The Founders knew that the people could be passionate and that passions would change, sometimes fairly quickly. History has certainly proven them correct. The lifetime tenure for Supreme Court members was a check upon the temporal nature of those pitchfork or palatial passions. Remember FDR and his threat to pack the court? He would have heartily agreed with your proposal. The Founders, not so much, except when they became Presidents and clashed with the Judiciary.
Jefferson had already declared Burr guilty of treason and the country agreed, so how dare Marshall rule otherwise, based on a technicality OF THE WORDS OF THE CONSTITUTION, its definition of treason rather than using the British Common Law definition which Jefferson wanted? The pitchfork folks would certainly have voted Marshall out in a heartbeat.
My reading of the current furor is that the many of the current “Constitutionalists” especially the recent converts, will support its resurrection as long as it appears to be achieving their political ends. When something happens to demonstrate that the Constitution will NOT lead to the end they desire, they will simply move in a different direction.
At any rate, I look forward to many discussions of the Constitution over the next year.
