What if We Could Rewrite the Constitution To Fix the Republic

By Rich Kozlovich

Culture is a universally accepted set of foundational beliefs and perceptions that lead to the formation of a society, presumably, and hopefully, a stable society.  We now have an issue with what’s universally accepted. So, what if we could rewrite the Constitution? There’s a lot of talk about an Article V Convention to fix all the issues confounding America today.

Well, that’s interesting because we no longer have a universally accepted cultural foundation as the left has undermined all the traditional values that created the nation by infiltrating the nation's institutions, including religion, education, unions, entertainment, the media, big corporations, and the departments of the federal government working surreptitiously behind the scenes to destroy the American identity, the American culture, the American economy, and the Constitution.    While many were aware of this for decades, we're now discovering just how bad the corruption has been with all these DOGE exposures, and how bad the federal judiciary has been contaminated.  

Also, we don’t really know what would happen if an Article V convention was convened. While I’ve read conflicting opinions, I’m convinced once the states decide the Constitution needs serious adjustment via an Article V Convention, that Convention can go pretty much do whatever it darn well pleases. Just because it may start out with just wanting a balanced budget, there’s nothing preventing them from going way beyond that.

There is absolutely no outline, rules, or restrictions in the Constitution for what an Article V Convention may do, but it was the clear intent of the Founding Fathers that neither the Congress, the President of the United States, nor the courts can interfere, in any way by simply not saying they could interfere, or make rules up to control the Convention.  Since the Constitution failed to outline any restrictions, there are no restrictions.

But what would everyone want in a new Constitution?  It’s hard to say, but make no mistake, without conservatives taking strong stands, willing to be rocks in the current and bravely facing the slings and arrows from the left, the left would go full Marxist, and the Pravda media would beat their drums 24/7 in support of the worst possible outcome, and many so-called conservatives would fold like the invertebrates they are.   But here’s what I think should be done.

For years I’ve been saying we need a 28th Amendment to fix the biggest mistake the Founding Fathers made. Lifetime appointments to the federal judiciary, and while giving the Congress the right to determine the jurisdiction of the courts, they failed to define boundaries for the courts.

Of course, at that time, the only federal court was the Supreme Court of the U.S., but that’s changed dramatically over the years. Now there are 94 district courts, 13 circuit courts, and one Supreme Court, and each and every one of them is shot full of not very bright, incompetent political hacks, including SCOTUS, the only Constitutionally mandated federal court.

All the rest are creations of Congress, and any one of them can be eliminated by Congress, which Congress did in the 19th century. Believe it or not, once again, the Constitution gives Congress the authority to determine the jurisdiction of the federal judiciary, not federal jurists, nor SCOTUS.   My position has been since Congress refuses to put the federal judiciary in its place, it’s my view has been there needs to be a 28th Amendment creating term and age limits for the federal judiciary, and done so in this manner:

There are three levels of the federal judiciary: The District level, the Appeals level, and the Supreme Court. Each level should have a ten-year limit, with a review after five years requiring a majority approval by the Senate. At each level, each nominee would have to go through the same process, even if nominated to a higher court, before they finish their term in a lower court. If their term runs out and they’re not nominated to a higher court, they may be nominated at some point in the future. No jurist can return to a lower court if their term runs its course at a higher level, and no jurist can ever be appointed to a court if their nomination to any court has ever been rejected by the Senate.

No jurist may serve after the age of seventy. Make 9 Justices a Constitutionally fixed number to avoid the kind of court packing FDR attempted to do, and Joe Biden and the Democrats are attempting to do now.

But as time has gone by, I realized that wasn’t nearly enough to fix the nation.   Do not be deluded, the nation is in the midst of a third revolution, and the courts are part of that insurrection.  

You know those commercials that spout, “But wait. There’s more!” Well, I decided what’s needed is “a lot more” in an all “New and Improved” 28th Amendment. An all-new and improved omnibus Amendment addressing a host of Constitutional issues in order to fix the nation. I’ve added seventeen sections to this amendment.

My new and improved 28th Amendment:

1. I would not only fix the judiciary with term and age limits, and fix the number of SCOTUS members at nine, and given some of the rulings now coming from the judiciary from some who were foreign born, require all federal judges to be natural born citizens.  It should also include term limits for all federally elected officials. Three two-year terms for the House of Representatives. 
2. Repeal the 17th Amendment, and give Senators one six-year term.   The Founding Fathers created the House to represent the people, which is why all tax bills must originate in the House.   The Senate was to represent the states. Senators were appointed by the states to be de facto ambassadors to the central government in order to prevent what we’re seeing right now, a federal government that's out of control.
3. All federally elected officials may be recalled by their states. The House members by public vote by whatever margin the states may choose, and Senators by agreement between their state legislatures and their governors.
4. Repeal the 16th Amendment. End income tax.
5. Eliminate the Federal Reserve and return the nation’s financial responsibilities to the Legislative and Executive branches, in order to make them accountable.
6. Repeal the 26th Amendment that gave 18-year-olds the right to vote in federal elections, and raise the voting age to 30. The right to vote should be earned, and that can only be done with time. By age 30, people’s brains start to work properly.
7. Create sunset mandates that cover all laws, regulations, taxes, and government agencies. And these sunset clauses should include all departments of the federal government except State, Treasury, Justice, Interior, and Defense.
8. Congress shall define in the clearest possible terms the five permanent departments must recognize the Constitution is the law governing government, and state all regulation are in fact laws that must be approved by Congress, or face charges of treason, or sedition,
9. Every budget the House of Representatives and the Senate send to the President must be balanced, and the Congress must present a yearly budget to the President, by a specified date. If they fail to do so, they will cease being paid until it’s approved.
10. Retire the national debt, with a hard debt limit. A debt limit that can only be overturned by approval of three-fifths of each of the houses of Congress and the President of the United States.
11. These five departments should be eliminated entirely:  the Department of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, Education, Energy, and Labor. All others can be folded into the five permanent departments, or preferably become agencies, bureaus, etc, all with five year sunset reviews.
12. Make all federally elected officials, and their staffs, employees of their state's government ending their federal employee status. The states shall determine the size of their staff, and fund employment benefits for all.  All federal retirement funds for these personnel shall be sent to the states for appropriate distribution and definition. Security and office space shall be provided by the Federal government.
13. Strengthen the First Amendment, and specifically end New York Times v. Sullivan where the Supreme Court gave the media the right to lie without consequence.
    
14. Strengthen the Second Amendment preventing local or state authorities from passing gun laws without the approval of Congress and the President of the United States.
15. Washington D.C. is a city that shall be totally governed by the federal government and cannot have representatives in Congress.
16. No state may change the Electoral College system requiring all their electoral votes to go to the popular vote winner.
17. Strengthen immigration restrictions, stating immigration into America is not a right, it's a privilege, and end birthright citizenship.  Only children born of legal immigrants who become citizens can have citizenship via birth, and that right will automatically be bestowed when legal immigrants become citizens.

And that’s the way I see it. What say you?