The lead paragraph in a recent New York Times article, read, “As Republicans prepare to take control of Congress and the White House, among the many scenarios keeping Democrats up at night is an event that many Americans consider a historical relic: a constitutional convention.” The authors noted that the current Constitution allows “Congress to convene a rewrite session if two-thirds of state legislatures have called for one.” Once the brainchild of disaffected Democrats, the effort is now the province of emboldened conservatives, and the article quoted eminent Constitutional scholars as saying that the chances are real.
I always thought of changing the constitution by amendment, which has very high barriers. I never considered the idea of a convention. You seem certain it won't happen. Is it more from the impracticalities of what would happen next or from the way you ended your essay: that the Republicans already have all that they want.
The United States Constitution has been judged the second most difficult to amend, although all that matters is that the delegates intentionally made the process unwieldy. Why that is the case is woven into the fabric of the debates, which, as you know, I have always found both fascinating and revelatory. In terms of a second convention, yeah, why would they bother, although overreach by the emboldened would hardly be without precedent. Equally disturbing to me is the unwillingness of both Democratic leaders and journalists to deal with the full import of the election, which I find self-serving, to say nothing of dangerous.
I always thought of changing the constitution by amendment, which has very high barriers. I never considered the idea of a convention. You seem certain it won't happen. Is it more from the impracticalities of what would happen next or from the way you ended your essay: that the Republicans already have all that they want.
The United States Constitution has been judged the second most difficult to amend, although all that matters is that the delegates intentionally made the process unwieldy. Why that is the case is woven into the fabric of the debates, which, as you know, I have always found both fascinating and revelatory. In terms of a second convention, yeah, why would they bother, although overreach by the emboldened would hardly be without precedent. Equally disturbing to me is the unwillingness of both Democratic leaders and journalists to deal with the full import of the election, which I find self-serving, to say nothing of dangerous.