polarisation and cultural division, some type of constitutional rejuvenation 1