The Liberty Amendments - How the States Could Take Back America and Restore the Consitution

[ksen]

If one wants to return the US Constitution to its original 1788 form, one can always do so. But be prepared for the Vice President being the Presidential candidate who got the second most votes. Anyone for an Obama-Romney Presidency?

- An Amendment to Establish Term Limits for Members of Congress
No person could serve more than 12 years in Congress, regardless if such service were in the House or Senate exclusively or combined.

Are you willing to accept Republicans being booted out of office by term limits? That's happened to three Republican Presidents so far, though it's happened to one Democratic President and it will soon happen to another.

- An Amendment to Restore the Senate.
All Senators will be chosen by their state legislatures, as prescribed by Article I.

What's so great about doing that?

- An Amendment to Establish Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices and Super-Majority Legislative Override
No person may serve on the Supreme Court more than 12 years.

Are you willing to accept Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas getting booted out of the Court by term limits?

- An Amendment on Federal Spending.
This amendment will require Congress to adopt a preliminary fiscal year budget no later than the first Monday in May for the following fiscal year, and submit said budget to the President for consideration. If Congress fails to adopt a budget prior to Oct 1 or the President fails to sign a budget into law an automatic 5 percent, across the board, reduction in expenditures from the prior year budget shall be imposed.

Including "national defense"?

- An Amendment on Federal Taxation
No more than 15 percent of a natural or legal persons yearly income can be collected. The tax filing deadline shall be the day before elections to federal office. No estate tax shall be permitted. Congress cannot institute a value added or sales tax, or any other tax in kind or form.

If you're young and not against taxes, you have no heart.
If you're old and still against taxes, you have no brain.

The politicians could get around that by decreeing "fees" for various services.

-An Amendment to Limit the Federal Bureaucracy
All federal departments and agencies shall expire if said departments and agencies are not individually reauthorized in stand-alone re-authorization bills every three years by a majority vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Does that apply to "national defense"?

More seriously, the politicians could get around that with standing votes, votes to be automatically applied in the future.

-An Amendment to Promote Free Enterprise
Congress interstate regulatory power shall only be a specific grant of power so as prevent states from impeding commerce and trade between and among the several States. Congress’s power to regulate Commerce will not extend to activity within a state, whether or not it affects interstate commerce; nor does it extend to compelling an individual or entity to participate in commerce or trade.

So anything goes when it's a business that does it, no matter how criminal?

-An Amendment to Protect Private Property
When any governmental entity acts not to secure a private property right against actions that injure property owners, but to take property for a public use from a property owner by actual seizure or through regulation, which taking results in a market value reduction of the property , interference with the use of the property, or a financial loss to the property owner exceeding $ 10,000, the government shall compensate fully said property owner for such losses.

NIMBY's will LOVE this one.

-An Amendment to Grant the States Authority to Directly Amend the Constitution
The State Legislatures, whenever two-thirds shall deem it necessary, may adopt Amendments to the Constitution. Upon adoption of an Amendment, a State Legislature may not rescind the Amendment or modify it during the six-year period in which the Amendment is under consideration by the several States’ Legislatures.

What's so special about the state legislatures?

I will concede that it will make the US Constitution easier to amend, making it more like the state constitutions and the constitutions of most other nations.

-An Amendment to Grant the States Authority to Check Congress

I don't see the point of that.

- An Amendment to Protect the Vote
Citizens in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia shall produce valid photographic identification documents demonstrating evidence of their citizenship, issued by the state government for the state in which the voter resides, as a prerequisite for registering to vote and voting in any primary or general election for President, Vice President, and members of Congress.

Why a state government? If it's a Federal election, then it should be subject to Federal laws, not state ones.

The focus on the state governments is because Levin's preferred party controls most of the state legislatures so it's a check on the eventuality of the democrats winning federal elections.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Mark Levin recently wrote a book proposing the Liberty Amendments.

Mark Levin is a simpleton idiot.

I cannot find an on-line source that is more than a summary. So here is my summary of his proposed amendments, paraphrased from his recent book:

- An Amendment to Establish Term Limits for Members of Congress
No person could serve more than 12 years in Congress, regardless if such service were in the House or Senate exclusively or combined.

Good ole term limits. I like how Levin wants to bring the Constitution back into the US by initially proposing an amendment for term limits... something was wasn't even in the Constitution until Congress passed an amendment limiting Presidential terms.

- An Amendment to Restore the Senate.

All Senators will be chosen by their state legislatures, as prescribed by Article I.

The Congress and States agreed to this change. Shall we get rid of the other amendments too? Besides, how does this improve anything? I mean other than he only suggests this because Republicans control a lot of State Legislatures? Changing the rules of the game when it suits you best? How Constitutional!

- An Amendment to Establish Term Limits for Supreme Court Justices and Super-Majority Legislative Override

No person may serve on the Supreme Court more than 12 years. One third of the justices will be chosen every fourth year. The President will nominate a person as a Justice and the simple majority of the Senate shall be required for approval.

And upon three-fifths vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Congress may override a majority opinion rendered by the Supreme Court - it is not subject to Presidential veto.

How Constitutional! Checks and Balances, but only when it suits us.

- An Amendment on Federal Spending.

This amendment will require Congress to adopt a preliminary fiscal year budget no later than the first Monday in May for the following fiscal year, and submit said budget to the President for consideration. If Congress fails to adopt a budget prior to Oct 1 or the President fails to sign a budget into law an automatic 5 percent, across the board, reduction in expenditures from the prior year budget shall be imposed. Outlays may not exceed tax and fee revenues, nor exceed 17.5 percent of the GDP. Congress may provide for a one-year suspension of one or more of the preceding parts this Amendment by a three-fifths vote of both Houses of Congress, provided the vote is conducted by roll call.

So come the next Great Recession, the world economy implodes because Republicans allegedly hate deficit spending.

- An Amendment on Federal Taxation

No more than 15 percent of a natural or legal persons yearly income can be collected. The tax filing deadline shall be the day before elections to federal office. No estate tax shall be permitted. Congress cannot institute a value added or sales tax, or any other tax in kind or form.

I'm certain this has something to do with bringing the Constitution back to America... some how.

-An Amendment to Limit the Federal Bureaucracy

All federal departments and agencies shall expire if said departments and agencies are not individually reauthorized in stand-alone re-authorization bills every three years by a majority vote of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

All Executive Branch regulations exceeding an economic burden of $ 100 million, as determined jointly by the Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office, shall be submitted to a permanent Joint Committee of Congress, hereafter the Congressional Delegation Oversight Committee, for review and approval prior to their implementation.
The Committee shall make no change to the regulation, either approving or disapproving the regulation by majority vote as submitted.

As if we got to this point by happenstance.

-An Amendment to Promote Free Enterprise

Congress interstate regulatory power shall only be a specific grant of power so as prevent states from impeding commerce and trade between and among the several States. Congress’s power to regulate Commerce will not extend to activity within a state, whether or not it affects interstate commerce; nor does it extend to compelling an individual or entity to participate in commerce or trade.

Huh?

-An Amendment to Protect Private Property

When any governmental entity acts not to secure a private property right against actions that injure property owners, but to take property for a public use from a property owner by actual seizure or through regulation, which taking results in a market value reduction of the property , interference with the use of the property, or a financial loss to the property owner exceeding $ 10,000, the government shall compensate fully said property owner for such losses.

He has heard of due process, right? That is pretty well established American law.

-An Amendment to Grant the States Authority to Directly Amend the Constitution

The State Legislatures, whenever two-thirds shall deem it necessary, may adopt Amendments to the Constitution. Upon adoption of an Amendment, a State Legislature may not rescind the Amendment or modify it during the six-year period in which the Amendment is under consideration by the several States’ Legislatures.

The Constitution can already be amended via a Constitutional Convention, with 2/3's of the states approving.

-An Amendment to Grant the States Authority to Check Congress

There shall be a minimum of thirty days between the engrossing of a bill or resolution, including amendments, and its final passage by both Houses of Congress. Upon three-fifths vote of the state legislatures, the States may override a federal statute. Upon three-fifths vote of the state legislatures, the States may override Executive Branch regulations exceeding an economic burden of $ 100 million after said regulations have been finally approved by the Congressional Delegation Oversight Committee [see An Amendment Establishing How the States May Amend the Constitution].

If a State feels a law is not constitutional, they can challenge it. Levin may be aware of this already with the challenges against the EPA and ACA.

- An Amendment to Protect the Vote

Citizens in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia shall produce valid photographic identification documents demonstrating evidence of their citizenship, issued by the state government for the state in which the voter resides, as a prerequisite for registering to vote and voting in any primary or general election for President, Vice President, and members of Congress. Early voting in any general election for President, Vice President, and members of Congress shall not be held more than thirty calendar days prior to the national day of election except for active-duty military personnel, for whom early voting shall not commence more than forty-five calendar days prior to the national day of election.

Lets turn back the clock, white property owning males have the vote!

 

[Loren Pechtel]

1) They can partition any bill that consists of unrelated things. This forces a new vote on the pieces--no more tying things to must-pass legislation.

Would this apply to the budget? Can they chisel out each bit of pork to ask the whole House or Senate to approve?

That would be one of the primary things they would do. I'm proposing to bring stuff out of the shadows.

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If we are looking for ways to reform government, how about a different approach:

A third house whose sole job is to act against abuse. A mere 1/4 of the vote is enough for them to act:

1) They can partition any bill that consists of unrelated things. This forces a new vote on the pieces--no more tying things to must-pass legislation.

In my state we can't have bills on unrelated things. It makes for better laws.

Strict enough to remove the pork???

 

[lpetrich]

While we are at it, let's have this one:

A law or other measure may only be passed by Congress if it has received no "No" votes.

That was actually done in early-modern Poland; it was the  liberum veto. That nation was remarkably advanced, at least by modern standards. It was a constitutional monarchy, and an elective one (elected monarch ~ president for life), it had federalism, religious tolerance, and other nice things. But it also had the liberum veto in its Sejm or Parliament, a very idealistic rule, because MP's were supposed to be social equals.

That cause trouble, because it made it easy to obstruct the Sejm's proceedings, interfering with Poland's governance. At its height in 1618, the  Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a very big nation. Using present-day boundaries, it had all of Lithuania, Latvia, and Belarus, most of Poland, much of Ukraine and Estonia, and little bits of Russia. But less than two centuries later, it had disappeared off of the map.

What happened were the  Partitions of Poland. Poland's neighbors eyed Poland's land hungrily, and they paralyzed the Sejm by bribing MP's to do a lot of vetoing. It became so bad that some politicians participated in a sort of alternative Sejm without the liberum veto. In 1772, Austria, Prussia, and Russia agreed to take over pieces of Poland, and they did in the First Partition. Poland's politicians pushed through some reforms in 1791, including abolishing the liberum veto. Russian Empress Catherine the Great thought it dangerously democratic, so Russia and Prussia conquered some more of Poland's land in 1793 in the Second Partition. Poles didn't enjoy being conquered, so Austria, Prussia, and Russia decided to get rid of an independent Poland, so in 1795, they did the Third Partition, dividing up what remained of Poland among them.

Poland was gone from the map, and did not reappear until the end of World War I.


Anyone who wants government to be as divided and ineffective as possible ought to consider *that*. Especially defenders of the Taste-of-Armageddon filibustering that the Senate has been suffering from.

But the idea of the US being partitioned by other major powers I find amusing. Imagine the European Union, Brazil, and China partitioning the US. The EU might get the Northeast and the northern Midwest, Brazil might get the South, and China the West. So Americans would choose from being ruled from Brussels, from Brasilia, or from Beijing.

 

[Derec]

But the idea of the US being partitioned by other major powers I find amusing. Imagine the European Union, Brazil, and China partitioning the US. The EU might get the Northeast and the northern Midwest, Brazil might get the South, and China the West. So Americans would choose from being ruled from Brussels, from Brasilia, or from Beijing.

You mean like this (no doubt) vodka infused idea?

But the idea of requiring unanimous consent from a legislature is insane. It's hard enough with much smaller bodies, like the countries of the EU for some decisions.

 

[Ford]

How the States Could Take Back America


Help me out here...take it back from whom?

 

[Keith&Co.]

How the States Could Take Back America


Help me out here...take it back from whom?

From Americans....but the 'wrong' Americans, and restore it to those who'd American correctly.

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Would this apply to the budget? Can they chisel out each bit of pork to ask the whole House or Senate to approve?

That would be one of the primary things they would do. I'm proposing to bring stuff out of the shadows.

So essentially a house of Congress to execute line item veto?

 

[lpetrich]

But the idea of the US being partitioned by other major powers I find amusing. Imagine the European Union, Brazil, and China partitioning the US. The EU might get the Northeast and the northern Midwest, Brazil might get the South, and China the West. So Americans would choose from being ruled from Brussels, from Brasilia, or from Beijing.

You mean like this (no doubt) vodka infused idea?

Yes, that's the sort of thing that I mean.

But the idea of requiring unanimous consent from a legislature is insane. It's hard enough with much smaller bodies, like the countries of the EU for some decisions.

Yes indeed.

 

[Nice Squirrel]

How the States Could Take Back America


Help me out here...take it back from whom?

Well by what's written, not the oligarchs, so I am perplexed.