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Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis

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Cite

Isgur, S., & French, D. (2026, September 15). Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis. The Dispatch. https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/barely-averting-a-constitutional-crisis/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Dispatch · collected 2026-09-15 · by Sarah Isgur, David French

Quick Summary

Sarah Isgur and David French discuss several topics on their podcast "Advisory Opinions," including reactions to Justice Kavanaugh's reflections on 9/11 and the controversial redistricting decision by the Missouri Supreme Court that favored Democrats. They also review articles by Andy Smarick and Caleb Nelson, focusing on issues related to constitutional interpretation and the unitary executive theory. The podcast takes a non-partisan but conservative perspective on these political and legal matters.
Written by AI on 2026-09-15, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On a recent episode of The Dispatch's podcast Advisory Opinions, hosts Sarah Isgur and David French discussed the Missouri Supreme Court's decision to block a new congressional map, which they argue favors Democrats. The debate centered around a column by David in the New York Times detailing how the court's move could prevent Republicans from gaining an advantage through redistricting ahead of the 2024 elections. This event highlights ongoing political tensions over gerrymandering and its impact on electoral outcomes in Missouri.

Written for “Constitutional Crisis Averted” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Constitutional Crisis Averted
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Reason
Outlet record 67/100
“Article A describes historical context on a past Supreme Court decision, while Article B discusses contemporary debates and opinions about current legal issues including redistricting.”
Washington Examiner
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses a debate and legal articles related to redistricting, while Article B reports on an ongoing court case involving Missouri's congressional map being reviewed by the Eighth Circuit.”
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses a debate about a blocked congressional map and related legal articles, while Article B reports on an appeals court considering the same blocked map in a separate legal proceeding.”
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the US Supreme Court's rejection of Missouri’s congressional maps aimed at benefiting Republicans for the midterms. Article B mentions a redistricting fight that favors Democrats but does not describe the same specific court ruling.”
Reason
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 7 of 31 claims Outlet record 67/100
“Article B discusses a debate and review of legal articles rather than directly reporting on the Missouri Supreme Court's decision or the U.S. Supreme Court ruling mentioned in Article A.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
61/100
The Dispatch's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-15 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Dispatch · 402 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Sarah Isgur
16 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Will the Democrats maintain their momentum, or could Republicans defy expectations?
2026-10-27 · mixed framing · Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
🔮 Another statement on the denial of cert by Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch that's gonna set our libertarian friends jumping out of second-floor windows.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice?
🔮 On today's roundtable, we'll discuss a large number of Americans who say they want substantial change or complete and total upheaval in these midterm elections, and whether the prevailing anti-incumbent and anti-Trump sentiment will lead to a blue wave, a rogue wave, or something else entirely.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · A Blue Wave or an Anti-Incumbent Wave?
🔮 And have we got maybe the most thrilling, sexiest advisory opinions to date on sealing orders.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
🔮 Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
🔮 The Agenda: –An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito? –“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.” –Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · SUNCOR Gets Complicated
🔮 So, the judge is, is calling down the names, and he gets to me, and I go up and I say, "Your Honor, you know, look, I could definitely be fair.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Not a MAGA Court
🔮 The second time, maybe we did, but it doesn't matter because now the Eighth Circuit has weighed in.
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · Third Time’s the Charm?
🔮 [applause] [chuckles] We will be doing our traditional term preview, where we try to go through the cases that are scheduled thus far, but in a fun way, and not just a death march through the schedule.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Looking Ahead to the Supreme Court Term
🔮 We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis
Also by Sarah Isgur
Election Shenanigans
2026-10-27 · The Dispatch
Can Democrats Maintain Their Momentum?
2026-10-27 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 16 articles by Sarah Isgur →
David French
18 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Another statement on the denial of cert by Justices Sotomayor and Gorsuch that's gonna set our libertarian friends jumping out of second-floor windows.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Who’s the Loneliest Supreme Court Justice?
🔮 And have we got maybe the most thrilling, sexiest advisory opinions to date on sealing orders.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
🔮 Sarah Isgur and David French discuss what’s on the Supreme Court’s docket, debate whether anonymous speech is protected by the First Amendment, and undergo a grim historical review of the death penalty after the Pentagon’s announcement that an execution will be livestreamed.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Is Spending Money Protected Speech?
🔮 The Agenda: –An appropriate use of AI by Justice Alito? –“I don’t think Justice Alito has DraftKings on his phone.” –Will Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition ever get overturned?
2026-10-08 · assertive framing · SUNCOR Gets Complicated
🔮 So, the judge is, is calling down the names, and he gets to me, and I go up and I say, "Your Honor, you know, look, I could definitely be fair.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Not a MAGA Court
🔮 The two also discuss the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Missouri redistricting case, and Sarah Isgur makes a provocative argument that may trigger any true crime fans.
2026-09-29 · assertive framing · Is Press Access a Constitutional Right?
🔮 The second time, maybe we did, but it doesn't matter because now the Eighth Circuit has weighed in.
2026-09-24 · assertive framing · Third Time’s the Charm?
🔮 NRF’s comments to USTR on the Board of Trade identified key consumer goods categories where tariff reductions would matter immediately: apparel, footwear, furniture, appliances, travel goods, toys and games, household tools, and consumer technology.
🔮 [applause] [chuckles] We will be doing our traditional term preview, where we try to go through the cases that are scheduled thus far, but in a fun way, and not just a death march through the schedule.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Looking Ahead to the Supreme Court Term
🔮 We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri.
2026-09-15 · assertive framing · Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis
Also by David French
Election Shenanigans
2026-10-27 · The Dispatch
The Secrecy in Courts Dilemma
2026-10-15 · The Dispatch
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 18 articles by David French →

Topics

Dispatch Missouri New York Times the Manhattan Institute’s the Missouri Supreme Court

Subjects

David PERSON · 5× Andy Smarick PERSON · 2× Caleb Nelson PERSON · 2× David French PERSON · 2× Dispatch ORG · 2× Kavanaugh PERSON · 2× Missouri GPE · 2× Sarah Isgur PERSON · 2× New York Times ORG · 1× the Missouri Supreme Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-15
🔮 We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri.
2026-09-15 · The Dispatch
Barely Averting a Constitutional Crisis · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Sarah Isgur and David French debate David’s latest New York Times column on the Missouri Supreme Court blocking a congressional map. asserted
Court → debate → map
Then, the two review two law articles: Andy Smarick of the Manhattan Institute’s elegantly simple piece on unenumerated rights, and University of Virginia law professor Caleb Nelson’s amazing yet horrifying publication on the unitary executive. asserted
two → review → executive
The Agenda: –Paying tribute to the victims and those who sacrificed their lives on 9/11 –The redistricting fight that favors Democrats in Missouri Advisory Opinions is a production of The Dispatch, a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a non-partisan, conservative perspective. asserted
Opinions → pay → perspective
To access all of The Dispatch’s offerings—including access to all of our articles, members-only newsletters, and bonus podcast episodes—click here. asserted
access → access → articles
If you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member by clicking here. asserted
you → like → experience
[keys jangling] asserted
keys → jangle → ?
I was born ready. asserted
I → bear → ?
We will start with September 11th and some of the things that Justice Kavanaugh said while reflecting on that day in the White House, and some of the reactions to what Justice Kavanaugh said reflecting on that day in the White House, as well as I will pick a fight with David over the redistricting shenanigans in Missouri. asserted
I → start → Missouri
And we've got two articles, one by Andy Smarick on text, history, and tradition, and the three questions judges should ask if they wanna do it right, as well as a unitary executive take-down by conservative professor Caleb Nelson, who says, "Oh, you wanna do originalism? asserted
you → get → originalism
Can I introduce you to the Necessary and Proper Clause?" asserted
I → introduce → Clause
And then we've got that Second Circuit case on the teachers with the pride flags in their classroom. asserted
we → get → classroom
What are these teachers allowed to have in their classroom, and why does this feel like every case we are doing right now? asserted
we → allow → case
David's got feelings on Garcetti and Pickering again. asserted
David → get → Garcetti
All this and more coming up on Advisory Opinions. asserted
this → come → Opinions
All right, David, let's start with some news that happened on September 11th. asserted
that → let → 11th
First of all, we continued our tradition of bringing all of the Briskets' classmates to a fire station nearby and dropping off goodies and treats and cards. asserted
we → continue → goodies
But David, this was a new fire station [laughs] this year for September 11th, obviously, 'cause we're in Texas. asserted
we → laugh → Texas
This station had real fire poles. asserted
station → have → poles
And I don't know if you've actually seen firefighters respond to a call in, like, real time, but we're there, a call comes, there are four fire poles situated in this firehouse. asserted
call → know → firehouse
Men start streaming down poles. asserted
Men → start → poles
Um, like it was raining men in a literal sense. asserted
it → rain → sense
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