My own response mirrors that of American Founder John Adams who said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” If this politician believes the Constitution no longer works, perhaps that individual should consider the possibility that it is the current political climate - not the Constitution - that is failing.

This isn't the first time that a progressive has denounced the founding principles of our nation - they've been doing it for over a century. In 1911 Woodrow Wilson said in a speech, “If you want to understand the real Declaration of Independence, do not repeat the preface.” The "preface", for those who are not aware, constitute the first two paragraphs that declare all men are created equal, and that we are entitled to the unalienable rights bestowed by God, including (but not limited to) life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The "preface" limits the role of government to defending those rights and subordinates government to the people, who by their consent endow government with its "just powers."

By contrast, consider the remarks of conservative Calvin Coolidge on the same subject: "About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers."

So to that contemporary politician - and to Woodrow Wilson - I would point out that in rejecting the founding principles of our nation, you are rejecting the notion of human equality. You are rejecting the notion that human beings have innate rights to life, liberty, and property. You are rejecting the notion that human beings have the right to defend themselves from tyranny, and the right to frame their own government. In short, you are rejecting the individual right to grant consent. Truly, this is not "progressive" ideology.... but rather a regressive one; reactionary and ancient... and prone to tyranny.