U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 5 begins thus:
Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members
Which has worked well enough so far, overall, and should continue to do so as long as a majority of each House is acting in good faith.
However.
Suppose... just for the sake of argument... that, by a simple majority vote, the House of Representatives determines that being a Party member in good standing is a required qualification for the position of Representative. (Pick a party, any party. Assume, if it helps, that the Potrzebie Party has somehow gained a majority in the House.)
Suddenly a temporary majority has become permanent one-party rule. If the Potrzebie Party also controls the Senate at the same time, and likewise adopts such a rule there, that's the entire Legislative Branch forever controlled by one party - and by a party with enough party discipline to enact such a rule, which implies that removing an President, or other official, not of the Party would be a trivial matter.
Such an action would be completely nuts, and unspeakably destructive. And yet... look at all the crazy things being done by politicians all over the world right now. I don't think "acting in good faith" is a safe assumption, nor even "being minimally connected to reality".
Article I, Section 5 does have potential for abuse. How would you improve it?
Posted by: john smith | Sunday, 22 May 2022 at 02:07
Hey, I don't have the answers; I have enough difficulty keeping on top of everyday life. I had All The Answers when I was a teenager....
Posted by: Eric Wilner | Sunday, 22 May 2022 at 04:40