We Need a New Founding. Who Should Be the "Fathers?"

These guys did okay. But the Roberts Court is proving the limits of
constitutional jurisprudence. And Congress is showing the limits of ideology.
Oh, and Fox News is showing the limits of "fair and balanced."

Here's a thought experiment: If we wanted a new Constitutional Convention, and we wanted the best hundred people to attend -- say, two from each state -- who would they be? Would we want it to be the current Senate?

I don't think so.

Would we want Sarah Palin to represent Alaska?

I don't think so.

Would we want Elizabeth Warren to represent Massachusetts?

I think so!

For New Jersey, would we want Paul Krugman and Chris Christie? Christine Todd Whitman?

I would vote for Paul Krugman and Christine Todd Whitman. After all, would you want a guy like Chris Christie saying to Thomas Jefferson something like, "You wanna say all men are created equal? What are you, STUPID??"

I don't think so.

Finally, would you want Bill O'Reilly or Sean Hannity shaping tomorrow? Or, God forbid, Peggy Noonan?

Who are our thought leaders today? Who are the real leaders with the caliber of a Jefferson, an Adams, a Madison?

Freaks me out just thinking about it.

A final thought: If we put fifty or a hundred men and women in Independence Hall in Philadelphia and told them to come up with a constitution that had to stand for hundreds of years, with no BULLSHIT, could they do it?

If they were real smart, maybe so.

Final, final thought: How many of today's Supreme Court members would you want in that room? John Roberts? Antonin Scalia? Clarence Thomas? I have to stop now.

Rush Limbaugh for chairman of our new Founding Fathers:

I know, I couldn't watch all of it either. So, Sarah Palin for chairman of our new Founding Fathers:

Sarah should totally be in the room, right?

No? Okay, how about...

Ted Cruz?
Rick Santorum?
Mitch McConnell?
Rand Paul?
Eric Cantor?
Newt Gingrich?
Rick Perry?
Bobby Jindal?
Sam Brownback?
Tom Coburn?
Jim DeMint?
Marco Rubio?
George W. Bush?
Mitt Romney?
Paul Ryan?

I know, I'm not asking about any Democrats. Who would I want in that room?

Elizabeth Warren.
Bill Gates.
Melinda Gates.
Warren Buffett.
Jimmy Buffett (just kidding, but we could do worse...).
Jerry Brown.
Willie Brown.
Dianne Feinstein (I kind of don't like her, but after the CIA dust-up, she'd help write the part about no torture and spying on citizens).
Russ Feingold.
Bernie Sanders.
George Clooney (not actually kidding).
Barack Obama.
Rachel Maddow.
Margaret Warner (yeah, the News Hour).
Duncan Black (the economist/blogger).
Dean Baker.
Janet Yellen.
Sherrod Brown.
Howard Dean.
Harry Reid (he gets a bad rap, I like him).
Nancy Pelosi (same as with Reid).
Almost any of the SF Bay Area reps like:
Jackie Speier.
George Miller.
Mike Thompson.
Hell, even Gavin Newsom.
Of course, both Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Oh, Joe Biden!

There are people I respect, like Chuck Shumer, that I don't trust. They're liberals who sell the people out for Wall Street at the drop of a hat. It's his constituency, so it's not evil, just not my crew.

And it doesn't have to be limited to politicians. Example? Beyoncé. I know, that's weird, but is it? I'd trust her a country mile before I'd trust, oh, say Nikki Haley. Would you want to have Nikki Haley, who is just fine with guns in bars, writing a new constitution? Huh?

We need a new Founding. Do we have the people, the character, the wisdom? I wonder...

Phil Jackson: He got Kobe and Shaq to play together and tamed Rodman with the
Bulls. Does he have the stuff to run our new Constitutional Convention? Just maybe.

I promise to stop using the phrase "final thought," or "final, final thought."