Friday, January 7, 2011

Repeal Amendment

In my opinion, this is an alternative to a Constitutional Convention.  States already have a veto power over the Constitution itself.  If 2/3 of the state legislatures petition Congress to call a convention, there is little that the Federal government can do about it- legally.

It is true, according to my calculations, that it would give power to a relatively small ( 1/3) number of people in this country.  Keep in mind, though, that this has to be coordinated by 2/3 of the states.  Trying to coordinate this large of a number of any group of people would be a daunting challenge, I would think.  Yet, it is possible that a small number of highly motivated people could have undue influence upon national policy.  This would seem to be bad, but that situation already exists.  This would add a counter weight to the influence that already exists.  It won't necessarily be a bad thing, as many of the opponents seem to think.

One objection has merit.  There is no time limit for a repeal.  The President gets ten days to decide to veto.  How long should 34 states be given in order to decide upon a repeal?  Should it be unlimited, or should a time -table be imposed?

The government is out of control.  Something needs to be done to get it back under control.  Since so many people are afraid of a "con-con", this is a possible alternative.  What would you prefer, a total rewrite of the Constitution, or a minor check upon Congressional power?  I would give this a chance.  Doing nothing doesn't appear to be a good solution.

No comments: