The Unstuck Constitutional Convention: Let's rewrite the Constitution

Politics & News
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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Despite its many flaws, the US Constitution has held up for over 200 years–an impressive accomplishment, and longer than any similar document in modern human history. Some aspects of it are arguably outdated in modern society; others may have been flawed from the very beginning. Let’s see if we can improve it.

I don’t want to unilaterally impose rules here. I think it’d be best if, at a minimum, posters identify the portion of the Constitution that they’re proposing we edit and try to provide the revised or replaced text. Alternatively, Amendments could be suggested in accordance with Article Five.

The US Constitution is broken up as follows:
Main Articles
Article One: The Legislative Branch
Article Two: The Executive Branch
Article Three: The Judicial Branch
Article Four: States’ Relations
Article Five: Modes of Amendment
Article Six: Prior Debts, National Supremacy, Oaths of Office
Article Seven: Ratification
Amendments
The Bill of Rights: (1791)
-Amendment 1: Freedom of Expression and Religion
-Amendment 2: Bearing Arms
-Amendment 3: Quartering Soldiers
-Amendment 4: Search and Seizure
-Amendment 5: Rights of Persons
-Amendment 6: Rights of the Accused
-Amendment 7: Civil Trials
-Amendment 8: Unusual Punishments
-Amendment 9: Unenumerated Rights
-Amendment 10: Reserved Powers
Amendment 11: Suits Against States (1795)
Amendment 12: Presidential Elections (1804)
Amendment 13: Slavery (1865)
Amendment 14: Guaranteed Rights (1868)
Amendment 15: Right to Vote (1870)
Amendment 16: Income Tax (1913)
Amendment 17: Popular Election of Senators (1913)
Amendment 18: Prohibition [Repealed by 21st Amendment] (1919)
Amendment 19: Women’s Suffrage (1920)
Amendment 20: Terms of P/VP/Congress (1933)
Amendment 21: Repeal of 18th Amendment (1947)
Amendment 22: Presidential Tenure (1951)
Amendment 23: Presidential Electors for DC (1961)
Amendment 24: Abolition of Poll Tax (1964)
Amendment 25: Presidential Vacancy, Disability, or Inability (1967)
Amendment 26: Reduction of Voting Age to 18 (1971)
Amendment 27: Congressional Pay Limitation (1992)

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Rule number one: this constitution is not infallible and is explicitly meant to evolve as times change.

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Abolish Amendment 2

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Give each state two additional reps and abolish the Senate. Reps’ terms are four years.

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Statehood for all US territories and DC

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Expressly reject the notion that the individual states are sovereign this isn’t the god damn Holy Roman Empire ffs

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LDO bye bye electoral college

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Abolish Senate. Corporations are not people. Is the emoluments clause not clear enough?

Open borders, or for you normies, at least extend due process and similar protections to non-citizens.

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Switching from a fixed term Congress and President to a Parliamentary system like the UK would be a fun change, instead of being stuck with some dipshit in charge for 4 or 8 years we could get rid of them in a few months.

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Ranked choice voting maybe?

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3rd Amendment is solid, we should keep it. Fuck off, military, you can’t crash at my apartment, I don’t have space for you.

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Actually define the 4th amendment and then fing enforce it. No civil forfeitures ever without a conviction

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An amendment to tackle campaign finance reform and reverse Citizens United is a good start.

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4th Amendment and stuff like the use of the 13th for corporate personhood show you how far the government can go to twist things in the Constitution. Forfeiture is not a punishment is something very important people have said with a straight face.

Ask Eugene Debs how sacred the First Amendment is when you are saying something the government really doesn’t want said.

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I’ve got a few ideas, in addition to supporting the usual “repeal the 2nd” and “eliminate the Senate / Electoral College”

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Pass a new Voting Rights amendment which builds on the 14th/15th/19th to:

  • Explicitly provide voting rights to felons
  • Explicitly eliminate purging of voter rolls unless a citizen is confirmed deceased (no more speculative bullshit like “so and so hasn’t voted in X years therefore PURGED”)
  • For fun, give voting rights to non-citizens who have resided in the US for X consecutive years (7? idk)

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Amend Section 3 of Article 4 to establish rules for statehood and eliminate the dependency on Congress. Current text:

1: New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the Jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the Junction of two or more States, or Parts of States, without the Consent of the Legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.
2: The Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting the Territory or other Property belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed as to Prejudice any Claims of the United States, or of any particular State.

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Amend Article 2 to remove the “Natural Born Citizen” requirement from presidential eligibility.

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Force the Emoluments clause to require full divestiture from all private holdings prior to holding office. If you want to be president, get ready to sell everything and hold cash for 4-8 years.

7: The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be encreased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

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Clarify the powers of Congress to declare war, not the Executive (this seems pretty cut and dry, but I guess not)

11: To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;
12: To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;
13: To provide and maintain a Navy;
14: To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
15: To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
16: To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

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May I suggest a constitutional monarchy?

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I propose getting rid of, or at least greatly weakening, state government.

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Should the tax code be a separate thread?

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Separate the Attorney General from the executive branch.

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