A Constitutional Convention...Now?

#287:  The Modern ConCon Equivalent

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Alex Voltaire, on Twitter, drew my attention to Larry Sabato's proposal for a Constitutional Convention to improve American governance.  Sabato's 23 suggestions strike me as worth discussing, but with our modern internet, a virtual version would be much more likely.  Step #1: set up a wiki discussion forum to entertain suggested constitutional changes, record expert and popular opinion on those changes, and do so for an indefinite number of years.  Eventually, the logical approaches to problems, and the arguments for and against, would emerge and solidify.  The most popular ideas could then be adopted by one or more political parties, and make their way through the ratification process.

As for Sabato's ideas, here's my take (in green, with letter grades):

Congress

Expand the Senate to 136 members to have it be more representative. His plan would give the ten most populous states two additional senators each, and give the next fifteen most populous states one additional senator, and would give the District of Columbia one senator.

Very unlikely to pass, though this is perhaps a half-way point between big and little states' interests. B

Appoint all former presidents and vice presidents to the new office of "National Senator" to serve national interests instead of state interests, bring presidential experience to the Senate.

A reasonable idea if ex-presidents were willing. A-

Mandate non-partisan redistricting for House elections to enhance electoral competition and lessen the influence of gerrymandering.

Artificial Intelligence can do this objectively. A

Lengthen the terms of representatives from two years to three years, and set Senate terms to coincide with all presidential elections, so the entire House and Senate would be elected at the same time as the President.

While coinciding elections is good, a single presidential term for six years?  B+, C+

Expand the size of the House of Representatives to approximately 1,000 members from the current total of 435, so House members can be closer to their constituents, and to level the playing field in House elections.

Yes, though unlikely.  Would lower the power of a vote in Wyoming vs. California. A-

Establish term limits in the House and Senate to restore the Founders' principle of frequent rotation in office.

Arguments for are obvious.  Against: lobbyists and office staff know more than those elected. C

Add a Balanced Budget Amendment to encourage fiscal fairness to future generations.

Hello loooong recessions.  Must allow for emergency and counter-cyclical spending. D

Create a Continuity of Government procedure to provide for the replacement of senators and representatives in the event of extensive deaths or incapacitation as may happen as a result of a major disaster such as a large scale nuclear attack.

Probably needed. A

Presidency

Establish a new six-year, one-time presidential term with the option for the President to seek three additional years if approved by a referendum of the American people.

Ruins "lengthen the terms" idea, above. C-  

Limit some presidential war-making powers and expand Congress' oversight of war-making.

Sure, though current oversight is not being exercised.  Would this be any different? A-

Give the president a line-item veto.

The ability to override the veto might best be lowered. B+

Allow men and women not born in the United States to run for president or vice president after having been a citizen for 20 years.

Yes.  A

Supreme Court

Eliminate lifetime tenure for federal judges in favor of non-renewable 15-year terms for all federal judges.

A

Grant Congress the power to set a mandatory retirement age for all federal judges.

B

Expand the size of the Supreme Court from 9 to 12 to be more representative.

This should probably be an odd number.  Perhaps 13, the number of Federal District Courts.  B+

Give federal judges guaranteed cost of living increases so pay is never an issue.

Is this as urgent as the rest? B

Politics

Write a new constitutional article specifically for the politics of the American system.

Vague hand waving?  C+

Adopt a regional, staggered lottery system, over four months, for presidential party nominations to avoid the destructive front-loading of primaries.

Isn't this a party decision?  B-

Keep the Electoral College, as the previously suggested House and Senate reforms would preserve the benefits of the College while minimizing the chances a president will win without a majority of the popular vote.

Little chance of abolishing, anyway. NA

Reform campaign financing by preventing wealthy candidates from financing their campaigns. Mandate partial public financing for House and Senate campaigns to lessen the impact of lobbyists and fundraisers.

Sure.  A

Adopt an automatic registration system for all qualified American citizens to guarantee that their right to vote is not abridged by bureaucratic requirements.

Absolutely.  A+

Universal national service

Create a constitutional requirement that all able-bodied young Americans devote at least two years of their lives in service to the country.

Older people love this.  But disrupting young lives?  One size fits all?  If voluntary, sure.  D+ 

National constitutional convention

Convene a new constitutional convention using the state-based mechanism left to Americans by the framers in the current constitution.

Hard to do.  NA

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Black type quoted from Wikipedia