General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAZ Convention to change the Constitution has already opened!!
From AZ Central online: 'Historic' Arizona convention on changes to U.S. Constitution opens 1st day at Capitol. This is the convention the Koch Brothers and others have wanted:
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The rules set this week won't be binding, but they will be presented to the participants of any future Article V convention in hopes of adoption.
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Before the planning convention began Tuesday, several dozen people opposed to the effort gathered outside the Capitol holding signs and chanting, "Hands off our Constitution."
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"This is not 200 years ago when you had founders coming together to create a great nation," she said. "These folks, who only represent their self-interests, are going to fight for the corporations, for billionaires. Forget the 99 percent."
Once these people begin mucking with the Constitution, what else could they do? Repeal the 17th Amendment perhaps?
LonePirate
(13,431 posts)We need to do everything we can to make sure this convention of the states never happens.
Initech
(100,102 posts)If so I will sign up and fight. Fuck fascism and fuck the oligarchy!
Lee Adama
(90 posts)Thus, this is no different from the "Citizen Grand Juries" that were going to convict Obama of being born in Kenya.
It's complete and utter bullshit.
CanonRay
(14,113 posts)MineralMan
(146,329 posts)and can't change a damned word of it.
Iliyah
(25,111 posts)They also believe they are above any laws and rules. Dangerous mindset.
Initech
(100,102 posts)And that is not good for anybody.
leftstreet
(36,112 posts)Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Some right-wing goals, like an amendment to overturn Roe v. Wade, are unlikely to be achieved, because the 13 most progressive states could exercise an effective veto. (Ratification of any amendment requires 38 states.)
In other instances, though, the danger is that the whole process would be under the control of state legislators. They can call a convention, select the delegates, and act on any proposed amendments, with no substantive involvement by Congress. I could see even some blue-state legislators being attracted to:
* a federal balanced-budget amendment. The state legislator gets to posture as a proponent of sound budgeting. Then it's the members of Congress who have to make the unpopular decisions to raise taxes or cut spending. That will make them vulnerable to primary or general-election challenge -- quite possibly by the state legislator who made their unpopular action necessary in the first place.
* Congressional term limits. In case the incumbent Senator or Representative survives the effects of the balanced-budget amendment, he or she could be forced out anyway. It's usually hard to beat an incumbent at the polls. How nice to oust them without a vote of the people -- opening up their seats for, you guessed it, ambitious state legislators.
I'll bet a lot of them would like to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment and take back the power to elect Senators. The blowback on that one would probably be too fierce, though. The danger of balanced budget and term limits is that they can be made to appear as nonideological good-government reforms.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)I bet a lot of Alt right frat boys don't want women voting
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)The frat boys can propose all they want, but as long as we can find 13 states that don't go along, it's dead.
Of course, the flip side is that 13 right-wing states could block any amendment that we want.
That's why I think the real danger is amendments that play on federal vs. state rather than left vs. right. Our progressive state legislators would defend women suffrage and reproductive rights, but I'm not so sure we can trust them on balanced budget and term limits.
crazycatlady
(4,492 posts)Elections are less than two months away. You have the entire NJ statehouse (currently Dem supermajority) up as well as an open governor's seat to finally bring a trifecta.
In VA, you have an open governor's seat and the house of delegates up. Currently the GOP has a 17? seat majority.
Lastly there's a special election in WA that will decide who controls the state senate.