Never again!

On the eve of the "final vote" for ObamaCare in the House of Representatives, it is clear to many within the blogosphere that regardless of the outcome of this particular vote, November is going to be a bloodbath for Democrats seeking (re-)election and many Republicans are salivating at the prospect of re-gaining the majority on the Hill.

And then what? We can talk about repealing Obamacare (should it pass), and other variations on the theme of undoing the damage that the Obama administration and this Congress have wrought, but I think we should do more than undo the damage. I think we have a responsibility to set up a framework to prevent another such runaway Congress from violating the Constitution and the will of the people who empowered it. In fact, as we contemplate the strategies for electoral victory, I think a key plank in any election platform needs to be labeled "Never again!" in big, bold letters. As I look at this Congress, it's clear to me that most of them are out of control. They do not respect the Constitution, which they've sworn to defend. (The fact that they even contemplated the Slaughter Solution is all the evidence I need to offer.) And, given the overwhelming number of people who vehemently oppose this plan, it's also clear that they do not respect those who have lent them the power they now wield: their constituents.

As Conservatives prepare to take the reigns, I think they would be wise to put in place laws that will make it easier for the People to hold their elected officials accountable (and prevent a Congress from ever getting as out-of-control as this one is). (Note that to me, holding our Congressmen accountable does not mean giving them a blank check until the end of their elected term and summarily throwing them out. We need some laws with some real teeth that can allow us to stop our elected officials when we don't approve of what they're doing. If the system of checks and balances is insufficient to prevent the abuse of our Constitution, then the people need real power to defend the Constitution with more than treats of violence, protests, or casting a vote for "the other guy".) I don't know exactly what that might look like, hence the reason for this post. Together, perhaps we can come up with a set of reasonable laws that will allow the People to defend our Constitution when our elected officials threaten it. Here are some generic ideas I've had:

• Grant constituents the ability to recall their elected officials at any time (after, say, the first 6 months of the term is served) with the collection of a number of signatures equal to some percentage of the votes cast in the prior election.
  
• Grant constituents the ability to cast a vote of "disapproval" of a given Representative after they leave office. This vote may carry certain "side-effects", such as stripping the elected official of their federal pension (which is fully vested after only 5 years in office!).
• Make it illegal for a Congressman to knowingly draft or vote for legislation or parliamentary tactics that are clearly unconstitutional. Due to Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution, the arrest could not take place until after Congress is no longer in session. It would be my hope that the threat of arrest and prosecution would prevent Congress from running roughshod over the Constitution.
  

I'm sure there are more (and better) ideas out there, and some of these are admittedly a bit extreme; but I think they have to be extreme to be a deterrent. If you have any other ideas, I'd be interested in hearing them! ...Or maybe you think I'm off my rocker and the threat of not re-electing an elected official is really all we need to hold Congress accountable. (Although, to me, it does not appear to be sufficient to stop Obamacare; but time will tell.)