23 Proposals to Revitalize the US Constitution

[stephanie]

Holy Moly..:poke:

from
A MORE PERFECT CONSTITUTION
by Larry J. Sabato
(in the order in which they appear in the book)
Send us your 24th Amendment!
Congress:
1. Expand the Senate to 136 members to be more representative: Grant the 10 most populous states 2 additional Senators, the 15 next most populous states 1 additional Senator, and the District of Columbia 1 Senator.

2. Appoint all former Presidents and Vice Presidents to the new office of “National Senator.”

3. Mandate non-partisan redistricting for House elections to enhance electoral competition.

4. Lengthen House terms to 3 years (from 2) and set Senate terms to coincide with all Presidential elections, so the entire House and Senate would be elected at the same time as the President.

5. Expand the size of the House to approximately 1,000 members (from current 435), so House members can be closer to their constituents, and to level the playing field in House elections.

6. Establish term limits in the House and Senate to restore the Founders’ principle of frequent rotation in office.

7. Add a Balanced Budget Amendment to encourage fiscal fairness to future generations.

8. Create a Continuity of Government procedure to provide for replacement Senators and Congresspeople in the event of extensive deaths or incapacitation.


read the rest at...
http://www.amoreperfectconstitution.com/23_proposals.htm

[Hobbit]

I like the Constitution we have, thank you very much.

[Gaffer]

The only one I like is the term limits for everybody. Get rid of the career politicians. The rest of it is an attempt to turn congress into a parliament.

[avatar4321]

I was unaware that there was something wrong with the current Constitution.

[KarlMarx]

Before changing the constitution, why don't we try the one we already have?

[stephanie]

Oh I wouldn't doubt there are people here who aren't loyal to our Constitution or Country who would like to see it changed..

Thank goodness when they wrote it they saw this might happen...:salute::salute:

[Joe Steel]

Holy Moly..:poke:

from
A MORE PERFECT CONSTITUTION
by Larry J. Sabato
(in the order in which they appear in the book)
Send us your 24th Amendment!
Congress:
1. Expand the Senate to 136 members to be more representative: Grant the 10 most populous states 2 additional Senators, the 15 next most populous states 1 additional Senator, and the District of Columbia 1 Senator.

2. Appoint all former Presidents and Vice Presidents to the new office of “National Senator.”

3. Mandate non-partisan redistricting for House elections to enhance electoral competition.

4. Lengthen House terms to 3 years (from 2) and set Senate terms to coincide with all Presidential elections, so the entire House and Senate would be elected at the same time as the President.

5. Expand the size of the House to approximately 1,000 members (from current 435), so House members can be closer to their constituents, and to level the playing field in House elections.

6. Establish term limits in the House and Senate to restore the Founders’ principle of frequent rotation in office.

7. Add a Balanced Budget Amendment to encourage fiscal fairness to future generations.

8. Create a Continuity of Government procedure to provide for replacement Senators and Congresspeople in the event of extensive deaths or incapacitation.


read the rest at...
http://www.amoreperfectconstitution.com/23_proposals.htm

Dumping the mess we have is a great idea but these suggestions aren't. Term limits and a balanced budget requirement are particularly bad ideas.

[Monkeybone]

i like the idea of term limits. like Gaffer said, it would get rid of career politicians and actually put ppl in there that wanted to change something. yah you might be that kinda person at first, then it just changes to how can i stay in office and make more money for myself.

[Monkeybone]

i like the idea of term limits. like Gaffer said, it would get rid of career politicians and actually put ppl in there that wanted to change something. yah you might be that kinda person at first, then it just changes to how can i stay in office instead of what needs to be done.

[AFbombloader]

The only one I like is the term limits too. Look at the other ones and imagine what they would do.

1000 house members!!! We can't seem to get 435 good ones in there now!

136 senate members??? Looks like they want the most populated states to hold more sway. Who did those go to in the last election?

I vote for using the constitution we have.

AF:salute:

[Hobbit]

I was unaware that there was something wrong with the current Constitution.


AMENDMENT XVI

Passed by Congress July 2, 1909. Ratified February 3, 1913.

Note: Article I, section 9, of the Constitution was modified by amendment 16.

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

I'm not particularly fond of this part, but the rest seems fine to me.

[Little-Acorn]

Our Constitution needs very little work.

Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments, and insert the word "explicitly" into the 10th amendment before the word "delegated".

The biggest change needed: Start OBEYING the Constitution.

The country would be straightened out pretty quickly.

[Hobbit]

Our Constitution needs very little work.

Repeal the 16th and 17th amendments, and insert the word "explicitly" into the 10th amendment before the word "delegated".

The biggest change needed: Start OBEYING the Constitution.

The country would be straightened out pretty quickly.

Oh yeah, forgot about the 17th. It's a good point to make. The government of China has representatives in the American federal government (ambassadors). The government of France has representation in the American federal government. Why doesn't the government of Georgia have any representation in the American federal government? Think about it. If both senators and representatives represent the citizens, then who represents the government?

[Little-Acorn]

Oh yeah, forgot about the 17th. It's a good point to make. The government of China has representatives in the American federal government (ambassadors). The government of France has representation in the American federal government. Why doesn't the government of Georgia have any representation in the American federal government? Think about it. If both senators and representatives represent the citizens, then who represents the government?

Yes, the Constitution originally required that Senators be appointed by their state governments, not by a popular vote of the citizens. Only the House members were popularly elected.

The reason for that, was to prevent the Fed govt from taking over the powers that belonged to the States individually. It was a clear attempt to prevent Big Central Government. Predictably, it was one of the first things the new "Progressives" targeted.

Know what's a real hoot? They targeted it by complaining that requiring so many separate voting bodies to agree on legislation before it could become law, made it too difficult to get things passed. And they complained as though that were a bad thing!

Back then, a bill had to be agreed to by (1.) The House, whose members were "citizen legislators" elected by the people to a relatively short term, and who were expected to go back into civilian life after their term was up; (2.) The Senate, comprised of mostly career politicians who would be loyal to their State governments, and (3.) The President, another career politician elected by a group of "Electors" who would use their own judgment on who had the best character to be in that sensitive position. If any one of those objected to a bill, it went in the trash can and never became law, unless it was changed enough to please all three.

It was tough, all right, to get such a diverse bunch to agree on anything, and so many attempts at making laws were defeated. And that was exactly what the Framers had in mind when they designed our government that way!

The Framers held to the American ideal, that in general people can get along just fine without the heavy hand of government. Government should only make laws (keep in mind, laws are RESTRICTIONS that prevent someone from doing what he would otherwise have done) when the interests of those three diverse groups (the people, the state governments, the President of high character) agreed that that law was necessary. The Framers didn't want huge bushel baskets of laws flooding out of Washington... and so they designed a system with LOTS of "checks and balances" - that is,the competing interests of local govt vs. individuals vs. an overseer supposedly wise enough to prevent stupidities the others missed. And they were supposed to PREVENT all laws except the ones so vital that they should be imposed by a central government. And there weren't many of those.

The 17th amendment smashed that plan, but good. And it should be repealed. The Framers had it right: Central government should be kept to a minimum, and confined to a few limited areas - such as the ares spelled out in the Constitution. Lowe governments should handle most things.

What a difference from what we have today.

[Hagbard Celine]

I say change it up! Keep things interesting! Too much of the same thing leads to stagnation and rot!