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Editorial by Our Readers August 20, 2001 Our long intellectual debate over whether or not Alabama needs a new constitution is over. We do need a new constitution, of course. Now we have to move on to the next challenge: How do we go about getting that new document? There are a couple of ways. Some favor an article by article rewrite of the constitution by the state Legislature. Others are pushing for the much bolder approach of holding a constitutional convention to rewrite the 1901 document. The convention fans got a huge boost late last week when the main group pushing for reform, the Alabama Citizens for Constitutional Reform, endorsed the idea. It's the right avenue to take, because there are several advantages to holding a convention rather than letting the Legislature decide the issue. A convention means that the people of Alabama will build the new constitution. Sure our elected leaders in Montgomery are capable of doing an article by article rewrite. But then again, they have never shown much interest in doing it before. Give the people a chance for a change. The thinking is that at least two delegates will be elected to the convention from each state House district in the state. Current politicians should be barred and each candidate should receive $4000 from the state to run his or her campaign for a seat. Now many will say this is a dangerous experiment. These critics say the special interest groups will hijack such a convention. But what those people should understand is that the state Legislature has already been hijacked by the likes of Alfa and others. A convention would be a chance for the people to hijack it from the hijackers. An added bonus to holding a convention is that it could energize the grass roots in Alabama. It could engage people in the political process in a way that we have never seen before. The majority of the people of our state have never been fully engaged in the workings of state politics. And because of that our politicians are perhaps not quite as accountable as they should be. Here is a chance to turn that around. Mainly, Alabama needs to throw our broken down 1901 Constitution overboard and get a new and better one. But if we are going to do it, let's make sure we do it right. And doing it right means that we have to involve the people every step of the way. A constitutional convention is the best way to accomplish that. Return to: Editorials Index |
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| Alabama Citizens for
Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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