We have a quite the serious Constitutional quagmire here. 20th Amendment states that:
and the terms of Senators and Representatives [shall end] at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin [...]
Riddle me this....
How are purported House members-elect lawfully participating in House business (election of a Speaker), if they are not actually members of the House until they are sworn in, which according to House rules, cannot happen until the election of a Speaker?
Sounds like the Constitution is long overdue for an amendment to clarify this glaring oversight by the Framers.
Furthermore, if our House has been functioning in such a disfunctional, arguably unconstitutional manner, seemingly since the beginning, have we ever truly had a legitimate Congress?
Time for a new Convention of the States to settle some of these big issues.
Great post. A tiny little detail. It wasn't the framers that screwed it up. They were all dead when the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was enacted into law in 1933.
Emost everything after tenth amendment contradicts the constitution. Work arounds.
I bet you're right.
Remember the congress (both houses) could have written a bill any time after the 20th Amendment that takes care of this exact scenario. In fact you would expect that they absolutely had to since nobody in the House has any authority until the speaker is chosen. Even then, they should've made a law saying incoming leadership already approved before the 3rd has the authority to swear in the new members and conduct business.
Even if they made a law that looks blatantly unconstitutional on it's face, it is the law until the courts smack them down. I don't know if they did make a law but I sincerely hope our "representatives" have at least one brain cell to share between themselves. Besides - if it looked to them like they wouldn't get paid for stuff like this you can bet they codified it at some point. No way they work for free.
What if it doesn't matter because we are under martial law?
They screwed up by not accounting for these matters of details from the beginning. Which is not do dump on the Framers... they were creating a brand new experiment in government. Can't always foresee every issue. But improvement is the task of future generations.
They are still batting at least .800 or .900 200 plus years later.
One of the things the Founders definitely got right was the ability to Amend the Constitution. However, as the 20th demonstrates, not all amendments are wise or good. The 25th could be used nefarious as well to remove presidents.
It may be a "careful what you wish for" exercise if we seek any amendments today. In my personal opinion, I trust the Founders more than any politician today. I can't imagine any politician having the guts, wisdom, and fortitude of the Founders to create or amend a system of government that would work today. I can only imagine the perverse influence that would be involved today, that was not as prevalent then.
Part of me wonders if we may need to start from scratch one of these days, and frankly, that freaks me out a bit. We simply do not have a Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Monroe, Adams, Madison, or any of the rest. The one caveat might be Trump himself. He has given up many of his comforts to take on the evil that is Washington DC and this world.
God save us all if we have to save ourselves.
Luckily, that's why Amendments still require ratification by the states, by the people. We are the defense against poorly written or unwise amendments. But the Framers were brilliant enough to allow for and anticipated amendments to be made.
The states can always convene on their own, and do what is necessary, sidestepping Congressional lunacy.
Think they would use voting machines for that?
All good points. Thank you u/MAGAdeburger 👈🏻
Our circumstance leaves us starting from scratch. We are so broken that we will have to tear it down to the foundation and start over. Thankfully our constitution is the foundation.
Constitution does not protect us, that's why some of us swear an oath to protect it. The failure is in the hearts of those who took the oath amd did not stand on it.
Politicians, judges, cops and military people.
I know Some who want to scrap it and start over. I don't agree. Of we enforce laws against treason we get rid of the treasonous and we make it too risky for most to try.
I agree with you u/VetforTrump 👈🏻
I would much rather stand up for the Constitution, keep it, and hold the treasonous bastards accountable than start all over.
We The People must rise up and do so Peacefully and Patriotically.