As it turns out, the Constitution actually is a suicide pact.
Ruprecht's corrolary to McCullagh's Law: The more egregiously unconstitutional the legislation, the stronger the temptation of congressional Democrats to cave in to avoid the appearance of weakness.
Stalin's Law, recently revivified and updated for our modern world by mcmanus: Have divisions.
This law has precedents:
They will engage their country in ridiculous, expensive, fantastical wars, to keep the minds of men in continual hurry and agitation, and under constant fears and alarms; and, by such means, deprive them both of leisure and inclination to look into publick miscarriages. Men, on the contrary, will, instead of such inspection, be disposed to fall into all measures offered, seemingly, for their defence, and will agree to every wild demand made by those who are betraying them.