Posted on 08/21/2007 5:34:13 AM PDT by BigAlPro
But with term limits, amnesty would have passed.
The ONLY leverage we had was threatening to vote them out.
Those up for re-election next year cracked first.
We’re on Earth, they’re on Uranus. Esp. Barney Frank.
When some states attempted to impose term limits by setting their own criteria for eligibility, the Supreme Court eventually ruled that Congress has that sole power. That means that the ONLY way to establish term limits is a Constitutional Amendment. All current amendments were approved by the necessary majorities in each house of Congress, then passed according to state rules by the legislatures of three-fourths (39) of the states.
But the Constitution provides another method, and it scares our current congresscritters half to death. Article V specifies that a National Convention MUST be called when two-thirds of the states (34) legislatures have called for such a Convention. Some scholars insist that such a convention could consider only the subject specified in the Convention call, but many believe that the power of such a convention is unlimited. The National Convention coulde then specify that ratification be performed by three-fourths (39) of either the state legislatures OR state conventions called for the purpose of ratification. These state conventions could ratify on a simple majority vote, instead of any special rules established by the state for legislative ratification of Constitutional amendments.
Call your State legislators, if you really want to fix this!
i believe each state can impose it’s own laws ( including term limits ) on it’s representitives. If the states will not pass the laws, the citizens can take up a petition drive and put the issue on the ballot, bypassing them completely. The individual reps and senators do not work for the us government. they work for the individual states ( that is how and why they are elected ). The citizens can redress the government with their greivences, and the petition and ballot drives are one way to redress the government...if i am wrong, please correct me so that I can think of another way to do it...
“The ONLY leverage we had was threatening to vote them out.”
I agree.
A congressman will be totally unresponsive to voters if he knows that he’s done anyway. But he may be responsive to those interests that can promise him a cushy high paid job after he’s out if he votes the way they want him to.
I actually think that 2 year terms for the Senate, just like the House, would be better. The House knows that they have to face the voters every two years, so they tend to pay attention.
Term limits are a must, but they cannot be too short. We have 6-8 year term limits here in Michigan for our State Legislature. They are too short. The ones in power in Lansing are the bureaucrats and the lobbyists. Washington would suffer the same fate, if the limits were too low.
In order to get rid of the Ted Kennedys and Carl Levins, we must force Congress to implement term limits. While we are at it, we need to do away with life appointments for judges and justices.
See post 23 - they tried it and failed.
Our elected thieves are only interested in one thing, THEMSELVES.
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