Constitution
'We've come to this ignoble moment.' 'We have become like Serbia.' 12 Jul 2008 'I never thought I would say this, but I think it might, in fact, be time for the United States to be held internationally to a tribunal. I never thought in my lifetime I would say that, that we have become like Serbia, where an international tribunal has to come to force us to apply the rule of law... So we've come to this ignoble moment, where we could be forced into a tribunal and forced to face the rule of law that we've refused to apply to ourselves.' --Constitutional Law expert Jonathan Turley, on MSNBC's Friday 'Countdown,' discussing accountability behind US war crimes at Guantanamo.
Is US still a Constitutional Government ?
The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis Bill Moyers
Presidency
Another Republican bad idea is making the Presidency all-powerful. Bush, in signing statements has made the law or distorted it beyond recognition. He thumbed his nose at international law.
Bush, like Nixon, argued that the President is above the law. The Constitution needs to be altered so that no President ever makes that mistake again.
The Danger from the Imperial Presidency
War Powers
Without Congressional oversight, checks and balances are inoperable. Bush Republicans have put the Constitution at risk by carrying on public dialog in secret, even Alan Greenspan now admits that the War in Iraq was about oil. All the other pretexts for the war have been discredited now. Massive quantities of emails from the White House have disappeared, so they are not available for Congressional scrutiny. A partisan Supreme Court, which also threw the election of 2000, protected Cheney's secret discussions of energy policy. Secrecy is a dagger in the heart of democracy and the Bush administration has maximized its use.
A fundamental assumption of the Constitution is the need for constant vigilance against concentration of power. Bush's FCC pushed for concentration of media, and in return media became lackeys for the Administration. He provoked two wars without any serious challenge. The Iraq War was based on twisted intelligence and that is a crime. Without a free press there can be no democracy.
Over the last centuries Europeans nearly destroyed themselves in horrendous wars. But they appear to have learned that a head of state who, on his own whim, can make war, can disappear people, can torture, can ignore habeas corpus, or can otherwise act without regard for law is a clear and present danger. After nearly destroying themselves, they have now limited their royalty to mostly ceremonial functions, and their people are clearly the deciders. That's what democracy is about.
In contempt of Congress, transparency, and democratic principle, Bush minions have refused to testify before Congress. They should be held accountable and Republicans should be driven from office.
A few months ago, a 'blue ribbon' commission decided that the 1973 law which attempted to decide whether the Congress or the President had war power decided that the old law was 'quaint' and needed to be revised to give the President the power to make war after discussion with Congressional leaders. Get real. A President that can go to war at will and, without accountability, operate without restraint, is a dictator. In history, such strong-men governments have been typical of countries building empire.
There is nothing in the Constitution that supports the policy of the Bush administration that we need to remake the Middle East.
National War Powers Commission
Elections
Election procedures need substantial reform.
Almost everyone agrees that the electoral college should be abolished.
Good Americans believe in fair elections in which all votes are accurately counted. Voting machines are currently manufactured by Republican partisans and their inner workings are trade secrets. That is why US elections cannot be trusted. We need voting machines to be open source and transparent, standardized procedures should be in place to provide security.
Range voting ought to be in place at all levels: State, Local, and Federal. The two party monopoly does not work for the people.
Corporations
Corporations, to retain their charter, must act like good citizens. If they are too big to fail, they need public oversight.
Media
Media has become too corporate, too concentrated, and too right-wing. Such media has clearly shown the way to fascism. There should be a mix of public and private media so that the corporate voice is not the only one.
Secrecy
Arianna Huffington Karl Rove's Contempt for the Constitution and the Public's Right to Know
The Bush Administration was probably one of the most secretive. Lack of information led to dysfunctional Constitutional checks and balances.
Covert agencies with secret, undisclosed budgets continue to operate in ways that Americans would never approve. They are (and ought to be) unconstitutional.
FISA
FISA Bill's real target is freedom of the Press
Thank Senator Dodd for fighting FISA
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Senator Feingold: The Problems with the FISA Bill Posted: 09 Jul 2008 11:59 PM CDT  I
cannot believe that we are still debating the legality of this program on
the Senate floor, and that anyone seriously believes that merely notifying
the Gang of Eight - while keeping the full intelligence committees in the
dark - somehow represents congressional approval. -- Senator Russ Feingold
more... |
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Civil Liberties
Religion
Medieval religions are a major cause of wars and terrorism. They are often highly profitable as well. Some have become propaganda channels for the Republicans and, as such, they were major enablers of the disastrous Bush adventures. if they preach violence, they should lose their tax exempt status.
The wall separating Church and State needs shoring up.
Never confuse Republicans with conservatives.
We ought to boot out the secretive, fascist, war-mongering, empire-building, human-rights abusing, Republicans.
See other ideas for reform.
Links
People's Campaign for the Constitution
American Constitution Society Blog
Bibliography
Andrew Bacevich
Constitutional chaos : what happens when the government breaks its own laws by Napolitano, Andrew P