American Political Spectacle: U.S. Government Requires Compromise

Editor’s note: This article has been adapted from the newly released Democracy or Republic: The People and the Constitution.

Last week, I turned on the news to see Nancy Mace — a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina — walking through the hallways of the House of Representatives with a scarlet A emblazoned on her shirt. I immediately pondered two questions. First, has she actually read Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter? If she had, I’m not sure that’s the letter she would have chosen. And second, what was her point?

About the Author

Jay Cost

Jay Cost is a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the Center for Faith and Freedom at Grove City College.

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Editor’s note: This article has been adapted from the newly released Democracy or Republic: The People and the Constitution.

Last week, I turned on the news to see Nancy Mace — a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina — walking through the hallways of the House of Representatives with a scarlet A emblazoned on her shirt. I immediately pondered two questions. First, has she actually read Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter? If she had, I’m not sure that’s the letter she would have chosen. And second, what was her point?