August 21, 2025

Liberty is the right to do whatever the law permits.

Charles Louis Montesquieu (1689–1755), French political philosopher, The Portable Curmudgeon, Jon Winokur, ed. (New York: 1987), p.170

What altogether legal thing which you might do could threaten a political career—yours currently or prospectively, or another’s?

Some might say Montesquieu comes at the issue from the wrong end: surely liberty is the right to do whatever the law does not explicitly forbid. A moot point, perhaps, but the politician who flies off to some sunny clime while his constituents suffer the disastrous effects of really bad weather (like Ted Cruz) doesn’t understand the difference between the words “ill-timed” and “illegal”.