Change the Constitution

[liveonearth]

Governors of 35 states have filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (2/3 of the 50) States to require congress to convene a Constitutional Convention. A Convention, once it comes to pass, can change the constitution. This can happen at the federal and the state level.

The question at hand is whether members of congress and the senate should have to obey the laws that are applied to the rest of us. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform that is being considered.. in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.

The proposed Amendment to the US Constitution would be the 28th. It would read something like this: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States."

To me, this makes great sense. I personally would like to modifiers of the constitution to reverse the parts that allow corporations to have "personhood". Business should not have all the rights of personhood but none of the responsibilities. And money from a business should not be protected as free speech, though I understand the slipperiness of the question and the difficulty the supreme court found in drawing a reasonable line. Then there is the suggestion of a balanced budget amendment. While we may not be able to have a balanced budget in the short term, we could begin to require that governments spend within their means. There is no shortage of work to do.

Comments

[upaya.livejournal.com]

I just have this image of a Constitutional Convention taken over by Tea Partiers.

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Depending on what the tea party turns out to be, that could be either terrible or awesome. It's bad news that Palin is involved, because she doesn't have a clue and puts off rational reasonable people. I am one of those who has been supporting the idea that the way to bring the Republican party back to responsibility is to infiltrate it, which is what they are up to. Unfortunately many of the freshmen congressmen who were elected under the tea party banner are just more corrupt republicans, and several of those who are not corrupt republicans don't appear very sane. I'm worried, but that is nothing new. Wouldn't it be nice if we had more thoughtful candidates on all sides, candidates who have principles and are also flexible enough to adapt and compromise for the good of the nation?...