Free Republic

Vanity

Institutions Worthy of Our Parties: Should the U.S. Switch to a Parliamentary System? Efforts to curb legislative partisanship have weak track records, so maybe we should consider changing the other side of the equation in order to establish a government that can actually get things done. Rick Hasen has a really interesting paper up discussing partisan polarization and the possibility of changing the Constitution to deal with it. (And you should really read Jonathan Bernstein’s response, too.) Hasen starts off by asking whether we should be considering moving toward a more parliamentary style of government. It’s a fair question. We...

At the interval of about a generation from the passing of the first Reform Act, by a sort of universal consent the Legislature is about to employ itself in enacting a second. This determination has been adopted in circumstances strikingly contrasted with those by which it is usual for constitutional changes to be ushered in, and, at least immediately, brought about. The change to which all are looking forward, has not been pressed upon the ruling powers by impetuous and formidable demonstrations of public sentiment, nor preceded by signs of wide-spread discontent with the working of the existing political institutions....

CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION PREAMBLE We, the People of the State Of California, acknowledging our rights come from God, in order to secure them and in order to promote the good government and order of our state, establish a government similar in principle to that of the Canadian Provinces, in this Constitution. CHAPTER ONE Article 1. The people are free in their persons and property, which can be restricted only insofar as it is necessary for the public safety. Article 2. Freedom of speech and the press shall be respected subject to the need to deter libel and slander, control the publication...