Quote · The Ben Shapiro Show
Ep. 2456 - LIVE: Ben Breaks Down SCOTUS on Birthright Citizenship
Where this was said
Justice Gorsuch Interview: Heroes of 1776 and the Founders' Sacrifice
At 1:13:00 · chapter starts 1:11:50
In a striking segment, one of the justices whose dissent Shapiro just praised calls in to discuss something entirely different: a children's book on the Declaration of Independence co-authored with Janie Nitze. Gorsuch frames the book around three ideas he considers historically unprecedented: that all people are equal, that rights come from God not government, and that people can govern themselves. These ideas were, he argues, 'completely at odds with the social and political order of Europe and the world.' He shares the story of Caesar Rodney, who rode through a thunderstorm with cancer to break a tie vote for independence, and 18-year-old spy Emily Geiger, who delivered a critical Revolutionary War message. The most striking story is Thomas Nelson, a signer who died in such poverty his creditors threatened to exhume his body — and who said on his deathbed he'd do it all again. Gorsuch ties the book's purpose to a stark statistic: only 13% of 8th graders are proficient in American history at grade level. Shapiro adds that the Declaration succeeded where the French Revolution failed because it was built on Anglo-American virtue and common law, not just aspirational rhetoric.
SCOTUS overturned Humphrey's Executor, the 90-year-old case that let Congress insulate agency heads from presidential removal. The unitary executive theory — once a Scalia dissent — is now law. If you work in the executive branch, the president can fire you.
