Political scientist Chris Edelson has this article in Marketwatch, making the case for an entirely new U.S. Constitution.
Comments
Political Scientist Advocates a New U.S. Constitution — 18 Comments
Richard – why would you promote an article written by a person whose only claim to legitimacy is that he is an assistant professor of government in American University’s School of Public Affairs? Collectivists and social justice warriors like him are a dime a dozen in universities around the country.
The author’s prescriptions are a dream list of progressives who want even more power to control our lives. Do not be deceived by a couple of good ideas like transparency in government. Overall the list is a recipe for the country to break apart.
Amending the constitution to provide for direct election of the President would be a recipe for fraud, and would pit the coasts against flyover country.
And the danger from this idea – “Formally establish the independence of the Department of Justice on investigative and prosecutorial matters.” – is very real and will become apparent in the next few days with the release of the House GOP memo about the malfeasance of the FBI in trying to get Hillary elected. Do we really want the DOJ to be a fourth arm of government, answerable to nobody, with arrest powers? That is a recipe for a dictatorship.
Richard – please don’t repost articles like this. Such reposts besmirch the fine work you do enlightening a few os us about the real problems in electoral law.
Reality check –
The 1787 Fed Convention oligarchs ignored the 1777 Art Confed Amdt process — requiring ALL the States to agree on Amdts to the 1777 AC.
See 1787 Const Art VII — last AC States — NC and RI.
Such oligarchs also copied all sorts of FATAL defects in the Brit regime and in such 1777 Art Confed.
—
WHAT national/federal/State regime elects ONLY the top executive officer / vice-officer in the executive branch ???
— when top executive types have routinely been LAWLESS tyrants — J. Caesar, A. Caesar, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, etc.
Separate nonpartisan elections of 1 or more USA Marshals and District Attorneys in each 6th Amdt District — to esp watch all executive branch folks.
Better to *peacefully* divide the USA NOW — communist coasts and fascist middle — to avoid Civil WAR 2. See which type of regime can survive — esp in economics – production / consumption.
Note the econ collapse of the ex-Russia/USSR regime 1917-1991.
——–
PR and AppV
TOTAL separation of powers
I wasn’t impressed, kind of lightweight. I don’t think he made a compelling argument.
I strongly agree with Don. With this proposed “new constitution,” don’t be surprised if they were to move to end civilian firearm ownership and either limit or abolish private property.
MAJOR separation of powers violations – esp Prez veto
The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.
Federalist 47, Madison
Amdt process
Highly probable — Civil War 2 and/or World War 3
—
PR and AppV
TOTAL separation of powers
0.2 MI -0.4 NH
0.7 PA -1.5 MN
0.8 WI -2.1 Total
1.2 FL -2.4 NV
3.5 AZ -3.0 ME
3.7 NC -4.9 CO
5.1 GA -5.3 VA
8.1 OH -8.2 NM
9.0 TX -11.0 OR
9.4 IA -11.4 DE
14.3 SC -13.6 CT
14.7 AK -14.1 NJ
17.8 MS -15.5 RI
18.1 UT -15.7 WA
18.6 MO -17.1 IL
19.2 IN -22.5 NY
19.6 LA -26.4 VT
20.4 MT -26.4 MD
20.6 KS -27.2 MA
25.0 NE -30.1 CA
26.0 TN -32.2 HI
26.9 AR -86.8 DC
27.7 AL — —
29.8 KY — —
29.8 SD — —
31.8 ID — —
35.7 ND — —
36.4 OK — —
42.1 WV — —
46.3 WY — —
HOW MANY TRUMP STATES IN MIDDLE ???
HOW MANY CLINTON STATES ON EAST/WEST COASTS ???
And another thing: Would the Constitution be scrapped in favor of a document more in line with the UN Charter or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
I appreciate all the articles that suggest something meaningful be done about the flawed federal charter that is the hope of only oligarchs and demagogues; ill read most of them.
2012-2016 PRESIDENT
PCT CHANGE IN VOTES
C CLINTON D, T TRUMP R
* Switch 2012 to 2016
ST DEM REP OTH TOT 2016WIN
CA 11.5 -7.4 174.2 8.8 C
CO 1.2 1.5 290.5 8.2 C
CT -0.8 6.0 290.5 5.5 C
DE -2.9 11.9 294.4 7.2 C
DC 5.9 -40.5 195.8 6.0 C
HI -13.0 6.5 372.7 -1.3 C
IL 2.4 0.5 243.3 5.6 C
MD 0.0 -3.0 178.3 2.7 C
MA 3.8 -8.2 310.8 5.0 C
MN -11.5 0.2 262.2 0.3 C
NV 1.5 10.5 270.7 10.9 C
NH -5.7 4.8 334.9 4.7 C
NJ 1.1 8.4 229.1 6.4 C
NM -7.2 -4.8 186.3 1.9 C
NY 1.6 13.2 229.4 9.0 C
OR 3.3 3.7 235.6 11.9 C
RI -9.7 14.8 239.0 4.1 C
VT -10.4 2.9 459.3 5.3 C
VA 0.5 -2.9 288.6 3.4 C
WA -0.7 -5.3 343.7 6.1 C
—————-
FL 6.3 10.9 307.2 11.2 *T
IA -20.5 9.6 283.8 -1.0 *T
ME -10.9 14.8 178.6 4.9 *T PT
MI -11.5 7.8 390.7 1.4 *T
OH -15.3 6.7 185.0 -1.5 *T
PA -2.1 10.8 223.4 7.2 *T
WI -14.7 -0.2 377.0 -3.0 *T
————
AL -8.3 5.0 232.7 2.4 T
AK -5.0 -0.8 194.2 6.0 T
AZ 13.3 1.5 295.4 11.9 T
AR -3.5 5.7 138.9 5.7 T
GA 5.9 0.5 210.6 5.5 T
ID -10.8 -2.8 392.2 5.8 T
IN -10.4 9.6 182.8 4.2 T
KS -3.1 -3.1 224.6 2.1 T
KY -7.4 10.6 201.2 7.1 T
LA -3.6 2.3 115.1 1.8 T
MS -13.8 -1.4 97.8 -5.9 T
MO -12.5 7.6 180.0 1.9 T
MT -12.0 4.2 181.5 2.7 T
NE -5.8 4.4 270.0 6.3 T
NC 0.5 4.1 235.1 5.2 T
ND -24.9 15.2 250.8 6.7 T
OK -5.2 6.5 – 8.8 T
SC -1.2 7.8 247.7 7.1 T
SD -19.0 8.1 205.1 1.7 T
TN -9.4 4.1 221.9 2.0 T
TX 17.2 2.5 250.6 12.2 T
UT 23.4 -30.4 1120.8 11.2 T
WV -20.8 17.2 149.8 6.6 T
WY -19.2 2.0 188.9 2.7 T
————-
TOT -0.1 3.4 250.2 5.9 *T
7 marginal gerrymander areas in middle — for 2020 machinations
Clinton lost in large part due to Green Others
The +/- 10 pct changes indicate MAJOR instability
I find stuff like this fascinating. I certainly don’t agree with many if any of the proposed changes, but I am of the opinion that the constitution does need amending to fix a few things about the balance of power at the Federal level.
In defense of Richard, he has always posted articles of interest for people interested in election reform. Not all articles have good ideas, you may not agree with all opinions stated, but the purpose is to have a conversation.
Richard – why would you promote an article written by a person whose only claim to legitimacy is that he is an assistant professor of government in American University’s School of Public Affairs? Collectivists and social justice warriors like him are a dime a dozen in universities around the country.
The author’s prescriptions are a dream list of progressives who want even more power to control our lives. Do not be deceived by a couple of good ideas like transparency in government. Overall the list is a recipe for the country to break apart.
Amending the constitution to provide for direct election of the President would be a recipe for fraud, and would pit the coasts against flyover country.
And the danger from this idea – “Formally establish the independence of the Department of Justice on investigative and prosecutorial matters.” – is very real and will become apparent in the next few days with the release of the House GOP memo about the malfeasance of the FBI in trying to get Hillary elected. Do we really want the DOJ to be a fourth arm of government, answerable to nobody, with arrest powers? That is a recipe for a dictatorship.
Richard – please don’t repost articles like this. Such reposts besmirch the fine work you do enlightening a few os us about the real problems in electoral law.
Reality check –
The 1787 Fed Convention oligarchs ignored the 1777 Art Confed Amdt process — requiring ALL the States to agree on Amdts to the 1777 AC.
See 1787 Const Art VII — last AC States — NC and RI.
Such oligarchs also copied all sorts of FATAL defects in the Brit regime and in such 1777 Art Confed.
—
WHAT national/federal/State regime elects ONLY the top executive officer / vice-officer in the executive branch ???
— when top executive types have routinely been LAWLESS tyrants — J. Caesar, A. Caesar, Napoleon, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, etc.
Separate nonpartisan elections of 1 or more USA Marshals and District Attorneys in each 6th Amdt District — to esp watch all executive branch folks.
Better to *peacefully* divide the USA NOW — communist coasts and fascist middle — to avoid Civil WAR 2. See which type of regime can survive — esp in economics – production / consumption.
Note the econ collapse of the ex-Russia/USSR regime 1917-1991.
——–
PR and AppV
TOTAL separation of powers
I wasn’t impressed, kind of lightweight. I don’t think he made a compelling argument.
Bharara-Whitman stuff-
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/371174-ex-government-officials-launch-group-to-push-for-presidential-norms
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/01/29/trump-abuses-show-we-must-turn-traditions-into-laws-preet-bharara-christine-todd-whitman-column/1063619001/
Bharara-Whitman
https://www.democracytaskforce.org/
B-W site
For people calling Edelson lightweight, David Lazare wrote a full book about stuff like this, and not dependent on Trump being president. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/437559920
I strongly agree with Don. With this proposed “new constitution,” don’t be surprised if they were to move to end civilian firearm ownership and either limit or abolish private property.
Main FATAL defects in the almost DEAD USA Const —
3 ANTI-Democracy minority rule gerrymander systems — Reps, Sens, Prez/VP = oligarchs
MAJOR separation of powers violations – esp Prez veto
The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.
Federalist 47, Madison
Amdt process
Highly probable — Civil War 2 and/or World War 3
—
PR and AppV
TOTAL separation of powers
Interestingly enough, here’s an article I recently came across: https://theweek.com/articles/750816/americas-constitution-terrible-lets-throw-start-over
We just need another Jim Jones kool-aide party!
REALITY CHECK MATH —
8 STATES +/- 3.0 PCT
TRUMP PCT – CLINTON PCT NOV 2016
0.2 MI -0.4 NH
0.7 PA -1.5 MN
0.8 WI -2.1 Total
1.2 FL -2.4 NV
3.5 AZ -3.0 ME
3.7 NC -4.9 CO
5.1 GA -5.3 VA
8.1 OH -8.2 NM
9.0 TX -11.0 OR
9.4 IA -11.4 DE
14.3 SC -13.6 CT
14.7 AK -14.1 NJ
17.8 MS -15.5 RI
18.1 UT -15.7 WA
18.6 MO -17.1 IL
19.2 IN -22.5 NY
19.6 LA -26.4 VT
20.4 MT -26.4 MD
20.6 KS -27.2 MA
25.0 NE -30.1 CA
26.0 TN -32.2 HI
26.9 AR -86.8 DC
27.7 AL — —
29.8 KY — —
29.8 SD — —
31.8 ID — —
35.7 ND — —
36.4 OK — —
42.1 WV — —
46.3 WY — —
HOW MANY TRUMP STATES IN MIDDLE ???
HOW MANY CLINTON STATES ON EAST/WEST COASTS ???
And another thing: Would the Constitution be scrapped in favor of a document more in line with the UN Charter or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
I appreciate all the articles that suggest something meaningful be done about the flawed federal charter that is the hope of only oligarchs and demagogues; ill read most of them.
2012-2016 PRESIDENT
PCT CHANGE IN VOTES
C CLINTON D, T TRUMP R
* Switch 2012 to 2016
ST DEM REP OTH TOT 2016WIN
CA 11.5 -7.4 174.2 8.8 C
CO 1.2 1.5 290.5 8.2 C
CT -0.8 6.0 290.5 5.5 C
DE -2.9 11.9 294.4 7.2 C
DC 5.9 -40.5 195.8 6.0 C
HI -13.0 6.5 372.7 -1.3 C
IL 2.4 0.5 243.3 5.6 C
MD 0.0 -3.0 178.3 2.7 C
MA 3.8 -8.2 310.8 5.0 C
MN -11.5 0.2 262.2 0.3 C
NV 1.5 10.5 270.7 10.9 C
NH -5.7 4.8 334.9 4.7 C
NJ 1.1 8.4 229.1 6.4 C
NM -7.2 -4.8 186.3 1.9 C
NY 1.6 13.2 229.4 9.0 C
OR 3.3 3.7 235.6 11.9 C
RI -9.7 14.8 239.0 4.1 C
VT -10.4 2.9 459.3 5.3 C
VA 0.5 -2.9 288.6 3.4 C
WA -0.7 -5.3 343.7 6.1 C
—————-
FL 6.3 10.9 307.2 11.2 *T
IA -20.5 9.6 283.8 -1.0 *T
ME -10.9 14.8 178.6 4.9 *T PT
MI -11.5 7.8 390.7 1.4 *T
OH -15.3 6.7 185.0 -1.5 *T
PA -2.1 10.8 223.4 7.2 *T
WI -14.7 -0.2 377.0 -3.0 *T
————
AL -8.3 5.0 232.7 2.4 T
AK -5.0 -0.8 194.2 6.0 T
AZ 13.3 1.5 295.4 11.9 T
AR -3.5 5.7 138.9 5.7 T
GA 5.9 0.5 210.6 5.5 T
ID -10.8 -2.8 392.2 5.8 T
IN -10.4 9.6 182.8 4.2 T
KS -3.1 -3.1 224.6 2.1 T
KY -7.4 10.6 201.2 7.1 T
LA -3.6 2.3 115.1 1.8 T
MS -13.8 -1.4 97.8 -5.9 T
MO -12.5 7.6 180.0 1.9 T
MT -12.0 4.2 181.5 2.7 T
NE -5.8 4.4 270.0 6.3 T
NC 0.5 4.1 235.1 5.2 T
ND -24.9 15.2 250.8 6.7 T
OK -5.2 6.5 – 8.8 T
SC -1.2 7.8 247.7 7.1 T
SD -19.0 8.1 205.1 1.7 T
TN -9.4 4.1 221.9 2.0 T
TX 17.2 2.5 250.6 12.2 T
UT 23.4 -30.4 1120.8 11.2 T
WV -20.8 17.2 149.8 6.6 T
WY -19.2 2.0 188.9 2.7 T
————-
TOT -0.1 3.4 250.2 5.9 *T
7 marginal gerrymander areas in middle — for 2020 machinations
Clinton lost in large part due to Green Others
The +/- 10 pct changes indicate MAJOR instability
I find stuff like this fascinating. I certainly don’t agree with many if any of the proposed changes, but I am of the opinion that the constitution does need amending to fix a few things about the balance of power at the Federal level.
In defense of Richard, he has always posted articles of interest for people interested in election reform. Not all articles have good ideas, you may not agree with all opinions stated, but the purpose is to have a conversation.
https://state-political-maps.com/
SOME NEW AGE GERRYMANDER MAPS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Act_1832
ended the super-worse gerrymander districts
prevented revolution in the UK regime (see 1848 chaos in Europe) —
BUT — minority rule gerrymanders continue.
—
PR and AppV