Amendments are as American as apple pieReader comment on: Schumer Versus The First Amendment Submitted by ben (United States), Nov 23, 2011 20:08 The argument that we should not tinker with the constitution is nonsense. If we didn't, African-Americans would still be 3/5ths of a person and women would not be voting. The founders knew that they could not anticipate every eventuality, so they built a mechanism into the constitution that allowed it to change. Amending the constitution is a very difficult thing to do, requiring the overwhelming support of the people. Of course, the people won't need 99% to get this amendment passed, but this is clearly in response to the growing feeling that the government is rigged. The campaign finance system is broken. Politicians are at the mercy of their donors and do what will bring in the fundraising, not necessarily what is right for the country. I would be more in favor of a system like Bruce Ackerman has outlined in which everyone would get a certain amount of money to give to whichever candidate he/she would like. Relative to the size and importance of our political campaigns, I don't think there is too much money involved, but rather that the money is coming from too few contributors who then expect payback. Amend away. As for campaign commercials, I am not sure your proposal will be any more effective than a simple graphic showing where a particular candidate gets his/her money from. The 1% really do control the political process to a frightening extent. Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing. The Future of Capitalism replies: I'm not saying we shouldn't tinker with the Constitution. The First Amendment was a tinkering with the Constitution. But it's such a fine amendment that I don't think it needs fixing. Submit a comment on this article Other reader comments on this item
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