Constitution

[PygmyPlaidGiraffe]

I am very ignorant so if this is obvious or I am overlooking something you may hire JediKnight and his brownshirts to beat me and throw me in confinement. Don't worry about the fact I am in Canada, our border is really permeable.


http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/constitution/transcript.html (http://)

In reading your constitution I notice a lot of Amendments. I notice that your constitution has ammendments or changes that can superseed or have repealed other ammendments. Can the articles be superseeded or repealed?

If so it seams to me that the document is "malleable". Nothing is written in stone. What challenges does this present? What checks and ballances are there in the US to prevent the watering down of the Constitution?

I know you have a 2 party system (1 really as the two are so blended), 3 branches of Gov't. (Executive, Judicial, and Legislative right?) Superficially you appear to have more checks and ballances in your braches of gov't to protect your constitution than Canada or the United Kingdom with their bi-cameral systems.

Is this accurate? :confused:

[OdderMensch]

The Constitution is useful because its malleable. The amendment process freed the slaves, gave women the right to vote and extended civil liberties to all men.

The Articles themselves can be changed, as with the direct election of Senators, but it is very difficult to pass an amendment.

The balance of power is delicate, but hopefully not so delicate that the current administration will do much lasting harm.

The so called 'two-party-system' is an aberration that our first President warned us about, and the second embraced :( but thankfully it does help to keep any one individual from gaining too much power, the president must work with the Congress to pass laws so that he may act, the congress must help the President or he can bog them down with vetoes, and the Supreme court has its own small band of paramilitary-paralegal ninjas that silently enforce their mighty will on the streets and back alleys of DC ;) so it all balance out pretty well.

edited for spelling

[shanek]

Originally posted by PygmyPlaidGiraffe
In reading your constitution I notice a lot of Amendments. I notice that your constitution has ammendments or changes that can superseed or have repealed other ammendments. Can the articles be superseeded or repealed?

Yes, but it's an incredibly difficult thing to do. Basically, two-thirds of the states or two-thirds of both Houses have to introduce an Article of Amendment, whereupon it must be passed by three-fourths of the States, either in legislature or in a Constitutional Convention. So, as you might imagine, it doesn't happen often. In fact, in over 210 years, it's only happened 27 times, and 10 of those are the Bill of Rights which many States didn't want to adopt a Constitution without.

[WildCat]

Originally posted by shanek


Yes, but it's an incredibly difficult thing to do. Basically, two-thirds of the states or two-thirds of both Houses have to introduce an Article of Amendment, whereupon it must be passed by three-fourths of the States, either in legislature or in a Constitutional Convention. So, as you might imagine, it doesn't happen often. In fact, in over 210 years, it's only happened 27 times, and 10 of those are the Bill of Rights which many States didn't want to adopt a Constitution without.
Didn't you forget to write how the courts have rendered the Constitution moot? I didn't think you could pass up the opportunity, Shanek.:D
WildCat
PS - ok I'm just making a frivolous post to work my way up to an avatar, but how many do I need to get a sock puppet?

[Pyrrho]

As a side note, the President can do pretty much whatever he wants by issuing an Executive Order.

[shanek]

Originally posted by pyrrho2000
As a side note, the President can do pretty much whatever he wants by issuing an Executive Order.

Well, Executive Orders are supposed to only affect members of the Executive Branch (hence the name). But at least since Ronald Reagan (and maybe before him) Presidents have used this to wield the rule of law over the people, a function certainly not given to them by the Constitution.