public. And the symmetry in this respect is quite remarkable: The final point of the last
article of the last issue Jim edited (an article that he in fact wrote) perfectly echoes the
first point of his opening Editor’s Brief of the Premier Issue: the need for a massive
educational effort to inform the people of the threat of an activist judiciary to their
constitutional liberties and of the need to press Congress into action. Creating an
informed public was the alpha and omega of Jim’s political teaching.
Second, Jim’s brilliance as a constitutional scholar shined through his words on
every page. Thomas M. Landess captured Jim’s mastery of constitutional history and law
best when he wrote in The American Spectator: “Jim was the man to contact when you
wanted to know what a phrase or an amendment meant. You just called him and took
notes.”
And third, Benchmark not only perfectly captured Jim’s scholarly command and
grasp of the principles of the Constitution, it also displayed Jim’s optimism that its
principles will prevail and his deep-seated confidence that the people will recognize that
their rights are better secured by the people themselves as they operate through the
institutional structures of the Constitution than by the decisions of their betters on the
bench.
Our task, having read and absorbed Jim’s teaching in Benchmark, is clear: We
must continue to educate the public on these critical matters with the same optimism and
confidence – if not the same brilliance – that Jim possessed. The current situation
requires it; the debt we owe to the Framers demands it.
54
Thomas H. Landess, “James McClellan, RIP,” The American Spectator, Vol. 38, No. 2
(March 2005), p. 65.
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Convention