4 ms·
The only problem is that the sitting congress would need to pass the law making themselves ineligible for re-election.
by mmcconnell1618 15y ago
The only problem is that the sitting congress would need to pass the law making themselves ineligible for re-election.
- hugh3 15y agoI assume it'd need to be a constitutional change rather than a legislative one, otherwise they could just rescind the law anyway. Which reminds me of one of my biggest objections to the US constitution: constitutional amendments are done simply by getting a bunch of legislatures to agree to 'em, rather than by holding a referendum as in Australia.
- sigzero 15y agoI much prefer the US way.
- capnrefsmmat 15y agoWhy?
- ams6110 15y agoChanging the constitution should not be something that can happen based on a (perhaps very temporary) swell of public sentiment
- skimbrel 15y agoAgreed! My state, like a few others in the US, has voter initiatives that become constitutional amendments. The last one that made the news was the one that made it illegal for me to get married. Another initiative from a few decades ago is a major part of why California can't raise enough money to fund itself now. So yeah, I'm not a huge fan of ballot initiatives.
- jcarreiro 15y agoThe Economist had a very interesting report on democracy in California recently: http://www.economist.com/node/18563638?story_id=18563638 http://www.economist.com/node/18563638?story_id=18563638
- gavinballard 15y agoIn Australia's history, of 44 constitutional referendums held, only 8 have passed (3 of them in the same ballot). It's very difficult (some would say, too difficult) to amend the Australian constitution, and definitely not something that tends to happen with a "swell of public sentiment". Compare that to 11 amendments to the US Constitution over the same period (1901 onwards) - two of which I'd point out dealt with the introduction and repeal of Prohibition (which I'd say qualified as a "swell of public sentiment").
- learc83 15y agoWell, we could have a constitutional convention.
- protomyth 15y agono, hell no - not with 24hr news, pundits, and political correctness.