Editor, Gazette-Journal:
Nearly 250 years ago, Virginians Patrick Henry and James Madison debated how best to protect individual liberty from the abuse of power. Their arguments remain urgently relevant today.
Patrick Henry feared a strong central government in the hands of a despot. He warned that unchecked power would inevitably trample the rights of the people and therefore demanded a Bill of Rights—clear, written guarantees of our God-given liberties that no ruler could lawfully violate.
James Madison shared Henry’s concern but doubted that words alone could restrain a corrupt executive. He warned that a Bill of Rights could become nothing more than “parchment” unless backed by a constitutional structure of checks and balances. His solution was three separate and independent branches of government—Executive, Legislative and Judicial—each designed to restrain the others.
In the end, the nation adopted both visions. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights were meant to work together to safeguard individual freedom.
Today, those safeguards are failing. Recent Supreme Court rulings granting Donald Trump sweeping “unitary executive” authority and immunity from prosecution have reduced the Bill of Rights to the very parchment Madison feared. These decisions have enabled the weaponization of the Department of Justice against citizens and opened the door to corruption on an unprecedented scale.
If Madison’s system were working, Congress would check Executive abuse. Instead, the Republican-controlled House and Senate, including Representative Rob Wittman, have enabled Trump’s lawlessness rather than restrained it.
Trump has further attacked democracy by demanding Republican-controlled states aggressively gerrymander congressional districts to entrench minority rule.
Virginians are once again called upon to defend democracy. The General Assembly and Governor Spanberger are asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment allowing fair redistricting, to be used in the 2026 House elections.
A YES vote on redistricting makes Virginia a firewall for preserving our democracy—helping to restore Madison’s Congressional checks and balances while defending the individual liberties Patrick Henry demanded.
On April 21, 2026, Virginians can help sustain our democracy for another 250 years.
David Helms
Zanoni, Va.