Amend the Constitution to Prevent Another Trump The last four years have shown how little president

[applegrove]

Amend the Constitution to Prevent Another Trump

The last four years have shown how little presidential misbehavior is constrained by law.

By Rit Aggarwala at Bloomberg

November 13, 2020, 12:00 PM EST

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-11-13/democrats-should-amend-the-constitution-to-prevent-another-trump?srnd=premium

"SNIP.....

Much of the relief felt from President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is in the return to a presidency based on behavioral norms. President Donald Trump’s years in office reminded us how important those norms are, and also proved that many of them have little or no legal force. 

One of the Biden administration’s first steps should be to propose a constitutional amendment to establish the most important presidential standards in law — an amendment that would be in keeping with American constitutional history.

Trump began to break traditions from the start of his candidacy. From refusing to release his tax returns to interfering with Justice Department investigations, he's exploited the extent to which we have relied on personal restraint to protect institutions. By gutting the government's watchdog functions, the Trump administration eliminated many of the checks against bad behavior. The ultimate enforcement mechanisms — impeachment and indictment — don’t work in a Senate willing to countenance the president’s behavior and with a Justice Department that is directed to facilitate it. 

A 28th constitutional amendment could keep this from happening again. First, an amendment should work against conflicts of interest by making the disclosure of tax returns well before Election Day an eligibility requirement for federal offices. And it should expand the Constitution's emoluments clause, which bars the president from accepting gifts or favors from foreign states, to explicitly include the president and his or her immediate family, and cover businesses held directly and indirectly.

.....SNIP"

[roamer65]

1. The next amendment should dump the EC.

If we would have done it years ago, there would have been no Bu$h 43 or Dump admins.

[Progressive Law]

3. Except none of the rural states will agree. And we need their agreement to amend the Constitution.

[roamer65]

5. I think some sort of compromise would be worth it.

The damn EC is killing this country.

[PufPuf23]

9. A better method we be to turn the Red States into Blue States.

Would not happen immediately but FDR was strong in what are now Red States.

A Green New Deal program of the scope of WPA / CCC / TVA / etc. could bring rural USA back in the fold of the Democratic Party.

If the Red States still want to remain the Confederacy, maybe then it is time to kick them out of the Union.

It may be a third rail but we should get churches paying taxes and getting out of education and politics.

Lots of easy to procure public education for all.

[BootinUp]

2. To dream the impossible dream!

Worthy cause for sure.

[LaMouffette]

6. I can think of two other amendments.

1. Limit the power of the president to issue pardons, especially blanket pardons and self-pardons.

2. Make every presidential candidate submit to a background check, including an exhaustive examination of his or her financial history, and be deemed eligible to receive a top secret security clearance by members of both parties prior to any primary elections taking place.

[regnaD kciN]

7. One thing this 28th Amendment should also contain...

...is a clear-cut statement that a sitting president can be put on trial for federal and state crimes, and must turn over power to the V.P. if indicted on a charge carrying a prison term.

Otherwise, any clarification of the emoluments clause will do no good, if a president cannot be indicted while in office, thus making the only remedy impeachment. We’ve seen how futile that is.

[Blue_true]

8. We have to turn 3/4 of US state legislatures solidly blue and keep them

that way until the amendments are ratified.

[Freddie]

10. Change the 25th Amendment

The power to remove a president for health reasons (physical or mental) should be determined by an independent, nonpartisan commission of physicians and psychiatrists. This is now the 3rd time in fairly recent history (Wilson’s stroke, Reagan’s Alzheimer’s) that the 25th Amendment should have been invoked and partisan forces refused to do so.