overhaul?

Think about it? Think before you leap to any conclusions. The Magna Carta was/is a great document but it needed to be up dated. The best update of the Magna Carta was the United States Constitution. The Constitution is now over 200 years old. Does it need to be updated? Like your favorite old car- do we need to rebuild the engine and replace the seats?

My answer is I’m not sure. If we really want a democracy than we need to look at the constitution and examine what has happened over the last 6 – 7 years. For that matter, we should examine the last 60 years. How is it in a democracy that a president can be elected without a majority of the popular vote? Why do we still have the electoral college? Is that a democratic institution? When the president has the ability to appoint judges and cabinet members and heads of other government agencies is that democracy in action? When a president vetoes a bill that passes both houses of Congress, the president knows that there is over a 90% chance that Congress will not be able to override his veto, is that a democratic process. I’m just asking because I think that these questions need to asked. We need to think about our democracy from time to time.  When we see that abuses of the Bush administration maybe overhauling our constitution can prevent such abuses in the future.

Bill Moyers has University of Texas professor of law, Sanford Levinson on the Bill Moyers Journal. This is a thoughtful discussion. Mr. Levinson’s book, the Undemocratic Constitution raises many of the questions that I have listed above. This is a great interview. Enjoy.