I gotta' rant . . .

[AndyS]

I have come to the conclusion that the Constitution is a piece of crap written by white male property owners and long past due to be shredded and composted.

Think about it.

The Electoral College is a joke that allows a minority of voters to elect the highest office in the land. It can be manipulated using modern information technology to change the outcome down to the precinct level. Shit, just look at the data that Steve Kornaki displays on his Big Board! With data like that you don't need fraud, just target campaign cash to the right precinct in the right county!

The Supreme Court can't be policed because it's not in the Constitution and if Congress passes a law to impose checks and balances the Court will just rule it UN-constitutional.

It still contains language about housing soldiers in private homes against the owner's will like that's still a thing.

Then there's that whole second amendment gun thing that was supposed to negate the need for a standing army when we now have a standing army, navy, air force and FFS a space corps.

There's nothing in there about equal rights for entire swaths of the population. Hell, it still references 3/5 of a person!

The bits and pieces that are worth saving aren't being paid attention to because of it's archaic language and ease of 'interpreting' it any way some asshole on the Supreme Court (I mentioned them, right?) wants to.

The whole thing was supposed to be re-written every decade or so but as long as it can be manipulated to the advantage of some asshole on the Supreme Court (Have I talked about how fucked up that is?) why fuck with it?

Look, the Founding Fathers were just a bunch of white male property owners who probably had less formal education than half of DU. They put their pants on one leg at a time. FFS they wore wigs that would get them arrested in Florida for cross dressing! They weren't Gods and frankly I starting to think not very good a what they did.

So, yes it's time for a new convention but holy shit! we can't do that because of the fucking mess they made of writing the Constitution in the first place we now have the likes of Donald Trump controlling 20% of the voters and an electoral college that allows them to actually elect that motherfucker again AND serve as President from Leavenworth! Tell me, is that not fucked up to the max?

There are several Central American countries that are looking pretty good right now. I mean, what the fuck, if you're going to live in a shit hole place like this why not live in one where the corruption is right out in the open and I can actually take part in it!!!

[doc03]

1. It certainly needs updating. But what makes you think it

would be improved.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. The whole thing was supposed to be re-written every decade or so? No.

It was designed to accommodate change as powered by voters and elections, every 20 years, each generation would toss the incumbents and elect their own. And they wanted voters to be intelligent enough to read and have some vested interest in society. We are failing that test today. People don't focus on the great new thing, democracy, because it's an old tired thing now, and they don't have time to think about it anyway. Smart phones, $$$, and EV's are more important.

There's more wisdom and experienced statesmanship in the Constitution than it is credited with.

You can't, or shouldn't write a Constitution in an age of polarization. The deck will be stacked. You could have done this in the 1950s, or the 1970s, or even the 1930s, but not today. You think Republicans have advantages now? Ask them to write a new form of government.

It's true the Founding Fathers were white property owners. But they stood with the State. And society must have some form of enduring rules. Without them you have chaos. Or a libertarians' dream - the sum of private interests, pitched to the wealthiest.

The OP is a terrible idea.

[H2O Man]

3. +1

[AndyS]

5. I beg to differ.

The convention was called to replace the Articles of Confederation that were written ten years before which was pretty much a fuck up. Why should they believe that a second try would be perfect for eternity? More than a few scholars think the Founders anticipated having to re-do the whole thing periodically.

You're right about the polarization and I acknowledged that. It's too late to actually come up with a modern document that might fit modern needs so we're stuck with this fucked up piece of shit that we can't change because Polarization!!

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Why should they believe that a second try would be perfect for eternity?

They believed in the Age of Reason, and were astute students of history. Many studied Ancient Rome. Many were Deists. The Enlightenment was an age of clockwork-like reason; science, logic, government, religion were all being metered. You read, you knew. The Constitution's balance of powers is essentially a series of time counts to fracture power so it could never be concentrated too much. Despite the challenges we face today, that aspect of the Constitution is unexamined and very underappreciated.

Some Founders were pompous. They argued it out with each other. They had not the distractions we have today, they had the luzury of wisdom, there was nothing else to do. They read all the classics on government. Read David McCullough's John Adams. Adams knew it all and felt he knew it all. Probably originated the imperial presidency, more so than any other president of the Revolutionary era.

[brush]

4. Just an updateing of the Constitution for '03 reality, SCOTUS also, and a trashing of the...

filibuster rule in the Senate will do...you know, just deliver the promises of the Declaration of Independence to EVERYONE, not just MEN.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. I hear you. And I know that you're writing from a place of deep frustration.

I share your frustration. However, I do believe that there are some very good ideas in this thread.

They need to be heeded.

[hippywife]

8. Recommended reading, if you haven't already:

https://thenewpress.com/books/allow-me-retort