Consitutional Convention

[CSense]

,,,, it has been posted on Artvoice, that former Gov Mario Cuomo has come out to support a Constitutional Convention. He lists a series of things he hopes can come about from a convention...

• The end of “three men in a room” and the return to effective, informed, shared governance.
• A fair method for legislative districting.
• Campaign financing that enhances competitiveness.
• Fair, objective administration of elections.
• Proper balance between the legislative and executive branches in budgeting and filling vacancies in high office.
• An effective, enforceable ethics provision that modernizes the constitution’s current anti-corruption provisions
• A unified court system.
• Merit selection and retention of judges.
• A 21st century system of local government.

Now I am in favor and agree with the man but I have one question, Where was this epiphany 25 years ago when he was basking and thriving with the three men in a room, gerrymandered districts, campaign financing, etc....?

I find it incredibly hypocritical and loathing when former idiots NOW decide that OTHER people should do the RIGHT thing, especially when yhey had the power and the influence to do it themselves.

IMHO, he should just shut his trap and fall into the fold, the man ruined our state during his tenure and now thinks he can sit on the sidelines and tell us what to do. For the sake of NY, he should move away and never be heard from again.

PATHETIC!

[nogods]

The NYS Constitution can be amended by votes of two consecutive legislative sessions followed by approval by voter referendum. In fact, an amendment was passed by voter referendum this past November.

Whenever I hear politicians clamoring for a Constitutional convention I know they are blowing smoke - all they have to do is have a friendly legislator propose the amendment to get the ball rolling.

It doesn't take a constituional convention to to change the NYS Consitution.

[Jim Ostrowski]

The problem with constitutions is there is no way to enforce them.

[Sylvan]

The problem with constitutions is there is no way to enforce them.

fires and guns

[Bioguy231]

,,,, it has been posted on Artvoice, that former Gov Mario Cuomo has come out to support a Constitutional Convention. He lists a series of things he hopes can come about from a convention...

• The end of “three men in a room” and the return to effective, informed, shared governance.
• A fair method for legislative districting.
• Campaign financing that enhances competitiveness.
• Fair, objective administration of elections.
• Proper balance between the legislative and executive branches in budgeting and filling vacancies in high office.
• An effective, enforceable ethics provision that modernizes the constitution’s current anti-corruption provisions
• A unified court system.
• Merit selection and retention of judges.
• A 21st century system of local government.

Now I am in favor and agree with the man but I have one question, Where was this epiphany 25 years ago when he was basking and thriving with the three men in a room, gerrymandered districts, campaign financing, etc....?

I find it incredibly hypocritical and loathing when former idiots NOW decide that OTHER people should do the RIGHT thing, especially when yhey had the power and the influence to do it themselves.

IMHO, he should just shut his trap and fall into the fold, the man ruined our state during his tenure and now thinks he can sit on the sidelines and tell us what to do. For the sake of NY, he should move away and never be heard from again.

PATHETIC!

What's even more pathetic is that his little boy now wants to get his daddy's old job and further ruin the state.

[Jim Ostrowski]

The right to bear arms has protected the American people from the kind of mass death by government that has plagued many other countries but it has failed to keep the government otherwise within the constitution.

What would have worked was secession but we know how that ended.

Another external check, juries, have failed for reasons I have written about extensively. (Hint, government schools.)

Bottom line: you need an external check to keep government honest. When you rely on government to keep itself honest, you end up with the mess we have now.

[dtwarren]

Former Gov. Cuomo did push for a Constitutional Convention in 1993.

[dtwarren]

What's even more pathetic is that his little boy now wants to get his daddy's old job and further ruin the state.

This is the father (Mario) calling for this not the son (Andrew).

[CSense]

Former Gov. Cuomo did push for a Constitutional Convention in 1993.

He didn't push hard enough. He was elected three times but didn't have the political influence to have it approved by voters? I call bs!

[run4it]

The right to bear arms has protected the American people from the kind of mass death by government that has plagued many other countries but it has failed to keep the government otherwise within the constitution.

What would have worked was secession but we know how that ended.

Another external check, juries, have failed for reasons I have written about extensively. (Hint, government schools.)

Bottom line: you need an external check to keep government honest. When you rely on government to keep itself honest, you end up with the mess we have now.

Your 2d amendment screed there is lovely prose, if completely unsupported by any sort of fact.

My main question though is your slap at public education. Does it bother you that people with educations from public schools constantly take you behind the woodshed and whack the hell out of you when it comes to these arguments?

Specifically in this instance (and post): jury nullification. You're all for a republic, in which representatives are elected or appointed to form a group which passes laws and governs. Until of course we come across a law you don't particularly like, at which point you suggest a group of 9 people should go cabal and completely undo what a duly elected legislature saw fit to put in place? Talk about a contradiction (not out of character for you though).

Hey, you never did tell us whether your kids could identify how many times taxes are mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. How's that private education thing doing for ya?

[WNYresident]

The right to bear arms has protected the American people from the kind of mass death by government that has plagued many other countries but it has failed to keep the government otherwise within the constitution.

What would have worked was secession but we know how that ended.

Another external check, juries, have failed for reasons I have written about extensively. (Hint, government schools.)

Bottom line: you need an external check to keep government honest. When you rely on government to keep itself honest, you end up with the mess we have now.

Which also means you can't expect the people who created the mess to fix the mess. THey will just give you excuses and bull**** you.

[run4it]

Which also means you can't expect the people who created the mess to fix the mess. THey will just give you excuses and bull**** you.

Eh, I'm all for post facto epiphanies. After all, politicians pay taxes too (generally far more than the average person). Once they're done "playing the game" so to speak, I can see it all the sudden hitting them that stuff ain't exactly quite right.

(this is not to say that I don't think Cuomo is completely without personal motive here)

[Jim Ostrowski]

I see we have yet another cyberstalker with low self-esteem. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. You're in over your head. Read my article on jury nullification.

[run4it]

I see we have yet another cyberstalker with low self-esteem. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. You're in over your head. Read my article on jury nullification.

Ok, I just did read it.

And you call me an idiot.

Lucky for you that you weren't trying to get any sort of college grade for that tripe. You contradict yourself, draw unsupported conclusions, and twist what is explicitly written in your source documents into things unrecognizeable. You also, in a paper on jury nullifications, manage to throw in shrill screams against socialist governments and your 2d amendment deceptions.

In the paper you specifically refer to the "founders" being in favor of a republican form of government. I laid out that very argument above, and explained how the practice of jury nullification completely circumvents such a form of government. Do the people here who don't feel like reading your 20 or so page drivel and answer that directly.

Then maybe you can explain how individual juries arbitrarily deciding to ignore duly established law does not violate Constitutional protections of equal protection, against unusual punishment, and the very idea of the right to a trial by jury to begin with. (after all, trials protect the public [as complainant]as much as they protect the accused).

I am not arguing that juries do not have a de facto power of nullification. I am arguing that to use it completely circumvents the republican form of government you claim to so cherish, and the very Constitution you claim to so well understand and defend.

As of yet, you haven't refuted any of the above. Care to give the "little information" from my public education a shot? Or do you just want to call me an idiot troll with low self esteem? (Even if I were to agree to those, it wouldn't change the fact that you're wrong and can't support your arguments here)

Oh yeah, and you haven't told us about the taxes/Declaration thing yet either. I mean, do you even know?

[tomac]

What's even more pathetic is that his little boy now wants to get his daddy's old job and further ruin the state.

Don't blame Cuomo for ruining the State of New York; that job was started by Nelson Rockefeller when he expanded the Welfare System from a helping hand to a lifestyle for anyone in the United States or its territories.
Each governor since then has merely added to it as they cynically look for more votes. The governor and other politicans that vote to cut it back to the Federally-mandated level will not only see themselves voted out of office in the next election; they'll be lucky to survive to the next election!
And for what it's worth, I have no use for Cuomo (father or son); I'm looking for a fiscal conservative to take the reins and lead the state back to sanity.