It’s Time!

In my August 9 post entitled “A Day Late and a Dollar Short” I announced that I would be changing the name of my blog to something better suited to my current goals.  Well that time has come! 

After much soul-searching and Googling, it is my pleasure to present to you Politically Literate!  This new name encompasses the purpose of this blog which is to learn what freedoms our Constitution guarantees and to better understand why politics work the way they do.  As citizens, we all have a responsibility to know what is going on with our government.  To do that we need a working knowledge of the processes that take place.

As I have shared before, I knew very little at the beginning of this process.  I have strong opinions on many subjects and issues, but what I did not have was a clue as too what our elected officials do and why they do it.  If I wanted to be able to effectively share my opinions and possible create change, I had to become Politically Literate. 

To do that I had to begin with the US Constitution.  That was quite a chore, let me tell you.  However that wasn’t enough.  To properly understand the Constitution, I also consulted various government resources and political websites to gain a proper understanding of what the Constitution means.  Some points were very clear.  But there where others that caused me to say “Huh?”. 

You may be asking why a seemingly intelligent person would subject themselves to this kind of mind-numbing task.  There are two reasons.  One, I do it because I believe it is important.  Two, I do it so you don’t have to.  I hope that you feel the pain of my sacrifices and repay me with your continued readership.  If not, a pox on your house! (Just kidding)

With the new name comes a new address!  Your weekly dose of Constitutional goodness can now be found at http://politicallyliterate.wordpress.com.

See ya there!

 

PART 5: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-CONGRESSIONAL PRIVILEGES & PROHIBITIONS

As a fellow citizen, I know you are going to LOVE the first part of Article I § 6. The Senators and Representatives are paid for their service from the Treasury as determined by law. And who makes the law? They do, of course! When I read that I realized why they were able to give themselves such huge pay raises so frequently. They set their on compensation and they must because the Constitution says so. Isn’t that great!

Gimme a minute to collect my thoughts…

Ok. Moving on. While in session or while traveling to or from session, members of Congress are not allowed to be arrested except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace. However, they may still be served in civil and criminal cases. This privilege only applies to arrests.

They also cannot be charged for anything they say in a speech or during debate in either house. This allows Members to speak freely without fear of reprisal. This protection also extends to committee reports, resolutions, and the act of voting on congressional business. As long as the Member was acting in a legitimate legislative activity, they won’t have to worry about litigation as a result of something they said.

Section 6 prohibits a Senator or Representative from being appointed during their time of service to any other civil office that is under the United States’ authority and which they have be involved in creating or improving the benefits of. In other words, while they are serving in either house, they may not resign their position to take a job which they helped create or increased the pay of. The effect is to prevent them from voting to create a better paying job in hopes of getting that job.

This section also excludes anyone having another office under the US’s authority from serving in either house. This exclusion is in place to maintain the integrity of each of the three branches of government.

Next: Passing Acts of Congress

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Part 4: LEGISLATIVE BRANCH-THE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS

Section 4 of the Constitution gives the state legislature the right to determine the “times, places, and manner” of holding elections for Senators and Representatives. That means the state determines things such as the preliminary election processes. They regulate when primaries or caucuses are held. They also determine deadlines for voter registration, the means of preventing fraud, tallying of votes, publishing of those tallies, and the various districts in their states. Despite these freedoms held by the state, the Constitution gives Congress the right to make or change state regulations if Congress decides to implement uniform national rules.

The second clause of this section originally mandated that Congress meet at least once a year beginning on the first Monday of December.  The second section of the 20th Amendment changes that date to noon on January 3.  This date will remain in effect unless Congress passes a law to set a different date.

The fifth section gives each House the power to judge the “elections, returns, and qualifications of its members”. This basically means that if a member is elected who didn’t meet the requirements laid out in the Constitution or there is some question regarding the process that elected them, each House can take action. It also means each house can investigate anything regarding the legality of a state’s election process.

This section also states that a majority of the members in attendance is enough to go forth with any business. If there is only a minority, they may adjourn from day to day, and they can compel members to attend by whatever penalties and procedures each house has established. This was one of the problems they had under the Articles of Confederation. Attendance was not compulsory, and, as a result, few members bothered to attend.

In addition, each house sets the rules of its proceedings, can punish disorderly members, and expel members if 2/3 of those present agree the members should be removed from the proceedings. Each house is required to keep a journal of proceedings and to periodically publish those journals except for parts they determine are better served by secrecy. The votes for or against any congressional matter are only entered in the journal if 1/5 of those present request it.

Section 5 goes on to state that neither house is allowed to adjourn for more than three days without the others consent. They are also not allowed to assemble in any other location than their designated meeting place.

With all the material I have written thus far, it is hard to believe that we are only just beginning. There is still more information contained in Article I. In the coming sections we learn about the powers given to and withheld from Congress, the compensation of its members, and more. You should see just up to this point the amount of thought that went into this constitution of ours.

Next: Congressional Privileges and Prohibitions

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Part 3: Legislative Branch-The Senate

Legislative Branch-The Senate

Section 3 of the first Article of the US Constitution pertains to the Senate. Clause 1 of this section states that the Senate will be made up of 2 duly chosen Senators from each state, each will serve a 6 year term, and each will have one vote in Congress. Originally each states legislature chose the 2 Senators for their state, but the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, gave the citizens the right to elect them.

The first Congress (1789-91), according to the provision in Clause 2, was divided as equally as possible into three groups. The term for the Senators in the first group expired after 2 years, and the term for the Senators in the second group expired after 4. This was done to create a system that held elections for Senators every 2 years. Every Senator since then is elected for the full six year term, but every 2 years 1/3 of the Senate is up for re-election.

Unlike the process for the House of Representatives, if there is a vacancy in the Senate, the Governor of the state can choose a replacement to fill in until a special election can be held as long as the states legislature has given that power to the Governor.

In order to run for the office of Senator the candidate must be 30 years old, a US citizen for 9 years, and a resident of the state they are seeking to represent. The Vice President of the US is president of the Senate and can only vote in order to break a tie. The Senate is allowed to choose their officers and a fill in for the Vice President in case the VP is absent.

Further, the Senate is given the sole power to try impeachments. During the impeachment process they are under oath. When the President is tried the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presides over the proceedings. The President cannot be impeached unless 2/3 of the members present agree. Impeachments can only remove the person on trial from office and they are never allowed to hold any office thereafter. However, that person may still be subject to criminal or civil charges.

Next: The Organization of Congress

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Part 1: What Does the Constitution Say

After many months of heated debate and several rewrites, our founding fathers finally produced a document concrete enough to provide for a strong central government without adversely impacting the freedom of the people. At the same time, this document was flexible enough to allow for change as times and needs changed.

As we go through the text of our Constitution, we will see how this was done.

The US Constitution begins with the Preamble. This serves as an introduction and states the purpose for the articles to follow while also conferring power to them. The preamble reads:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

As we go through this series you will see the thought and care that went into choosing every word. I hope you’re ready. It will take a while to get through the whole document, but once you do you will be glad you did. You will have a greater appreciation for your freedom, a fuller understanding of how our government works, and a firm grasp on the issues that we face today as well as what you can do about them.

The first three articles created the three branches of government and delineated powers granted and forbidden to each. This was to create a system called checks and balance. With the system, no single branch can act independently of the others. Each branch is accountable to the others in some way (which we’ll examine as we go) and all three are accountable to “We the People”.

Next: The Legislative Branch

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