Posted on 12/22/2010 1:04:20 PM PST by brytlea
President Obama secured another major legislative victory Wednesday with the Senate ratification of a nuclear arms treaty with Russia.
Vice President Biden presided over the Senate's 71-26 vote with Secretary Hillary Clinton in attendance.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
It would require a Constitutional amendment to ban Congress from holding a lame duck session. (Congress could limit its sessions to a couple of months a year if it wanted too on its own authority, but it doesn't have the desire to do so, therefore a constitutional amendment would probably be required.)
However, the problem with banning lame duck sessions is that there would need to be a clause allowing for Congress to convene for an emergency session to handle situations such as sneak attacks on the US or other serious crises which could happen during the lame duck session when Congress would not, theoretically, be allowed to meet if lame duck sessions were banned. However, if we allowed the President to summon emergency sessions during the Lame duck period, then the president would soon abuse this privilege by just declaring any insignificant event to be an "emergency" just to call Congress into session and ram controversial legislation through. This would effectively render the ban on lame duck sessions useless. (By the way, this is why I think term limits are also a bad idea, because they can turn an entire congress into a 2yr lame duck session where they do not fear the voters at all).
The best way to get rid of the lame duck problem is to swear the newly elected Congressman in within a few days of the election and kick the old ones out...that way Congress doesn't have enough time to retaliate against the American people during the lame duck session for voting them out. Another thing that needs to be considered is how to ban Congressmen from getting cushy jobs working for lobbyists after they are kicked out.
Corker is up for re-election in ‘12. Lamar! Alexander is up in ‘14.
and vote. I voted. I called and received tybfu letters.
Before obama is a lame duck a lot more water will have ran under the bridge than it has now. Fools, idiots, traitors, and parasites elected him and they will re-elect him.
“The 11 Republican senators who voted in favor of moving ahead with the treaty . . . .”
We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us in the primaries the next few cycles.
I hope we can take out several of these jelly-spined Republican pantywaists in 2012.
Kirk voted no. hhhmmmmm?
Just a couple more thoughts on possible constitutional amendments against lame duck sessions. It occurs to me that if you don’t want to shorten the term of the lame duck session and swear the new congressman in immediately, other constitutional amendments could be put in place to stipulate that all laws passed in a lame duck session have a sunset clause of “X” months or until the new Congress meets. Another possibility is to pass an amendment that requires all legislation passed in the lame duck session to be confirmed by the new congress when they convene. I suppose that a constitutional amendment could also ban the Congress from ratifying treaties in the Lame Duck session.
I recall reading that. Dubious thing to be remembered for.
Why? Neither one of them are Conservatives.
I really hate what's gone on in the last few days!
I will say one thing for you. If Hitler had you as his propaganda Minister in World War 2, he would have won the war.
Does anyone know if their is a withdrawal clause in this treaty?
The price for getting the tax extension bill passed ... is to be bi-partisan and pass the rest too.
But then again, Congress Critters are famous for talking out of both sides of their mouth ... or is it their mouths and their buts!
You’re right, that’s probably a better idea. They did try, with the 20th Amendment to improve things. They are such scoundrels you have to always assume they are going to try to screw us. Isn’t that sad? In fact, it’s pathetic.
OK, those aren’t bad ideas either. Hey, you’re pretty smart. I nominate you! :)
Well...there goes the bond market....DADT....+ the START Treaty effectively demilitarizes the US. Just as did Jimmy Carter.
No reason left for the international community to buy US bonds.
Thats how the world intends to deal with the threat of Constitutional US government.
Got to call you on that one.
GATT (Uruguay) Treaty was passed on Dec 1, 1994 during lame duck.
You may have missed it, because the "news" that day was Jeffery Dahmer getting beat to death in jail.
It will require organized civil disobedience, and most aren’t willing to do that.
Old tactics don’t work in a new world - especially in a new world that most refuse to believe has arrived.
They don't HAVE anything on the usurper per say ... they OWN HIM!
Tom Fife: The First Time I Heard Of Barack [ESSAY & AUDIO INTERVIEW]
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