Via Drudge: No “amendment convention” has taken place since the Constitution was written over 200 years ago. But the idea is gaining steam now, stoked by groups on the left and right that say amendments drafted and ratified by states are the last, best hope for fixing the nation’s broken political system and dysfunctional — some even say tyrannical — federal government.
“We have a Congress in the United States made up of two bodies — House and Senate — that are incapable of restricting their own power,” said Texas state Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Republican. With the conventions, he said, states are stepping in to clean up the mess.
The current push for a convention began in the early years of the Obama administration, mostly driven by Republican lawmakers. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are big supporters. So are former presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio. Although many amendment topics have been proposed, the most popular would require the federal government to balance its budget.
“We have a Congress in the United States made up of two bodies — House and Senate — that are incapable of restricting their own power,” said Texas state Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Republican. With the conventions, he said, states are stepping in to clean up the mess.
The current push for a convention began in the early years of the Obama administration, mostly driven by Republican lawmakers. Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott are big supporters. So are former presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Marco Rubio. Although many amendment topics have been proposed, the most popular would require the federal government to balance its budget.
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Link to the list of US constitutional amendments via Wikipedia.
9 comments:
Small problem - the people who would have the most influence in those changes will be essentially the same ones who got us here.
Kasich and Rubio versus Madison and Jefferson. Pick a team.
Cool- here is my list.
*Ballanced budget amendment-
*No abortion after 20 weeks amendment
*Senators back to elected by their state legislatures
*House members back to representing under 100k persons (would make a congress of about 3500 members.
*Amendment to make amendments easier to pass.
*Making the courts rule on the constitutionality of a law before it goes into effect
Is Changing the Constitution the Only Way to Fix Washington?
No,sacking and burning the city to the ground would work too.
Start with Mark Levin's "Liberty Amendments" (whether you liked him or not last year). It's a well-thought out start.
The one we need the most is an end to lifetime appointments - term limits on Congress, the Federal bench, and civil service. It isn't a cure all, but fresh blood on a regular basis can't hurt.
Then there's vote fraud.
Photo ID mandatory, plus proof of citizenship.
Since there are 3.5 million more people registered than eligible adults, that's another great amendment.
Put up The Ten Commandments above every blackboard in every elementary school classroom in America. When SCOTUS rules that unconstitutional change the heading to The Ten Suggestions. At least they'll be up there. Anything short of that will fail to keep the Republic. Why? Because the Republic cannot be sustained without a virtuous people. I think John Adams said that. Anyway, it's a timeless truth, witness the disaster for virtue our increasingly secular society has become. A society which is not sustaining the Republic, even in its tattered state.
Let me add that "a virtuous people" does not mean a perfect people. It means a people STRIVING to be virtuous. That is enough. That is enough to sustain a Republic. Less than that is not enough and all the clever fixes in the world won't save the Republic if The People is not virtuous.
RICPIC- Is that your original idea? I think it and your arguments supporting it are brilliant!
Thanks AJ. Yup, original. But the deep truth was first spoken by Adams.
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