Posted on 08/19/2011 9:12:24 PM PDT by US Navy Vet
Rick Perry has many ideas about how to change the American government's founding document. From ending lifetime tenure for federal judges to completely scrapping two whole amendments, the Constitution would see a major overhaul if the Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate had his druthers.
Perry laid out these proposed innovations to the founding document in his book, Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington. He has occasionally mentioned them on the campaign trail. Several of his ideas fall within the realm of mainstream conservative thinking today, but, as you will see, there are also a few surprises.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Enumerate them please.
I must say I agree with all 7 of them.
The look good to me, actually... Of course not George Washington himself could get them all through, still, he’s a thinker...this is good!
Click on the link and read it yourself.
I am sure this is a Bilderberg plot. FR posts can’t be wrong on the intentions of Perry can they?
Is it at the link you posted, or is this one of those go to a place where the link is posted, posts?
bump.
Yeah, uh, no...
From the article:
1. Abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution.
2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote.
3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment.
4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.
5. Require the federal government to balance its budget every year.
6. The federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states.
7. Abortion should be made illegal throughout the country.
I would like to see a new amendment that clarifies the separation of powers and also makes any violation of separation of powers a capital offense. Especially for out of control, activist “judges” who believe they are some kind of freaky little god.
Remember the adage, if it sounds to good to be true, it usually is.
However I like the part about marriage as well as congress being mandated to balance the budget. Really, all this has been talked to death on here and elsewhere, but talk is cheap. Will he take ACTION and DO IT??
Me too.
4 is the most-important by far.
3 - 7 are a slam dunk...
1 and 2 make me a little jittery, ...the founders worked pretty hard to strike a three-way check and balance.
The rest are clearly outside the original intended role of the feds IMHO.
Luckily a POTUS has no role in the Amendment process.
Re. 1 and 2, we are currently living under Mr. Jefferson’s predicted “tyranny of the judiciary” and those proposals may be the only way to halt it.
Fed up with Obama and Congress? SO AM I!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhkyRZoHlTM
As long as we’re dreaming, how about a single-issue amendment? No legislation that addresses more than one issue. It eliminates the “and for other purposes” which is where the intent usually lies.
I don’t trust Chris Moody’s reporting.
I don’t see Perry as being this hardcore.
You don’t win nationwide without being a bit more moderate.
I think this is a plant piece to make Perry look EXTREME on a national level.
See my post #19
In deed. I'm usually leery of ANYONE who wants to start 'tweaking" the Constitution be it Democrat OR Republican. The only real problem I have with it is that it is not being enforced as intended. It won't matter if it is changed any at all if it won't be enforced.
There's always that isn't it?!
He left one of the most importants one of all: Actually enforce the Constitution and deport all illegal aliens as the government is requited to do. He does that first and I will listen to the other ones he has proposed but not before. That will show me he is serius about our Constitution.
He might get Balanced Budget but not the rest. But the GOP would have to win big in 2012.
3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment.
The Sixteenth Amendment gives Congress the “power to lay and collect taxes on incomes.” It should be abolished immediately, Perry says.
4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.
Overturning this amendment would restore the original language of the Constitution, which gave state legislators the power to appoint the members of the Senate.”
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These are fantastic ways to restore freedom and promote prosperity! I am really getting to like this guy.
Getting rid of the income tax would be a tremendous boost to the economy and return more power to the states and individuals.
By returning to the system in which state legislatures appoint senators, the legitimacy of state government would suddenly be enhanced. This would also divest power from the Federal Government and make state government more significant.
If you know that your state legislature is going to pick your senator, you will pay much more attention to who gets in there.
I do, too.
How does this comport with "2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote"?
Comments and details edited out by me. Visit the link if you want those. #2 is the most critical one. I would go with 3/4 not 2/3 but why quibble?
#7 - I know how strongly most of the FReepers feel about his issue, but I think it guarantees Obama another 4 years if it is Perry vs Obama. 4 more years of him choosing Supreme and federal court justices.
1. Abolish lifetime tenure for federal judges by amending Article III, Section I of the Constitution.
2. Congress should have the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a two-thirds vote.
3. Scrap the federal income tax by repealing the Sixteenth Amendment.
4. End the direct election of senators by repealing the Seventeenth Amendment.
5. Require the federal government to balance its budget every year.
6. The federal Constitution should define marriage as between one man and one woman in all 50 states.
7. Abortion should be made illegal throughout the country.
I agree with each and every one of them.
Numbers 5, probably yes, allowing for a very few exceptions;
Number 2, Being very careful how it is written (beware unintended consequences);
Number 6 and 7, No, these should (and are) the province of the states. IMHO, neither should ever be discussed on a federal level, and that means overturning Roe v. Wade!
With these ideas, I have no problem supporting him. But I would also like a bit of clarification on his stand on immigration, etc. Think he;d make a fine VP for Sarah!
I like 5,6,and 7 but the reason we have lifetime judgeships is so that they don’t have to worry about being thrown out for an unpopular decision.
I agree that something needs to be done to force judges to truly consider the constitution and not make up their own interpretations.
Maybe the legal definition of marriage ought to be looked at so NY, MA, NJ, IL can become cesspools while the rest of the country is normal.
I would figure a 3/4 majority, overwhelming, rather than a 66% majority.
Would major overhauls require a new charter for Congress? They rewrite the rules all the time, and there would have to be a way to put in writing to make sure things that will ensure efficiency and good intent stay put in the rules for as long as possible (because we all know all good things must come to an end some time).
>> However I like the part about marriage
The govt should stay out of the marriage business. There’s really no value in its involvement. Marriage is a function of religion.
Give me your best reason why govt should stick its nose in the private affairs of couples, and I guarantee I can dismiss it with a legitimate charge of statism.
>> cesspools
When citizens defer the sacrament of marriage to the authority of the state, they submit to it, not God.
I was never comfortable with Bush’s advancement of DOMA. It’s a lame measure that undermines the tenets of the practices it intended to protect.
Why the hell should I want a marriage license from the state?
I fully agree with you.
Both of your posts, 36 and 37.
My taxes are used to subsidize benefits packages for government “workers” and their families. If those “families” can now include hot tubs full of filthy sodomite “spouses” who are far more likely to need expensive AIDS medicines for years, then yeah, I want an amendment.
Let the citizens of states that go along with the radical homosexual agenda pay for their infected voting habits and leave other states alone.
No doubt in my mind we’re better anchored to the spirit of the Constitution and God on this issue.
As far as I’m concerned, the state shouldn’t have employees.
I am fervently against the state sanctioning homosexual marriage — it’s perverted statism, but so are the manipulative aspects where licensing heterosexual marriage is concerned — we’re not #ing dogs that need to be registered with licenses in order to coexist as natural, procreative couples, especially when blessed by our Lord.
Perry is better than Obama anyday. ABO (anybody but obama)
That's the way I see it also. Not to mention a Constitutional Convention will open the door for the extreme left wing to amend the Constitution as too. I want to see The Constitution we have upheld by congress, POTUS, and the courts. Even with a few flaws it has if it was abided by our nation would be for better off.
I agree fully with your sentiments. I’m at the point now, though, that anything that can be done to rub crap in the faces of the activist sodomites should be done, just for spite and schadenfreude.
What does he want to replace the income tax with?
I do think we’ve got to start thinking about restricting voting, repealing the 17th Amendment would be a good place to start. Clearly universal suffrage has not brought us to a good place.
Maybe only people who have EARNED income should vote.
That would exclude both welfare recipients and trust fund babies.
An amendment instituting term limits on congresscritters & senators needs to be on the table. Two terms for senators, six for congresscritters sounds good. What say Ye?
1. (Judicial term limits) May be a solution in search of a problem. Make the retirement age too low and we'll end up with far younger and less experienced justices. Strategic delay tactics could be used in anticipation of forced retirements to try to slow appeals to ensure fresh justices favoring one party over the other. Judge shopping at the highest levels. Yuck.
2. (Congressional veto over SCOTUS) Sounds like chaos could be unleashed. A time could come where the Congress looks like the CA legislature in terms of proportion with one party sitting on two-thirds majorities.
If I accept the premise as valid (and I'm inclined to reject it), two-thirds is frankly TOO LOW a burden. It should be three-quarters if SCOTUS is to be overturned by Congress alone.
You only need two-thirds to pass a constitutional amendment from Congress but you need three-quarters of the states to ratify. I don't trust Congress further than I can throw it.
I've heard a variant of this involving the legislatures which is less a threat to the independent judgement the court is meant to reflect.
There's already a way to overturn SCOTUS decision and that's the amendment process itself.
3. (Repeal Fed Income Tax) This works but some revenue system will have to exist to pay for the military and basic federal services. I assume Perry wants to do this as part of moving to his "Fair Tax" plan. More a "Flat Tax" fan from the '90s, I'm not fully on board with the "Fair Tax." That's topic for another thread.
4. (Repeal direct election of Senators) AMEN! Another dumb idea the early 20th century progressives gave us.
While we're at it, we must overturn SCOTUS ruling that destroyed state senates (Reynolds v. Sims, 1964) while we're at it? Sen. Dirksen (IL) tried because he saw the decision would lead to state legislative business being dominated by megacities at the expense of the other citizens. He was nearly successful but died and momentum died with him. A generation, later we see just how prophetic he was.
Without this change, repealing the 17th is moot. The major population centers would still control those representing the state in Congress, just indirectly.
5. (Balanced Budget Amendment / BBA) I like the BBA Hatch drafted to go with "Cut, Cap & Balance." It has safeguards against tax hikes, bans the courts from budget enforcement, caps spending at 18% of GDP, and provides an exception in a state of declared war. Balanced Budget Amendment, HJ RES 56 (same as SR RES 10)
The one that almost passed in '95 (1 vote short) was far more vague and full of danger. Text of proposed
6. (Marriage) I would propose DOMA Sec. 2 be the model for a "marriage" amendment.
"No State, territory, or possession of the United States, or Indian tribe, shall be required to give effect to any public act, record, or judicial proceeding of any other State, territory, possession, or tribe respecting a relationship between persons of the same sex that is treated as a marriage under the laws of such other State, territory, possession, or tribe, or a right or claim arising from such relationship."
It would preserve individual state sovereignty over the marriage issue.
If we're going to believe in "10th amendment principles," we should recognize where states have had authority in defining the package of legal benefits and responsibilities each calls "marriage" and reenforce that thinking. Otherwise we end up with 38 states taking away what a few decided they wanted in an issue clearly in their domain.
7. (Abortion outlawed) Noble goal. Impossible to pass in our culture today. Even codifying the pre-Roe vs Wade world, with abortion as a state-level issue, would be a great leap forward.
Those seven answers sums up who Perry is.
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