Word: constructionistic
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...short, is never off duty. That is his pride and his eventual torment. He is a compulsively strict constructionist of culture. A somewhat prickly man, the reader will guess. Well, George Jean Nathan anticipated that objection: "The critic is no gentleman, and the gentleman is no critic...
...your piece on the Burger court [April 13], you say that "strict constructionist" is an "ill-defined term," and then proceed to define it as referring to judges who "would prefer to have the court take a less active role . . . and keep hands off more decisions of other branches of Government...
Actually, "strict constructionist" has been a clearly defined term throughout American history, at least until President Nixon, who evidently has no idea what the term means, began misusing it in the past two years...
...comment on Chief Justice Burger's appointment, The President defined strict constructionist as meaning a judge who would give Congress "great leeway" in writing laws and be "very conservative in overthrowing a law passed by the elected representatives." This, of course, is exactly the opposite of what strict constructionist means...
...term has been invariably used, a strict constructionist is precisely someone who, because he construes the Constitution strictly and would confine the powers of Government to specifically enumerated items, feels justified in overthrowing laws passed by elected representatives and in putting his hands on decisions of other branches of Government. To offer Congress "great leeway," to enlarge the scope of permissible Legislative and Executive action, one must obviously favor a broad construction of the Constitution...