Mark Pulliam on Justice Gorsuch
Michael Ramsey
At Law and Liberty, Mark Pulliam: Explaining Originalism. From the introduction:
America has produced many noteworthy economists, but few were as influential as Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize winner long associated with the University of Chicago. Unlike many of his colleagues in the “dismal science,” Friedman was able to connect with the public through his widely-read Newsweek column, his 1980 best-seller Free to Choose (co-written with his wife, Rose), and the ten-part PBS series of the same name. Friedman had an uncanny ability to explain the principles of free-market economics in everyday terms—without esoteric jargon—that ordinary people could easily grasp.
Unfortunately, few jurists or legal scholars share Friedman’s gift for lucid communication with a wide audience. Accordingly, legal issues generally, and constitutional law in particular, are poorly understood by non-lawyers. ...
A fresh new voice recently appeared, in the form of Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, who is promoting his new book, A Republic, If You Can Keep It (to be reviewed soon here at L&L) on numerous media outlets (including Fox News, CNN, USA Today, and the Washington Post). Based on the televised interviews I have seen, Gorsuch has a preternatural ability to explain the principles of American government in a way that is cogent and engaging. Not only does Gorsuch have the Central Casting visage of an appellate judge (a younger version of Oliver Wendell Holmes, without the moustache), he has a likable demeanor and a compelling delivery. He also has a relaxed, seemingly-natural television presence, at once folksy and self-deprecating. In fact, Gorsuch is more telegenic—and charismatic—than most of the politicians we are used to seeing on the evening news.
Beyond the optics, Gorsuch’s message is equally convincing. Gorsuch is the judicial counterpart to Milton Friedman: a public intellectual for Everyman—a down-to-earth explainer. ...
RELATED: At SCOTUSBlog, Ronald Collins interviews Jane Nitze and David Feder, co-authors with Justice Gorsuch on his book A Republic, If You Can Keep It