The Democratic Constitution Podcast

Audio Article: The Voting Rights Rollback Shows We Need a New Constitution

"The Voting Rights Rollback Shows We Need a New Constitution." Originally published on Jacobin [https://jacobin.com/2026/05/voting-rights-louisiana-callais-race] on May 6, 2026.

Ep. 77: Gil Schaeffer on the Declaration of Independence, Tom Paine, Lenin, and Reconstruction

“America is not a democracy, which means we’re being ruled by a small elite. That is just unacceptable. I think that’s the fundamental basis of a political movement in this country. Everyone knows how much power corporations have. They are the elite, and they keep their power by force. They have the power of laws and the police. Well, democracy says someone else is going to control those laws and police.” “People have been fighting for democracy for a long time. And so the Paine quote—if you don’t have an equal vote, you are a political slave—you are under the domination of a minority. You don’t have equal freedom. Now that was a powerful idea, and it’s still a powerful idea.” “Lenin’s theory of political agitation is central. He had a theory of mass psychology. You expose the unjust treatment in any part of society and demand that the government not be autocratic, that it be democratic. That’s the message.” In this episode, I talk with Gil Schaeffer, the author of many blog articles, including “The Declaration of Independence and Finishing Reconstruction [https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/the-declaration-of-independence-and].” We talk about Marx’s claim of an intrinsic connection between individual liberty and private property, and why, in fact, the tie between liberty and private property in the Rights of Man was only contingent; what’s lost by failing to embrace rights talk; the importance of Tom Paine’s Dissertation on the Principle of Government; the difference between fighting for the Principle of a democratic republic and establishing and securing a democratic republic; Lenin’s theory of political agitation; and where DSA and Marxist Unity Group fits into the conversation. Gil mentioned two articles by Mike Macnair—“Modern ancient constitutions [https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1369/modern-ancient-constitutions/]” and “For a minimum program! [https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/686/for-a-minimum-programme/]”—as well as the Equal Human and Political Rights and Democratic Republicanism reader [https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/recovering-the-struggle-for-equal?utm_source=publication-search] and his article in Cosmonaut about Lenin’s class point of view [https://cosmonautmag.com/2020/12/lenin-and-the-class-point-of-view-looking-at-chris-maisanos-the-constitution-and-the-class-struggle/]. He also mentioned Richard N. Hunt’s [https://www.thetedkarchive.com/library/richard-norman-hunt-the-political-ideas-of-marx-and-engels-volume-1-1818-50] introduction to Marx and Engels and the July 4 Mobilization Against Genocide [https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/jalil-muntaqim-on-the-spirit-of-mandela?utm_source=publication-search]. I read from MUG’s Points of Unity [https://www.marxistunity.com/] and mentioned a recent blog article [https://democraticconstitutionblog.substack.com/p/its-up-to-us] about the Black Panther Party’s constitutional convention in 1970.

Ep. 76: August Nimtz on Frederick Douglass, Karl Marx, and the American Civil War

In this episode, I talk with August Nimtz, the author of several books, including Marx and Engels: Their Contribution to the Democratic Breakthrough [https://archive.org/details/marxengelstheirc0000nimt], The Ballot, The Street—Or Both? [https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1385-the-ballot-the-streets-or-both], and The Communist and the Revolutionary Liberal in the Second American Revolution: Comparing Karl Marx and Frederick Douglass in Real-Time [https://www.historicalmaterialism.org/book-series/the-communist-and-the-revolutionary-liberal-in-the-second-american-revolution-comparing-karl-marx-and-frederick-douglass-in-real-time/]. August covers a wide range of topics, including Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, and Frederick Douglass’s connections to the British Chartist movement; Douglass as a revolutionary liberal during the Civil War and where his thinking intersected with and diverged from Marx and Engels; the relevance of Martin Luther King Jr.; the distinction between bourgeois and democratic republics; and the demand for a democratic constitution in the United States.

Ep. 75: Beau J. Baumann on Russell Vought, the Unitary Executive, and the LPE Project

In this episode, I talk with Beau J. Baumann, a legal scholar and the author of the recent article “What Would a Russell Vought of the Left Look Like? [https://lpeproject.org/blog/what-would-a-russell-vought-of-the-left-look-like/]” Beau dives into the article, discussing Russell Vought’s influence within the Trump administration and his executive-focused constitutional vision. He also discusses the legacy of the New Deal in the US political imagination, the limits of the Democratic Party, the relevance of the Reconstruction period, and the conversations taking place within (along with the value of) the Labor and Political Economy (LPE) Project. We also bring in Beau’s recent blog post, “The Aftermath [https://bbaumann.substack.com/p/the-aftermath].”

Ep. 74: Oliver Larkin on Running for Congress and Fighting for Democracy

In this episode, I talk with Oliver Larkin, an activist, union organizer, and Democratic Socialist running for Congress in Florida’s 23rd District against Jared Moskowitz. Oliver’s campaign website is here [https://www.oliverforcongress.com/]. Oliver and I discuss the details of his campaign, including what it means to run as a proud Democratic Socialist and member of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA [https://www.dsausa.org/]). We also talk about Florida’s “democracy crisis” and how it mirrors nationwide issues connected to the undemocratic Constitution, the history of Reconstruction and other struggles for universal and equal rights, the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (and Tom Paine’s Common Sense), and standing true to one’s principles and convictions when the going gets tough.