1/ The foundational rumor of contemporary constitutionalism: That interwar parliamentarism failed so badly at preventing the rise of fascism that they had to be straitjacketed with all sorts of counter-majoritarian institutions—just to be on the safe side.

While in fact:

it was Vittorio Emanuele and Italian Liberals who installed Mussolini; the High Court of Bavaria that coddled Hitler in 1924; the stupid mixup that gave an in to Dolfuss in 1933; the sheer terror after the Reichstag fire that made electoral comeback of communists impossible,

and so on and so on … not to mention colossal economic immiseration caused by the crisis of capitalism, and fresh memories of another human slaughterhouse …

But no! Instead we should blame rowdy parliamentarism, reckless enthusiasm for popular sovereignty, and the lack of appreciation for checks and balances.