A Constitution for Ameriwanks

Eurofed

Banned
There's another issue that I had with it that I feel the need to address. The thing reeked of ideology. It didn't feel like a practical implementation of an ideology, it felt like a naked ideology with "make it so number one" tacked on at the end.

Constitutions are not a place to soapbox about ideology. It is not a place where you explain the ideological theory guiding the rules, it is where the rules as put in place with maybe a bit of proximate reasoning.

You shouldn't say "Freedom of Expression and Conscience shall ever command the utmost respect in the Laws of the Federal Democratic Republic", you say "No law shall be made restricting the ability of the people to express themselves" and have done with it.

When planning an experiment, you outline what you are going to do. What your procedure is, maybe citing some theory papers on why. But you don't reprint the Principia in your experiment instructions when your experiment is rolling a ball off a table to see if it goes in a half-parabola.

If you're a socialist you shouldn't say, "Free communication of ideas, being necessary for democracy, shall ever be respected, as such this government, unlike the bourgeoisie oppressors, shall never outlaw blah blah blah", you should say "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of the people to express and communicate their ideas and thoughts, provided such expression does not take the form of violence."

A Constitution is a work of Political Engineering. The conclusions of the political theory a constitution is based off of should be everywhere evident, but the complex arguments reaching those conclusions should not appear.

A constitution should be a machine gun, that it is built according to Newton is surely evident in it's construction, but nowhere does it expound on theory. It's argument is bullets, and the strength of it's argument keeps the Germans scared of leaving their trenches.



Sorry for the rant, just had to get it off my chest.

Oh, but I wholly agree with you on this. I was just dead-set against rolling back to OTL version and tried to stuck to previous version not for its grand-sounding ideological declamations that Nichomacheus apparently fancied, but because that versions offered protection for rights that in OTL version got frail construction protection. The moment you skillfully made "soft" yet robust explicit protections for privacy and freedom of coscience, I'm fine.
 
Oh, but I wholly agree with you on this. I was just dead-set against rolling back to OTL version and tried to stuck to previous version not for its grand-sounding ideological declamations that Nichomacheus apparently fancied, but because that versions offered protection for rights that in OTL version got frail construction protection. The moment you skillfully made "soft" yet robust explicit protections for privacy and freedom of coscience, I'm fine.

Grand sounding declamations have no place in a document meant to guide the governance and lives of 300+ Million people. Grand sounding declamations are fine in speech, in text they get boring very quickly. Which leads to people not reading it all even once.

Stalin made a very pretty sounding Constitution, but no one read it, and no one cared when he wiped his ass with it. At least not enough of the Russians who read it cared.

The Chinese have a pretty sounding one too.


Edit: Gah, more ranting. Guess I wasn't finished.
 
Last edited:

JJohnson

Banned
Notes:

Article. II. - The Executive Branch

Section 1 - The President

The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office during the Term of four Years, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same Term. The term of the President and Vice-President shall commence at noon of the twentieth day of January.

Section 2 - The Election of the President and Vice-President.

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. The Congress may determine the Time of chusing the Electors, and the Day on which they shall give their Votes; which Day shall be the same throughout the United States.

The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate;

The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted, referring judgment on the returns to a majority vote of both Congress in joint session.

The person having the greatest Number of votes for President, shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives and the Senate in joint session and voting as one body shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, a quorum for this purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Representatives and Senators from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of the whole number from a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.

The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest numbers on the list, the House of Representatives and the Senate in joint session and voting as one body shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Representatives and Senators from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of the whole number from a majority of all the states shall be necessary to a choice.

If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President elect shall have died, the Vice President elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President elect shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice President elect shall act as President until a President shall have qualified; and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President elect nor a Vice President elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice President shall have qualified.

The Congress may by law provide for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the House of Representatives may choose a President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death of any of the persons from whom the Senate may choose a Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them.

Section 3 - Disability and Succession

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a three-fifths vote of both Houses of Congress.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Section 4 - Qualifications, Compensation, and Oath of Office

No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, or a Citizen of the United States, who has been for thirty years a citizen of the United States, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States. And no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.

The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.

Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Section 3 - Civilian Power over Military, Cabinet, Pardon Power, Appointments

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States or any State, except in Cases of Impeachment, or when any such Pardon or Reprieve shall be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, heads of Agencies, Institutions, and Executive Department, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Agencies, Institutions, or Departments, and establish fair, equitable, and reasonable criteria of merit for the selection of eligible candidates.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session; but no person rejected by the Senate shall be reappointed to the same office during their ensuing recess.

Section 4 - State of the Union, Convening Congress

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Section 5 – Disqualification

The President, Vice President and judges of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

The principal officer in each of the Executive Departments, and all persons connected with the diplomatic service, may be removed from office at the pleasure of the President. All other officers of the Executive Departments may be removed at any time by the President, or other appointing power, when their services are unnecessary, or for dishonesty, incapacity, inefficiency, misconduct, or neglect of duty; and when so removed, the removal shall be reported to the Senate, together with the reasons therefor.

According to US law, a natural born citizen is any person with both parents being citizens at the time of his/her birth, and born within the territory of the United States. This might need to be added in here somewhere, perhaps under Section 5.
 
Top