The first part of this question is easier to answer.
The Constitution doesn’t enforce itself. If the Senate refuses to do what the Constitution mandates, there isn’t much we can do other than vote them out.
I know that's frustrating.
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The Constitution doesn’t enforce itself. If the Senate refuses to do what the Constitution mandates, there isn’t much we can do other than vote them out.
I know that's frustrating.
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The second part gets us into the kind of party the GOP has become. I've talked about it in terms of hierarchy v. fairness.
If you don't believe fairness and equality are possible (if you think nature forms a hierarchy) you grab power and cheat.
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If you don't believe fairness and equality are possible (if you think nature forms a hierarchy) you grab power and cheat.
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Two part answer.
That would be up to state law. When the Constitution was set up, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, so presumably it would have been easier for a state to recall a Senator. There were, however, a lot of problems . . .
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That would be up to state law. When the Constitution was set up, Senators were appointed by state legislatures, so presumably it would have been easier for a state to recall a Senator. There were, however, a lot of problems . . .
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. . . with that system. At times it was just dysfunctional.
If your evening won't be complete without learning more about that, see: senate.gov/artandhistory/…
It also wasn't very democratic.
So we got the 17th Amendment. (I hope you're taking notes for the Twitter Bar Exam)
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If your evening won't be complete without learning more about that, see: senate.gov/artandhistory/…
It also wasn't very democratic.
So we got the 17th Amendment. (I hope you're taking notes for the Twitter Bar Exam)
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The 17th Amendment requires Senators to be selected by direct vote of the people, so it's harder state to fire a Senator. State rules allow for temporary appointments when necessary, so presumably a state COULD recall a Senator.
This brings us to the bad news.
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This brings us to the bad news.
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Republican voters love the fact that McConnell breaks rules and cheats, so the voters in deep red states are not likely to want to recall Senators for torpedoing rules.
The original question pointed out the hypocrisy. . .
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The original question pointed out the hypocrisy. . .
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If you think government is about allocating power instead of creating fairness, then of course you cheat when its your turn, and change the rules when its your opponent's turn.
This brings me to how to deal with hardball tactics--or just save that for another day.
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This brings me to how to deal with hardball tactics--or just save that for another day.
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