Constitutional Convention

[stebo0728]

Ok, so thought I'd throw this out there. Theres some discussion out there as to whether it might be time for a good 'ol Constitutional Convention. Any thoughts on that anyone?

1) Should we call for one?
2) Could we call for one, citing only specific changes, or would it be a free for all, anything goes sorta party that could do more harm than good?
3) What changes should we be considering?

Lets keep in mind when answering 1 and 2, that the previous Constitutional Convention was called only to fix the Articles of Confederation, and the Bill of Rights, a completely different setup, was what resulted.

I'd like to hear some reasoned arguments about this, as Im undecided myself, but I'll give a SWAG at it preliminarily.

1) Depends on the answer we come up with for 2. If we can deal with specific issues alone, I think it could be quite useful. However, if it would be a way for the lefties to sneak healthcare, gainful employment, residence, material things such as that into an ammended "Bill of Rights" then we're better off not screwing with a Constitutional Convention that would undermine who we are.
2) I dont know the legalities and abilities, or if they are even defined. I'd like to hope we could call for specifics, but who knows.
3) I'd like to deal with, and these are not all things I am dead set for or against, but I think would be beneficial to deal with in a "Katie bar the door" environment:

* Repealing Ammendment 16, replacing direct achievement penalizing income taxation with some sort of consumption based taxation. I favor the FairTax, but specifics are negotiable.
* Repealing Ammendment 17, putting Senate seats back in the hands of state appointment, restoring representation of state government interests in Washington.
* Clarify how to handle public sector employees, and their compensation, and whether bargaining rights exist in public sector jobs.

I'll think of some more later.

[R/T Hemi]

Perhaps rewriting those parts that are constantly being reviewed, and updating it to the twenty first century. Defining what a religion is, or what free speech is wouldn't hurt. Owning a gun vs. carrying a loaded one in the glove box, etc.

[srellim234]

"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers." _William Shakespeare

[R/T Hemi]

Not all of them. Let's leave one. Then we can watch him starve without someone to argue with.

[bigbadberry3]

I would see auto citizen flare up and right to bear arms as the most common points of argument. Healthcare a close 3rd.

[IBCoupe]

Not all of them. Let's leave one. Then we can watch him starve without someone to argue with.

s***, I'll argue with anybody.

But I don't think we need a Constitutional Convention. We have an amendment process, and it works well enough. One amendment wiped out 9 protections for slavery in the original Constitution. And who says Government's inefficient?

[themadscientist]

Not all of them. Let's leave one. Then we can watch him starve without someone to argue with.

OMFG, pure awesomeness right there.

I would not want the current batch of petulant children in the political sphere tinkering with our foundational document. I would like to see congressional pay tied to the median income of the American people, unemployment, GDP, and customer surveys.

[stebo0728]

Another item I'd like to bring up, in the event of a Constitutional Convention.

Balanced Budget Ammendment

[IBCoupe]

You don't need a convention to get that. And chances are, you'll get more support in Congress for that than you will for a Constitutional Convention.

[stebo0728]

Oh I dont doubt that, Im working from the premise that once the Convention is called, the balanced budget has not been dealt with yet, and thus I would like to deal with it then. But if we can address that before hand, Im all for that.

[IBCoupe]

I still think it's a bad idea to have one. You think special interests have it good now?

[Cold_Zero]

IB is right. You and this country would be better served working inside the current framework of the process to change the Constitution rather than just re-writing it. I was listening to a radio show where people were asked to call in with suggestions for new Constitutional amendments. Surprisingly, the radio talk show host shot down most of the ideas. There are a lot of crappy ideas out there.

The reason why it is so hard to gain an Amendment to the Constitution is to ensure that the legislation is thought through thoroughly, that it stands up to scrutiny and is not frivolously changed. I suspect that the reason why the idea of a Constitutional Convention is gaining ground is because the people who want to change the Constitution, don’t want to work hard at it, don’t want to face opposition to their ideas and just want force through their changes. While the idea seems tempting, I have been around the block to know that we will go into the process of a Constitutional Convention with one goal and end up getting something totally different.
The current political landscape scares me. In my opinion I get the impression that the populace wants a dictator to force people to comply with their wishes, rather than wanting good governance. This is something that I suspect could be tool to leverage the Constitution against certain groups of people.

I work hard every day to teach my daughter to follow the rules and I would suggest that is exactly what IB is imploring you to do as well. What is the old saying, "Nothing is really worth anything, unless you have to work at it."

[stebo0728]

Those are all great points, and Im not a strong supporter of the CC, I'm more interested in the implications of calling one. I think the only way I'd actually be in support of it, were if we could limit it to specific areas of interest only, rather than a free for all. The looting class has a big enough foot hold as it is.

Aside though, I've become increasingly interested in the idea of "modernizing" the verbage of our Constitution. I mean a neutral revision. We can keep it as vague as it already is, but maybe give it a bit more "modern" feel. I dunno just thinking out loud I guess. I guess that would also spring forth its own series of complications.