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To: general_re
Constitutional amendments are intrinsicly valid and proper. It is impossible for an amendment to be unconstitutional, and I've never understood the logic in arguing otherwise.
28 posted on 12/06/2002 9:41:07 AM PST by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone
Can Bush "fix" the 9th ckt? Surely there are some openings.
29 posted on 12/06/2002 9:48:33 AM PST by chuckles
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To: Dog Gone
Dude, don't ask me. Love it or hate it, the 14'th is here to stay. ;)
31 posted on 12/06/2002 9:55:24 AM PST by general_re
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To: Dog Gone
Constitutional amendments are intrinsicly valid and proper. It is impossible for an amendment to be unconstitutional, and I've never understood the logic in arguing otherwise.

The same can be said of Supreme Court decisions -- since none of the other divisions of power (president, congress, people) assert majoritarianly that the Supreme Court can't interpret the Constitution. I know many individuals and philosophies argue that it isn't even up to the Supreme Court to interpret the Constitution, but that's not the majoritarian view of the branches of government/people. So while they can continue to advocate that position -- it is illogical to say the Court itself is acting in an unconstitutional manner.

Again, that's why Libertarians hinge their principles on something more objective than the Constitution -- as useful as a good Constitution can be.

33 posted on 12/06/2002 10:19:10 AM PST by jlogajan
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To: Dog Gone
"Constitutional amendments are intrinsicly valid and proper. It is impossible for an amendment to be unconstitutional, and I've never understood the logic in arguing otherwise." -DG-


Chief Justice Marshall argued just that point in 1803, quite logically, in Marbury v Madison.
-- In essence he made the point that our original Constitution/Bill of Rights were based on fundamental individual liberties, and that if acts were passed repugnant to those basic principles, they would be null & void, having violated the spirit of the social contract, the constitution itself.
Thus, an amendment nullifying the 2nd would void the entire basis of our republic.
50 posted on 12/06/2002 3:29:53 PM PST by tpaine
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To: Dog Gone
Constitutional amendments are intrinsicly valid and proper. It is impossible for an amendment to be unconstitutional, and I've never understood the logic in arguing otherwise.

An amendment which made the number of Senators from each state variable (based on population, GNP, number of movie stars in residence, or any other basis) would clearly be void from its inception unless either (1) it was ratified unanimously, or (2) every state which did not ratify it would have at least 1/(number of states) of the Senators unless or until such time as they ratified it.

The existing Seventeenth Amendment is perhaps questionable for much the same reason, since there are IIRC three states that were present at its ratification but have not ratified it themselves (any state that ratified the Seventeenth presumably consented to it; likewise any state that joined the Union after the Seventeenth was in force). Of course, even if the legislatures of those three states were found to have the power to appoint Senators themselves independent of the popular vote, I doubt any of them would want to do so.

54 posted on 12/06/2002 4:32:14 PM PST by supercat
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To: Dog Gone
Constitutional amendments are intrinsicly valid and proper. It is impossible for an amendment to be unconstitutional, and I've never understood the logic in arguing otherwise.

Articles in Amendment to the US Constitution were enumerations of what the Fed Gov. could not do. They were not intended to be uo so the Fed Gov. could give themselves additonal power. Notice the little clause behind most of them how the Congress gives itself the power to enforce the later amendments. In fact, most of the Amenedments past the 11th are illegitimate. sui

146 posted on 12/06/2002 10:24:09 PM PST by suijuris
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