Third Constitution of the United States

~~Third Constitution of the United States

by Roger Copple

 July 22, 2014
Section 1: The Preamble
Section 2:  26 Changes That the Third Constitution Will Make
Section 3: When and How the Third Constitution Will Be Implemented
Section 4: How to Amend and How to Abolish the Third Constitution

Section 1: The Preamble
This Third Constitution of the United States created after the Articles of Confederation and the (second) Constitution of the United States—will maximize democracy, promote world peace, and restore ecological wisdom. 
Section 2:  26 Changes that the Third Constitution Will Make
1.  The United States will take leadership to dismantle all nuclear weapons and nuclear energy power plants, simultaneously and voluntarily, the world over as soon as possible.
2.  The U.S. will bring home all military personnel and close down the government’s 700 military bases around the world.  Even with such a drawdown, our nation will retain more than enough capacity to defend its own borders.  The money previously spent on the military will be used to create jobs and rebuild our nation’s infrastructure: “[A]nd they shall turn their swords into ploughshares.” (Isaiah 2:4)  Many of our existing military ships, submarines, and planes will be used for low-budget travel and tourism to promote goodwill among nations.  
3.  Private financial contributors and corporate lobbyists will no longer have the influence on members of Congress that they have had in the past.  Instead, the Library of Congress will create a website that will become an online forum and clearinghouse for all public policy proposals.  All positions and arguments will be publicized.  Everyone will know who is lobbying for what and why.   Also, the same amount of finances will be publicly provided to the political campaigns of the 7 largest national political parties, and all 7 parties will get equal public exposure. 
4.  The U.S. House of Representatives will be elected through a system of proportional representation, and the U.S. Senate will be abolished.  Currently it is unfair that California and Wyoming have the same number of Senators when California’s population is about 70 times greater.  Representatives will serve 2-year terms.  Since all money will have been taken out of politics, Representatives, like the President, may serve an unlimited number of terms.  This measure will provide some continuity of government.   
The 7 largest national political parties will be empowered in a single-chambered, national legislature.  Here is how Proportional Representation can be explained:  the National Green Party, for example, may get 15 percent of the vote, or 65 members, in the 435-membered House of Representatives, and Indiana’s population currently allows it to have 10 members in the House of Representatives.  But it may be that of the 7 largest national political parties, the Indiana Republican Party will get to select and send 5 of Indiana’s 10 Representatives to the House of Representatives (which alone will be the new Congress) because Indiana is largely a Republican state.  
5.  The Electoral College system for electing a President will no longer be legal.  A President must now win with a majority of individual votes (not just a plurality of votes).  Using the method of Instant Runoff Voting, each American voter will rank 7 slated candidates (one from each of the 7 largest national political parties) from most favorite to least favorite.  And it may take two or more rounds of voting to eliminate the candidate who gets the least amount of votes, until eventually one of the remaining candidates captures at least 51 percent of the vote.  Presidents will serve office for 4-year terms, but they will be allowed to serve an unlimited number of terms.  
The President will not be allowed to veto the decisions of the unicameral national legislature, and he or she will not be allowed to sign any Executive Orders, as previous presidents have done.  All previous presidential executive orders will be evaluated by the new unicameral Congress, and the existing executive orders can then be kept the same, modified, or eliminated by the new Congress.     
6. The Supreme Court, under the Third Constitution, will no longer have judicial review and judicial interpretation of federal legislation.  However, the Supreme Court will have judicial review and judicial interpretation regarding state legislation that conflicts with the national Constitution.
Under the Third Constitution, the Supreme Court will consist of 7 Justices—no longer 9.  The 7 largest national political parties will each just appoint a Justice for the first Supreme Court, but one by one, one Justice per year, each Justice will be either reelected or removed during the third week of every March, using Instant Runoff Voting.  This policy is established so that voters will not feel overwhelmed by trying to vote for 7 Justices all at once. 
The first 7 Supreme Court Justices, appointed in March, will take office on October 1, along with the new president and 435 new national legislators.  Then about 6 months later, during the third week of March, the Supreme Court Justice representing the smallest of the 7 largest national political parties will be considered for reelection or removal.  At that time, each of the other 6 national political parties will also provide a Justice candidate, and Instant Runoff Voting will be used to determine the new Justice from the slate of 7 candidates.  The elected Justice will begin a 7-year term of office.   
Then during the third week of March, one year after the first actual election, the Supreme Court Justice representing the sixth smallest of the 7 largest national political parties will be considered for reelection or removal, using the same methods described above.  The elected Justice will begin a 7-year term of office.
Then during the third week of March, two years after the first election, the Supreme Court Justice representing the fifth smallest of the 7 largest national political parties will be considered for reelection or removal.  The elected Justice will begin a 7-year term.  All of the remaining 4 Supreme Court Justices from the original list of 7 will be either reelected or removed during the third week of March using this same procedure. 
Thereafter, every Justice will serve a 7-year term of office and may, if re-elected by the American people, serve an unlimited number of 7-year terms.  If a Supreme Court Justice dies or resigns, each of the current 7 largest national political parties will provide a candidate, and the American people will choose a new Justice from that list, using Instant Runoff Voting.   Every year, just one Justice will be considered for reelection or removal. 
7.  Implement a decentralized, non-hierarchical, or grassroots, approach to public schools:  The neighbors who live within the boundaries of each public elementary, middle, and high school will be forced, or allowed, to democratically establish their own school philosophy and curriculum, using public funds.  There will no longer be federal, state, county, or township school superintendent control of neighborhood schools.  This should improve neighborhood togetherness and reduce crime, as neighbors ideally become tribal, in a new and modern way. 
Local neighborhood groups will probably search the Internet and study the most effective schools and various school curricula.  Residents will be forced to think independently and philosophically.  In the process, neighbors will get to know one another better, and they will build a close-knit community.  Parents, other residents, and senior citizens will become better educated citizens, as they strive to become better teachers and tutors in the neighborhoods where they live.  The current reliance on public school “experts” who dictate who can teach, what to teach, and how to teach has not worked well for our society.  Using front yards and backyards—organic and composted, local food production can be incorporated into a school district’s curriculum.  
8.  Abolish the Federal Reserve and allow the Treasury Department to oversee a publicly owned banking system like the existing Bank of North Dakota.  Currently the Federal Reserve has pumped $16 trillion into the central banking system to bail out the banks and big corporations, as many people wonder, “Where is my bailout?”
9.  Begin promoting a democratic world federal government that provides equal pay for equal work, with no one earning more than three times the wages of the lowest paid worker.  Americans have gotten cheaper prices at Walmart because someone in Bangladesh, or in some other impoverished place, is working for about 17 cents an hour.  That may be clever, but honestly, is that fair?  This policy will eliminate the extremes of poverty and wealth and provide self-sufficient, local food production, housing, and jobs for all citizens of the world.   The world map can be divided into 500 rectangular-shaped, legislative districts of equal population to create a World Legislative Council.  This democratic World Legislative Council will then make executive and judicial branch appointments. 
Until the World Legislative Council is established, the United Nations should be changed so that all nations can participate in making all decisions, giving each nation one vote.  The five nations that are permanent members of the Security Council within the United Nations have too much power.  All nations should participate in Security Council decisions.
10.  Implement a national progressive income tax up to 94 percent for any income amounts over $100,000 with a simplified tax code, which, ironically, is similar to what we had under Republican President Eisenhower. 
11.   Phase out fossil fuels through government incentives, and use solar, wind, hemp, and other alternative fuels instead. 
12.  Provide free post high school, public education for students whose parent(s) have an annual income of less than $100,000. 
13.  Legalize commercial hemp, medical marijuana, and the private use of marijuana for adults, on a national level.  If marijuana is safer, why are we driving people to drink?
14.  Call for a new, independent investigation of 9/11 with subpoena powers, especially in regards to Building 7, which was not even hit by a plane, but fell at the speed of gravity into its own footprints at 5 pm on that tragic day.  And Building 7 was not even mentioned in the initial Official 9/11 Commission Report, an investigation that was not done until two years later and then by government insiders, with an extremely limited budget.
Nanothermite explosives were gathered from the World Trade Center debris shortly after the towers fell on 9/11 by Physics professor, Dr. Steven Jones.  He and a team of nine scientists published their paper in the Bentham Chemical Physics Journal, which is respected by Nobel Laureates and other members of the scientific community.  Also, the majority of 9/11 Commissioners now say the government lied about 9/11, according to the website www.investigate9ll.org.
15.  Provide economic incentives for organic and composted, local food production in backyards and front yards, and promote food cooperatives that provide locally grown food. Require that all genetically modified foods be labeled. 
16.  Provide the best research and incentives to the 50 states on the best ways they can rewrite their state constitutions and possibly restructure their state governments from the bottom-up, not the top-down: from the neighborhood block club, to the precinct, township, county or city council.  Each level of legislative government could make executive and judicial branch appointments.  Elected legislators at each level would vote among themselves to send a legislator to the next level above it.  Giving more power to the legislative branch at each level may work better than the current policy in which many individuals (if they even vote) vote a straight ticket for several races, for candidates whom they know nothing about.  State legislatures, like the national legislature, can be elected using a system of proportional representation.   
17.  Require workplace democracy in companies that have 7 or more employees.  Workers will participate in determining the company’s direction, employee wages, and the selection of bosses, instead of relying solely on a Board of Directors, who are bent on making a profit for shareholders and the company’s upper management.  
18.  Allow Americans to visit Cuba if they choose.
19.  Stop the drone strikes, the Guantanamo torture prison, the abuse of the Patriot Acts and NDAA, needless NSA spying, and excessive security checks at airports.
20.  Make buses and trains more affordable and available to reduce the number of cars and trucks on roads and highways.
21. Implement Single Payer health insurance with the federal government as the single payer.  This will eliminate most private, health insurance companies, which are eager to make greater profits, while offering their members increasingly less coverage and benefits.  
22.  Promote the Charter for Compassion, a document that transcends religious, ideological, and national differences.  The Charter activates the Golden Rule  around the world.  Compassion asks us to go where it hurts, to enter into places of pain, to share brokenness, fear, confusion, and anguish.  www.CharterForCompassion.org  
23. Promote a new era of honesty, openness, transparency, trust, and voluntary vulnerability among national governments, within the United States government, and within interpersonal and business relationships.   Government secrecy regarding UFOs, various assassinations, 9/11, CIA operatives, and military black budget expenditures must come to an end. 
24.  Encourage the personal investigation of meditation (which does not have to be associated with any particular religion), and the scientific study of Consciousness.
 25.  Grant statehood to the District of Columbia, so that it can rightfully have one Representative in the House of Representatives and full control over its local affairs.  Currently, as the national capital, Washington, D.C, it is a federal district under direct jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.  
26. For all other matters, the statutes, protocols, traditions, precedents, and practices of the previous Constitution will still stand—except when they interfere with or contradict these new changes of the Third Constitution.

Section 3: When and How the Third Constitution Will Be Implemented
If and when the proposed Twenty-eighth Amendment to revise Article V of the current Constitution becomes ratified, then the House and Senate will be elected the same way as before, which means that proportional representation will not be used to elect members of Congress.   But Congress will be allowed to pass constitutional amendments if there is a 67 percent majority in both houses, and the previous additional ratification by three-fourths of the state legislatures will no longer be required. 
However, if the proposed revision of Article V becomes ratified, then the American people will be allowed to consider having a Constitutional Convention two years after every presidential election.  Thus, if 51 percent of the American people want a Constitutional Convention, then the 7 largest national political parties will be empowered, and proportional representation will be used to send 100 delegates to a Constitutional Convention.  Then if the delegates approve a new constitution with a 51 percent majority, the document must then be ratified in a national referendum in which 51 percent of the American people approve it.  
The Third Constitution recommends 26 changes, and it provides a specific 24-month timeline for having a Constitutional Convention.   If the American people choose to have a Constitutional Convention, as the proposed revision of Article V would allow, the Convention delegates will not have to abide by the 24-month timeline that the Third Constitution proposes.  And a new legislature under a new constitution will not have to adopt any of the 26 changes that the Third Constitution recommends.  What follows here is how the Third Constitution, if accepted, will be implemented:  
 
 Two years after every presidential election in November, Americans will vote yes or no as to whether or not they want to have a Constitutional Convention.  If 51 percent or more of the voters say yes, then 10 months later 100 delegates, chosen through proportional representation, from the 7 largest national political parties will be sent to the Constitutional Convention at the U.S. Capitol Building to create a new constitution.  Then, if 51 percent or more of the Constitutional Convention delegates approve a new document, it must then be ratified, two months later, by the American people in a national referendum with a 51 percent majority.   Then 9 months later, the new government will be implemented. 
This orderly process of voters choosing a political party in order to establish which are the 7 largest national political parties, and voters then choosing from the designated list of 7 national political parties to determine the party percentages of convention delegates, the Convention itself, the national referendum, the appointment of Supreme Court Justices, the election of a President, and the election of new national legislators, or Representatives, will take 24 months.  This 24-month process will be described after the next two paragraphs.    
Here is how Proportional Representation can work in the selection of Constitutional Convention delegates: American voters will study and evaluate the platforms and constitutions of the 7 largest national political parties.  Each voter will choose one of 7 political parties that he or she most identifies with.   Let us pretend for pedagogical purposes that based on a national election, the 100 Constitutional Convention delegates will be comprised of these percentages and parties: 20% Republican, 20% Democratic, 15% Libertarian, 15% Constitution Party, 15% Green Party, 10% Socialist, and 5% Communist. 
A National Elections Committee, whose 7 executive directors will represent the 7 largest national political parties, will be established beforehand to guarantee impartial election officials.  Local election administrators will be professionalized.  The National Elections Committee may use a voter-verified, paper audit trail produced by standardized voting equipment, or it may decide to use paper ballots to prevent corruption.   The National Elections Committee will also be responsible for counting and verifying the membership of the national political parties.   
The 24-Month Timeline for Creating the Third Constitution and Implementing the New Government
If 2 years after a presidential election, the American people decide they want to have a Constitutional Convention, they will then have about 11 weeks, from November through January, to officially register with a national political party for this purpose. Various websites such as www.politics1.com describe all the known national political parties.  Then during the month of February, no switches can be made as the official count of each party is made and reported by the National Elections Committee.  
As a result of the count in February, any national political party that represents at least one percent or more of the nation’s eligible voters, but not including the 7 largest national political parties, will participate in national public speeches and debates, held during the months of March and April.  These smaller political parties will also share their party platforms and their own proposed constitutions in writing.  This policy gives minor parties a chance to be heard. 
Then from May to the second week of July, for 10 weeks, the 7 largest national political parties only, as determined 3 months earlier in February, will share their party platforms and proposed constitutions in writing, and they will engage in public speeches and debates. 
Then during the third week of July, registered voters will vote to choose just one party from the now designated list of the 7 largest national political parties (these parties were designated during the previous February) to determine the percentages of party delegates at the actual Constitutional Convention. 
 Then from September through November, the eleventh through the thirteenth month, the Constitutional Convention will be held.
Let us pretend that the 100 delegates from the top 7 national political parties will be comprised of the following parties and numbers at the Constitutional Convention:  Republican Party, 20; Democratic Party, 20; Libertarian Party, 15; Green Party, 15; Constitution Party, 15; Socialist Party, 10; and Communist Party, 5.
On September 1, as already stated, the Constitutional Convention delegates will meet at the Capitol building in Washington D.C.  The delegates will work from September through November to create a new constitution that 51 percent or more of the delegates approve. Each of the 7 national political parties will vote within their own party to choose one delegate to be the potential chairperson of the Convention.  Then the 100 delegates will choose a Convention chairperson from the slate of 7 candidates (one from each party), using instant runoff voting. 
If the delegates agree on a new constitution with a 51 percent majority before the 3 months elapse, they are encouraged to use the remaining days to hear dissenting voices in the constant effort to revise their document through consensus decision-making in order to get an even higher percentage of approval. If only 50 percent or less of the delegates approve the new constitution after working on it for 3 months, then the proposed document becomes void, and the current constitution remains official. 
However, if the new constitution is approved with a 51 percent majority or higher by the end of November, then the American people must ratify it in a national referendum during the third week of January with a 51 percent majority.  If the American people approve of the new Constitution, then the Constitutional Convention delegates will meet monthly, or as needed, to determine the specifics as to when and how the new government, based on the new constitution, will be implemented in a safe, orderly, and smooth way 9 months later on October 1.
After the national referendum is held during the third week of January, then two months later during the third week of March, the first 7 Supreme Court Justices will be identified, as each of the 7 largest national political parties appoints a Supreme Court Judge. 
Then, two months later, during the third week of May, the new President will be elected: the 7 largest national political parties will each offer their candidate.  Then the American people, using a system of Instant Runoff Voting, will choose the next President from the 7 candidates.
Then, two months later, during the third week of July, the new members of Congress will be elected from the 7 largest national political parties, using a system of Proportional Representation. 
Finally, on October 1, the new government begins as the new President, the 7 new Supreme Court Justices, and the 435 new national legislators or Representatives of the new Congress begin their terms of office.   
Quick Summary of the Timeline for Creating the Third Constitution and Implementing the New Government
First 3 months, November thru January—American voters will examine all national political parties. 
4th Month, Month of February—Voters will have already affiliated themselves with a national political party by the end of January.  Now there will be an official count of individuals in each political party. The National Election Committee will announce the results by the end of the month. 
5th and 6th months, March and April—Public speeches, forums, and written responses from all parties that captured at least 1 percent of the vote, but not including the 7 largest national political parties
7th to the middle of the 9th month, from May to 2nd week of July, for 10 weeks—Speeches, debates, and written responses from the top 7 political parties only
9th month, during the 3rd week of July—Each American voter will vote to choose one party from the 7 largest national political parties to identify the percentages of Convention delegates; the top 7 parties were determined during the previous month of February. 
11th thru 13th month, September thru November—The 3-month duration of the Constitutional Convention
15th month, 3rd week of January—National Referendum to ratify the new Constitution
17th month, 3rd week of March—2 months after the national referendum, 7 Supreme Court Justices will be selected by the 7 largest national political parties. 
19th month, 3rd week of May—Election of the new President: the 7 largest national political parties will each provide a candidate.  Using Instant Runoff Voting, the new President will be selected. 
21st month, 3rd week of July—The new national legislature will be determined: New members of Congress will be elected from the 7 largest national political parties, using a system of proportional representation, as each American voter chooses just one of 7 largest national political parties. 
24th month, October 1—The new government under the new constitution will begin, as the new public servants from the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of government begin their terms of office. 
(End of Quick Summary Timeline for Implementing the Third Constitution and the New Government) 
 Once it is decided by the American people to have a Constitutional Convention, the spoken and written words of the Convention delegates must be publicized, and citizens will be allowed to voice their own opinions in the process.  
The current US Congress, the President, and the US Supreme Court will not have the right to prevent or control a Constitutional Convention.  They can, however, express their opinions and recommendations in the process. 

Section 4: How to Amend and How to Abolish the Third Constitution
The U.S. government can be modified when Congress passes new federal laws or statutes.  The United States government can also be modified anytime new amendments are added to the constitution.  But to change the federal government completely by abolishing the constitution, there has to be a Constitutional Convention to rewrite a new constitution. 
How to Add Amendments to the Third Constitution
To modify the federal government by adding amendments to the Constitution, the United States Congress, also called the unicameral national legislature, elected through a system of proportional representation, must pass any proposed amendment to the Constitution with at least a 67 percent majority. 
How to Abolish the Third Constitution
The Constitution is the supreme civil document of the land.  A radically new constitution and government can be formed through a Constitutional Convention.  It can be achieved in a fair and orderly way.  Any new constitution does not need to throw out the best of the old.  The American people have a right to choose whether they want a new constitution.  Through their chosen representatives, an entirely new constitution can be made. 
After the Third Constitution has been ratified and implemented, the decision to create a new constitution will be considered by the American people every 4 years—that is two years after every presidential election. 
Two years after every presidential election, during the third week of May, Americans will vote yes or no as to whether or not they want to have a Constitutional Convention to create a new constitution.  If at least 51 percent of the American voters want a new Constitution, then the 7 largest political parties, using a system of Proportional Representation, will send 100 delegates to the Constitutional Convention at the U.S. Capitol Building to create a new national constitution. 
Then, if 51 percent or more of the Constitutional Convention delegates approve any new document, it must then be ratified by the American people in a national referendum with a 51 percent majority.  
 The spoken and written words of the Convention delegates must be publicized, and citizens will be allowed to voice their own opinions in the process.  
The current US Congress, the President, and the US Supreme Court will not have the right to prevent or control a Constitutional Convention.  They can, however, express their opinions and recommendations in the process. 
End of the Third Constitution of the United States

Roger Copple is 64 years old. He retired 4 years ago in 2010 from teaching general elementary, mostly 3rd grade, and high school special education in Indianapolis.  He now lives in Bradenton, Florida.  He hopes to make a contribution to society through further study, reflection, and writing.  He is especially interested in studying political theory and U.S. foreign policy, playing chess and tennis, walking– preferably on the beach, and doing meditation. Roger grew up in a United Pentecostal Church family and remembers going to church 4 times a week.  His parents have always voted Republican.   Roger can be emailed: [email protected]   His website: www.NowSaveTheWorld.com