Tag Archives: requirements for Congress

Let’s Upgrade The Job Requirements!

Posted on by under education, History, Law and justice, Political commentary, voting rights

Back in 1787 when the Founders were drafting what would become the U.S. Constitution, the put in place very few requirements for the office of president and also for seats in the U.S. Congress.  This made sense in 1787 because few, if any, had formal college educations and given that this nation was in its infant stages, none had experience in our nascent government.  But that was 235 years ago and since that time much has changed.  As I look at some members of this, the 117th Congress, and as I look at the former president [sic], I firmly believe the time has come to update the requirements for these highest offices in the land!

Let’s take a look at those requirements.

President

Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 lays out the requirements for the office of President of the United States:

No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

That’s it … three qualifications … a natural born citizen, age 35 or older, and a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years.

House of Representatives

Article I, Section 2 specifies the requirements for a member of the House of Representatives:

No Person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained to the Age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen.

Senate

Article I, Section 3 defines the requirements for a member of the Senate:

No Person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty Years, and been nine Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State for which he shall be chosen.

Again, this made a good bit of sense in 1787, but today?  Not so much.  The last person who occupied the Oval Office had never even read the U.S. Constitution, had no relevant college education, no prior government experience or legal experience, unless you count his thousands of lawsuits.  How could this happen?

So, what would I add to the qualifications listed in the first two Articles of the Constitution?  For starters, I would add an educational requirement, that candidates for the presidency, vice-presidency, or Congress must have, at a minimum, a Bachelor’s degree in either law, history, or political science.  Also, I would like to see them required to pass a test on their knowledge of the U.S. Constitution.  Do you know that immigrants to this nation, in order to qualify for citizenship, must pass a civics test to evaluate their knowledge of U.S. history and government?  In essence, it is harder to become a citizen than to become president!  The oath of office for the president states:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

Now, just how can you swear to preserve, protect, and defend a document you’ve never read?  C’mon, folks, the Constitution in its entirety is just under 8,000 words long.  The original, before any amendments, is 4,400 words.  This isn’t exactly War and Peace, my friends!  I have read it more than a few times, often in a single sitting!

I would require a background check and any credible accusations of sexual abuse, domestic abuse, or financial improprieties would automatically disqualify that person.

And one last thing I would like to see is a wealth cap.  I don’t want either a president or senator or representative who was born with a silver spoon in his/her mouth and has no idea what it means to have to budget, to sometimes have to forego a purchase because money is tight.  I don’t want someone sitting in Washington with millions … or billions … of dollars to his name that allow him to live in an Ivory Tower so high up that he/she does not even see We the People.  And I don’t want a president or member of Congress who can buy his/her seat, nor do I want one so obsessed with money that they are willing to sell their future votes to the highest bidder for campaign donations. The Citizens United v FEC decision destroyed the integrity of politicians in this nation, and I would love to see it overturned, but we all know it won’t happen.

If my suggestions had been implemented some time ago, we would not have such corrupt and trashy people in our Congress today as Margie Greene, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Elise Stefanik, Madison Cawthorn and more.  The Constitution was always intended to grow with the nation, to be a flexible and dynamic document that would meet the needs of today but also of tomorrow.  The framers of that document would be horrified to see today’s corruption in every branch and at every level, completely disregarding the needs of the people of this nation … the people who pay their salaries, benefits, travel, and other perks.

Time To Raise The Bar

Posted on by under Election 2020, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Rants, Social commentary

The qualifications for becoming a U.S. senator are:

  • Must be at least 30 years of age
  • Must be a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years
  • Must reside in the state he/she would represent

The qualifications for becoming a U.S. representative are:

  • Must be at least 25 years of age
  • Must be a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years
  • Must reside in the state he/she would represent

You will notice there are no educational requirements, no IQ requirements, no need to prove competency or fitness for office.  Founding Father James Madison of Virginia wrote that …

“Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious faith.”

Perhaps, knowing what we know today, we would write that a bit differently …

“Under these skimpy limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to every man or woman with or without intellect, with or without conscience, and with sufficient wealth to live in a manner far above those people he represents such that he or she will never understand their needs.”

Today, there are 249 Republicans in Congress, and of those, only 26 … barely 10% … are willing to acknowledge the proven fact that Joe Biden won the November election.  On Wednesday, Trump posted a 46-minute video Wednesday evening in which he wrongly claimed he had defeated Biden and leveled wild and unsubstantiated allegations of “corrupt forces” who stole the outcome from the sitting president.  The next day, The Washington Post surveyed all 249 Republicans in the House and Senate, and here are the results …

WaPo-chart

Click here for a full listing of how each senator or representative responded.

The silence is deafening, don’t you think?  The two who claim that Donald Trump actually won the election are Mo Brooks  from Alabama and Louie Gohmert  from Texas, both of whom have been on my radar in the past for their abominable actions as representatives in Congress.

In 1787, when the requirements for office were first written, few people had college educations, few had experience in government, so it made sense to set a low bar for those seeking office.  The goal was to elect people who cared about the country, who would work to make our government one that was “by the people, of the people, and for the people.”  But times have changed … dramatically!  The goal is still the same, but the means of achieving the goal have become far more complex than they were 233 years ago.  We have failed to keep up with the times in many ways, and today the requirements for office in both the executive and legislative branches are pitifully inadequate.

That so few members of the Republican Party are willing to put the best interests of the country ahead of their own is simply unconscionable and in my book is grounds for impeachment.  They certainly have the right to their own personal beliefs, but they have an obligation to uphold their oath of office, which they have long since abandoned.

The damage that is being done to our country by their refusal to accept the results of this election will last for decades.  In essence, they are saying that our election process is null and void, that you cannot trust it, and that our votes do not matter.  WHY are they doing this?  For their own self-interest.  Except for the nutcases like Brooks and Gohmert – both of whom should have been impeached long ago – the majority of those who are silent on the outcome of the election are afraid … afraid of Donald Trump.

Only a handful support Trump’s goal of overturning the election results, of silencing our voices, but the silence of the 200+ who refuse to admit Biden’s victory are complicit by their silence.  I’ve heard people say that the Democrats refused to accept Trump’s election in 2016, but the morning after media outlets called Trump the winner, Hillary Clinton conceded and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer spoke by phone with Trump. Schumer issued a statement shortly thereafter congratulating the president-elect and calling for Americans to “come together.”  A stark contrast to the GOP response today!

Largely because of the refusal to publicly acknowledge the election results, some 77% of the republican voters now believe that the election was ‘rigged’, was ‘stolen’ from Donald Trump, and that Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner.  We don’t know yet what results this will have on our society, but an intelligent person can guess.  Violence in the streets?  A refusal to abide by anything Biden says?  Increased racial violence?  Or worse?

ryan-mcconnellThere will be no dearth of long-term effects, as well.  The people of this nation, led by the assholes in Congress, are destroying themselves.  When asked about the election results, if he accepted Joe Biden as the President-elect, Mitch McConnell replied …

“The future will take care of itself.”

How profound … NOT!  McConnell is only the lead jackass, and the rest of the braying donkeys are following his lead.  Where they are leading this nation is not a good place.  Government exists for the people … all the people.  The majority of the people spoke loud and clear on November 3rd … we are tired of an autocrat calling the shots, disregarding our very lives, and we want a return to a government that works for us … ALL of us, not only those who are wealthy or powerful.  We expect our elected senators and representatives to REPRESENT us, not to disregard our voices and pander to a madman who is destroying this nation.

I plan to write a letter to the major newspapers in my state to voice my objection to the lack of conscience being exhibited by my elected officials.  I don’t know if it will do any good, but I have to try.  Meanwhile, I think it is time to revise the eligibility requirements for members of Congress, and while we’re at it, for the president … it’s time we raise the bar, for right now the bar is lying on the ground.