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Opinion January 8, 2002 The regular session of the Legislature hasn’t even started yet, but the most laughable line may already have been uttered. It came from Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, who opined that rewriting the state constitution should be done by the Legislature instead of by a constitutional convention because “I’m afraid special interests will overshadow the average citizen.” Please. What does the senator think happens with lamentable regularity in the Legislature? Has he failed to notice the influence of special interests in the Senate? Since when has the average citizen not routinely been over shadowed by special in terests? The influence of special interests in a constitutional convention is indeed a matter of concern, but to suggest that it is any less an issue in a rewrite by the Legislature is ludicrous. Why should Alabamians have any greater confidence in the ability of the Legislature to rewrite the gravely flawed 1901 Constitution than in the work of a constitutional convention with delegates elected by the voters? An overwhelming percentage of legislators responding to an Associated Press survey say they favor rewriting the constitution. A smaller, but still substantial, percentage say they want the Legislature to do it. Despite that, scant progress has been made toward this decades-overdue reform. And yet Smitherman worries about special interests overshadowing the people. What about special interests manipulating the Legislature? Return to: Editorial Index |
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Citizens for Constitutional Reform Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 34 Montgomery, Alabama 36101-0034 E-mail: accr@constitutionalreform.org |
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