constitution.JPG

Undated painting of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

(Bettman/Corbis)

You think our political system is in bad shape? You're not the only one.

More and more Americans believe it's time to rework the U.S. Constitution. Not amend it through Congress, which has happened 27 times over the years. Start fresh, with the states leading the way.

Maybe that sounds crazy, and certainly it's unlikely. After all, a constitutional convention hasn't happened here in more than 200 years.

But Bloomberg News points out that more than two dozen states have already called for a national convention. Thirty-four state legislatures have to get on board for a convention to happen. Conservative radio jock Rush Limbaugh is in favor of a convention. So are Republican senators Tom Coburn and Ron Johnson.

But this isn't just about the grievances of conservatives. Some liberals and non-partisan folks are interested in buffing up the Constitution too. Writes Bloomberg:

"Two states, California and Vermont, have called for a convention to overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that permits huge amounts of unregulated money into federal campaigns. Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, wants a convention to adopt sweeping changes, including a single six-year presidential term and concomitant House and Senate terms, to create more of a parliamentary system. Petitions to adopt term limits for members of Congress have circulated for years."

New Jersey lawmakers also have expressed an interest in amending the constitution to "rein in the influence of money in politics."

Other areas of interest for those seeking a Constitution reboot: outlawing the partisan drawing of congressional districts, known as gerrymandering, and requiring a balanced budget.

State by state, the movement is gathering momentum. A letter to the editor last month in the Des Moines Register declared that "the only peaceful solution to restoring the federal government to its constitutional limitations and restoring the rights of 'we the people' is to use the remedy the Founders included in the Constitution itself. Article V clearly lays out the path to conducting a national convention."

Is a constitutional convention a good idea? It remains a minority taste, to be sure, and for obvious reasons. At a convention, anything could happen. Texas state representative Dan Flynn, for example, favors "nullification": that is, empowering states to dismiss federal laws they don't like. As it presently stands, nullification is unconstitutional.

-- Douglas Perry