# The Originalism Trap *The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back*, by lawyer and commentator Madiba K. Dennie (Random House, 2024). ## The argument Dennie argues that [[Originalism]] — the doctrine that the Constitution must be interpreted according to its supposed original public meaning — is not the neutral, principled, history-bound method its proponents claim, but a results-oriented tool that reliably delivers conservative political outcomes while dressing them in the authority of the Founders. On this account, judges decide where they want to land and then assemble a historical narrative to justify it, so "history and tradition" becomes a one-way ratchet against civil rights, reproductive freedom, voting access, and the administrative state. In place of originalism Dennie proposes an explicitly outcome-conscious method she calls "inclusive constitutionalism" — reading the Constitution in light of its democratic and egalitarian purposes — and frames the fight over interpretation as a political contest "the people" can re-enter rather than cede to the courts. ## KB significance The book is a direct critique of the legal philosophy that underwrites much of the contemporary right's project in the courts — the same [[Originalism]] deployed by the [[Federalist Society]] judicial network and the Roberts Court. It belongs in the KB as a counter-framing reference: it names the mechanism by which a methodological-sounding doctrine produces consistently partisan results, which is useful for analyzing decisions across the KB's courts and legal-frameworks material. ## See Also - [[Originalism]]