Forum Post: We can fix congress. Here’s how.
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 11, 2011, 3:28 p.m. EST by randelm
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We can fix congress. Here’s how.
Lawrence Lessig, a brilliant Harvard law professor, has started a movement to fix congress. His premise is that you must eliminate the influence of money in politics. Unless you eliminate the fact that corporations can way, way out donate individual people in political campaigns, it will be impossible for congress to be impartial and for the people. This core issue is at the heart of why democracy in America has stalled. And I believe why so many of us are unhappy. And I believe why we are now marching in the streets demanding change.
Our founding fathers gave us two ways to change the constitution. Congress can change it by making amendments, but congress has failed miserably to solve this problem of money and influence over themselves.
The second way to change the constitution is to call for a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION. This opens up every aspect of the constitution, even to things for which the convention wasn’t called for. It is essentially an end-run around congress. The process is that the state legislatures need to pass resolutions to call for a convention. If enough states do, then we’ll have a convention.
Our founding fathers were brilliant. Over 200 years ago, they foresaw that congress could become as corrupt as they are today.
I urge all Occupy Movements to add to their list of demands, a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION and to push their local legislatures to pass resolutions. This process is already in motion in several states. Its needs a push.
If you can get around congress, brilliant minds will again for the people and a democracy in America.
a constitutional convention would be very interesting indeed. but i think there are other ways to do it. A third primary party could steer american democracy towards what it is supposed to be. I dont believe the problem is the constitution, it was a great building block for our government, but i believe we have built in the wrong direction. we need a medium through which to enact this change, to put it back in the right direction. we agree on this. but here is my theory as to how we could do it http://occupywallst.org/forum/a-union-of-all-dissatisfied-peoples-ows-and-even-t/
Agree 100% that we must eliminate the influence of money in government for once and for all. I've wondered how we would do that. We need term limits too. There are too many representatives who care more about getting reelected than doing what's right for their constituents.
Also remember that a CC would have to be kept completely free of corporate money too.
A CC requires 34 State legislatures to ask for a CC and then 38 State legislatures to agree on any changes. It's been tried some 70 times and it has never happened.
Hear, hear! Get private money out of government!
Looking forward to the next election cycle, .the mantra is "throw the bums out." But, stop and think about it. Will dethroning the incumbent Republicats drive home the message that 99 percent of the country is thoroughly disgusted with the current state of our political affairs and result in meaningful change? Will it result in better governance?
How can it when the only choice people have is to oust the current Republicat and replace him/her with another Republicat. How does this result in any improvement? It doesn't. It's been done in past election cycles and look where we are today.
What's needed is another choice on the ballot. That choice is: None of the Above.
and vote in new bums?
"A non-cooperative game lacks a higher authority to impose agreements on both sides. In Washington, no politician is bound to reach a compromise to solve any long-term problem. Everyone, however, is playing a game called "election" and the only possible goal in that game is to win the next one. If you hear someone in Congress say, "Senator X is just playing politics," a perfectly legitimate response is, "She has to. Those are the rules of the Constitution." If we grumble, as voters, that we need to throw the bums out, all we're doing it subjecting a new set of bums to the same game. Anyone who promises to fix or change Washington is merely attempting to impose a cooperative game on a town that, by design, can't play one." ~ Brendan Greeley in Bloomberg Businessweek, "The Debt Ceiling: The Case for Caving" 8/3/2011
a constitutional convention would be wonderful
RON PAUL!
Ron Paul 2012!