The Volokh Conspiracy
Mostly law professors | Sometimes contrarian | Often libertarian | Always independent
'Lawless' news: Upcoming public talk, podcast, Amazon availability and a review
Some news related to my new book, "Lawless: The Obama Administration's Unprecedented Assault on the Constitution and the Rule of Law":
(1) The book's official release date is Nov. 17, but Amazon has started shipping it early.
(2) I will be speaking about "Lawless" at the Heritage Foundation at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 17. You can register for the event here.
(3) I recorded a podcast about "Lawless" with the bloggers at Powerline.
(4) The book has started to get some prepublication-date attention, from Michael Barone, David Hardy and an excellent lengthy review at the Library of Law and Liberty by Mark Pulliam. Here's a taste of the latter:
Here [Bernstein] has undertaken a large but important task, and we should be grateful that he has performed it so thoroughly. Many of the book's examples of administration misdeeds have been reported elsewhere, but having them in a single volume (with extensive accompanying footnotes) creates a shocking indictment of the Obama presidency.
Bernstein is particularly concerned about Obama's extravagant exercise of unilateral executive power, defiantly circumventing Congress and his own campaign promises. Unfortunately, this disregard for the Constitution only accelerated in his second term, as this book shows.
But it is not a partisan screed. Readers seeking denunciations of specific policy initiatives, criticism of Obama's competence, philosophical broadsides against the President's judicial appointments, complaints about the record deficits and soaring national debt amassed on his watch, or simply an exploration of Obama's many scandals will have to look elsewhere. For example, neither the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious" disaster and cover-up nor the Benghazi fiasco and cover-up qualify for Bernstein as "lawless." He has strict standards for what deserves censure. Moreover, he does not restrict his criticism to the current administration; when relevant, he places Obama's actions in historical context.