NEW CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT(S)

 

By Ruth A. Sheets

In response to comments on the several Substacks I subscribe to or just read for fun, I have been thinking about how to keep us, as a nation, from going through what we have been experiencing for the past 50 years as we become poorer while a tiny few become rich beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, have our rights taken, sometimes our lives if we don’t submit to the whims of those in power.  It has  mostly been Republicans who have chosen to assume autocratic, even Fascist stances and have little sign of doing otherwise, but Democrats have often gone along when they knew what was happening was wrong. 

Our climate is changing dramatically.  Everyone knows it, but somehow, elected officials pretend that is not happening and “drill baby drill” is their response.  OK, war is another of their responses while natural disasters increase in frequency and scope.  We know renewable energy is becoming cheaper than traditional fossil fueled energy, but programs designed to  increase the availability of renewable energy are halted and defunded.  This is not the way to run a democracy, a republic, but somehow our ?Executive has assumed powers he does not deserve and Congress has permitted it.  That should be acceptable to no one! 

Maybe it's time for a 14th Amendment like proposal for our Constitution that works to stop some of the worst of the Trumpian/Republican abuses of power in the executive and judiciary. Here are my current suggestions for what might be included.  

• A clear statement that money is not speech;
• that the president can't fire federal employees without cause or for political reasons;
• that presidential pardons cannot be issued for the president or for anyone who participated in crimes the president or other Federal officials were involved with and pardons cannot be purchased through money or favors.  A pardon means the pardoned has committed a crime and based on the situation needs relief.  No one who has attacked this nation or its Congress, judges, or executives  can receive a pardon;
• that the executive can't close or open government entities like departments or agencies, without congressional involvement or approval;
• independent agencies are not the tools of the president or his/her minions they are independent and funded and adjusted as needed by Congress to function independently;
• that public lands and monuments are “public” and that the executive can’t destroy, drill, mine, log or permit those things to happen without consent of Congress;
• that due process must be part of every legal situation, including immigration and that children should never be in court without a qualified, quality lawyer to defend them;
• that a paramilitary force like ICE cannot exist and that our military cannot patrol our streets unless the state governors and Congress approve and then for an extremely limited amount of time, 30 days before renewal of the deployment is required by the governor and Congress, maybe even the state legislature too;
• that American prisons of all types, must be operated by the government of the United States and of the specific states and local communities, not by private entities;
• that monopolies in media and other areas of life are unconstitutional except in rare situations like certain utilities;
• that the minimum wage matches the average Cost of Living rates;
• that harming our allies for personal gain by a president, other elected officials, or other entities is treason and should be addressed as such;
• that bodily autonomy should be for all people in this nation citizens and non-citizens;
• gerrymandering is not permitted for political purposes but is permitted on a limited basis to make more equitable districts in areas where racial groups are disenfranchised;
• Justices on the Supreme Court must have had previous experience as judges on lower federal or state courts before being nominated;
• Supreme Court and other Federal Court judges will be limited to 18 year term limits after which they may serve on a lower court if they so choose;
• That A code of ethics will be installed for every Federal office that forbids receiving gifts from anyone who might in future have any business with the court, that rulings will be fair and follow the law, that precedents will be acknowledged and overturned only in cases where there is strong evidence that such a change is necessary for the good of the American people.

  There may be more, but this could be a start.  We have brilliant Americans at all levels of life who could contribute to this effort.  It would probably take several amendments, but it could/should be done!  Democrats and even some Republicans should do this, pass it through Congress,  and get it to the states for ratification.  States might even want to include some of these items in their own state constitutions.  What do you think?