In the cult-classic movie, With Honors, there’s a remarkable scene in which a Harvard law professor asks his class, “what is the particular genius of the American Constitution?”
In that class is a homeless “bum” (played by Joe Pesci) — who is uninterested in the lecture — and wants to walk out. While walking out, much to the chagrin of the Professor, he — a homeless man, mind you — delivers a monologue about the US Constitution that’s become something of a favourite quote of those of us who study constitutions in manners that defy traditional pedagogical styles.
Pesci says:
“You asked a question, sir. Let me answer. The genius of the constitution is that it can always be changed. The genius of the constitution is that it makes no permanent rule other than its faith in the wisdom of ordinary people to govern themselves.”
The Professor retorts that this faith in the wisdom of the people is exactly what makes the constitution “incomplete and crude.”
Pesci replies:
“No, sir. Our Founding Parents were pompous, middle-aged White farmers. But they were also great men. Because they knew one thing that all great men should know: that they didn't know everything. They knew they were gonna make mistakes, but they made sure to leave a way to correct them. They did not think of themselves as leaders. They wanted a government of citizens, not royalty. A government of listeners, not lecturers. A government that could change, not stand still. President isn’t an elected king. No matter how many bombs he can drop because the crude constitution doesn’t trust him. He’s a bum… he’s just a bum.”
This week, Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York Mayor Elections has led many in the US — and elsewhere — to heave out a sigh of relief. Mamdani’s politics is interesting — it is somewhat reminiscent of the Obama campaign, but perhaps better. It is founded on that commodity which is on short supply in the neoliberal world today: Hope. Mamdani’s democratic socialist politics — and inclusive demeanour — is heartening in a political environment marked by apathy, hate, and bigotry that’s on display everywhere. Neither is Mamdani the only democratic and a socialist leader to win — other Democrats (although not socialists) have won in the latest election season in the US. But even outside the US, the incoming prime ministership of Rob Jetten — a young Liberal Democrat from the Netherlands, and an openly gay politician — marks another moment of hope and, perhaps, a worldwide tide towards liberal democratic politics, away from the right-wing politics that had held in its grip better part of the whole world. Last year, in 2024, India, too, marked a slight shift away from the right-wing politics — although the BJP still won the elections, it did so with much less margin, and the liberal democrats in India, led by Rahul Gandhi, have tried to make most of their better electoral outcomes. The UK, too, saw the Conservatives being pushed out of office and a new liberal Labour government led by Starmer take over administration.
The ordinary people of these countries have demonstrated what Pesci calls “the wisdom of ordinary people to govern themselves.” It is for this reason that constitutions must listen to those that they seek to govern. Constituent Theory places the most power in the wisdom of the people — constitutions, after all, derive their legitimacy from the people. I’ve come to seriously believe, lately, that the most important words in the Indian constitution are the three words that it starts with: “We, the People.” Everything else is less important than these 3 words.
Mamdani’s campaign fits the description that Pesci delivers in the Harvard classroom: “A government of citizens, not royalty. A government of listeners, not lecturers. A government that could change, not stand still.” Mamdani portrayed himself as a citizen — as opposed to a dynast like Cuomo, or a businessman like Trump, who have very little understanding of the lives of those that they seek to govern. Mamdani listened to the ordinary New Yorkers. And he promised change. Even in his victory speech — quoting Nehru — Mamdani promised to herald a new era of change, away from an unaffordable, bigoted city to an affordable, diverse and inclusive one.
Many people think Mamdani has a promising career in politics. But despite his promise — and the parallels in their campaigns — Mamdani is not Obama, and he cannot be. Mamdani cannot become the President of the US, because he is not a US-born citizen. He acquired citizenship of the US later.
The US Constitution prohibits individuals who are not US-born citizens from becoming the President or the Vice President. Although they can become Governors, as Arnold Schwarzenegger did.
A proposed amendment to the US constitution seeks to remove this bar. The Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment was proposed in 2003 by senator Orrin Hatch — which is why it is also called the Hatch Amendment (It’s called the Arnold Amendment, because some commentators thought that the purpose of the amendment was to allow Arnold Schwarzenegger to run for President). Although the Congress did consider it a few times after its proposal, the Amendment did not see any serious engagement or efforts at its incorporation into the Constitution.
But the Mamdani campaign has shown that ordinary people in that country are not averse to electing and being governed by an American who is not a natural-born citizen, so long as he cares about the right issues that affect the people of the country. The widespread popularity of Zohran’s campaign, which was wildly popular even outside New York, has shown that this belief is not unique to New Yorkers. Many Americans think that an American like Zohran — Muslim, immigrant, South Asian — can govern just fine. This is the wisdom of the ordinary people which, according to Pesci, the constitution trusts. That, in fact, is the very genius of that constitution.
Perhaps the success of the Mamdani campaign shows — among other things — that the time is ripe for the US legislature to consider seriously the Equal Opportunity to Govern Amendment.