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Opinion: Y’know, I’m really getting tired of people talking endlessly about “the mid-terms,” and how Trump is going to melt down (through election fraud or otherwise) when they come. Enough already!
The Framers of our Constitution purposely defined a set of overlapping 2, 4, and 6-year terms. Significant turnovers therefore happen every year, and they are “out of sync.” Every single President including George Washington has faced them. “This is by design.”
It is therefore up to the voters to decide what happens next – and also up to the voters to see to it that their vote isn’t stolen.
Not the Press, not the Courts, and certainly not the Politicians.
The Framers of our Constitution constructed a very elaborate and resilient system – and then didn’t trust any of it. The only party that they did trust was: “We, the People.” And it’s our job to see to it, every single day, that this trust was earned.
In writing the language that they did, as they did, they were never trying to “protect us from ourselves.” They did not claim to know what the future would hold. Instead, they gave us the tools to deal with whatever happened next. (As well as the two-angled power to Amend them. No, they didn’t trust Congress, either.)
So: “When things go wrong,” as they inevitably have and still will do, “do not blame the Constitution, nor the authors thereof.” The true responsibility (and, duty to fix it …) is ours.
Not disagreeing with your oveall point, but it is NOT as the Framer’s intended.
The repeal of the 17th amendment destroyed the framers intention to hold the US Senators accountable to their constituents.
The senators were supposed to be voted in by the state legislature. It’s easy to buy two Senators. It’s not easy to buy an entire state legislature held accountable to their constituents. .
I agree in principle with your assessment.
Now, having said that, history also tells us that there were plenty of problems (in actual practice) with the old system. State Legislatures proved to be an easy target for corruption, and sometimes their power to appoint Senators left their constituents (and, other parties) feeling betrayed. Because the old system effectively concentrated … their (corrupting) influences … when it was conceived to concentrate the power of “the People.”
Many books have been written about this dichotomy, and I have a few of them on my shelves.
However: As we all saw with the mistake of “Prohibition,” any Amendment can be repealed. If we can get enough people across the country to agree – and BTW nothing less is allowed – we can “fix it.”
Continuing . . .
Some authors said that the old system “created a magnifying lens for inevitable corruption.”
Others have suggested, as a pragmatic solution, that we now (leave the 19th in place(?) and …) Constitutionally impose term limits across the board, as many other Nations have done.
Including, perhaps, for the Judiciary. (Again, other Nations provide some precedent, albeit with mixed results.)
It’s not easy, nor obvious . . . But then again, it never has been.
What you say is true to a point. We have at least 18 State Legislatures controlled by democrats and more than few questionable ones controlled by Uni-Party Republicans.
“To a point?” No, “by design.” States must devise their own affairs, supposedly(!) as their citizens see fit, and they are certainly not “all the same.” They’re not supposed to be.
(I have traveled to “all fifty.” No! They are certainly not the same!)
If the often-proposed “First Constitutional Convention” actually happens, then I expect “a jolly good fight.” One that has been far too long in coming.
But if you look at the “vote counts” on any Amendment, they have almost always been “far from ‘unanimous.'” Again, this is by design.
After all: In our 250-year history, we have had a grand total of twenty-seven “Amendments.” (The latest one being “line #2” on the original Bill of Rights document!) And our Constitution is still only two handwritten pages long! Contrast this with, say, the “European Union!” Or almost any other country.
Some might say that we have all been asleep at the switch . . . but, then again, I kinda like it that way.
Purposely done to denigrate the U.S. Palate cleanser in the second video.
For those without X – https://xcancel.com/saltinesnack/status/2083893946573287688
Based on Kendall’s opinion, I expected it to be worse than it was.
There have been so many “singers” over the decades who felt compelled to try to do stuff they were not capable of doing – and so many more who just had to prove (on that last phrase) that they could go higher and scream longer than anyone before them. Because they think it’s about them. I often turn the audio off when the anthem is being sung because there’s a pretty good chance it’s going to be weird.
This old lady might be a has been, but I could sure hear the depth and breadth of her vocal gifts in many portions.
The whole presentation (costumes included) did seem like a sendup of sorts.
My favorite version; gives me goose bumps.
Dan Vasc heavy metal singer
For those who advocate for sending hiring companies of illegals to jail, let me explain, hypothetically of course, how they protect themselves from the risks of hiring illegals.
Big Rotissierie Chicken (“BRC”) is a producer, packager and distributor of chickens that sells to all of the major grocery chains those yummy bagged chickens Americans seem to love at pretty cheap prices, relatively. They need to pay below prevailing wage in order to make any money but know they run risks of employing illegal invaders directly. So, they don’t.
Si Senor Staffing, LLC (“SSS”) approaches them to fully outsource the employee hiring and compliance process for their line workers. SSS is a thinly capitalized LLC that is majority owned by the cartels and pledges in their contract that all workers will comply with I9 and e-verify, “we triple promise”. SSS is the actual employer of the illegal invaders and BRC pays an hourly fee per worker to SSS to supply the labor force. SSS sweeps its weekly profits through to some bank box in Cuidado Suarez.
“Gee, Mr. Fed, SSS promised us under the terms of our contract that they would only employ legal residents. How were we to know?” When the Feds show up to SSS HQ, it is simply a PO Box in Galveston.
The owners of BRC make large political donations to their state’s senate candidates. Hosts various pols on their private jet and let them use their second home on the beach for “junkets”. They make large contributions to Big State U football and sponsor the local little league where little Austin is competing against a lot of kids named Manuel, Jose and Fernando. Everyone is happy with the status quo and advocates against any sort of accountability.
And 1860’s producers of Cotton would have surely said the same, had they needed to.
If one were to dig, this cartel scheme looks a lot like indentured servitude. SSS may pay the illegal invader work force something, but my guess would be that many are there under duress and any threat to leave or actually leave would come with a very high personal cost back home in MX.