SENATE BILL: Trial, Not Turnout Amendment (Sent to the Regions)

[Marokai Backbeat]

An unwavering Nay.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I can't really believe we're at the point where some think the Senate should have the sole and easy authority to impeach anyone they want. Christ, guys. Really? This body, which has made a ton of mistakes, constantly overlooks things, and is far too easily swayed in a landslide to one side of one issue or another depending on the month, should be entrusted with the ability to impeach anyone with a 2/3rds majority?

Please, guys. I know you hate Napoleon, but 7 people do not deserve that power. Not at all. We shouldn't have that power, and we don't deserve it, either.

It merely takes a simple majority in the public vote to impeach someone. If impeachment is truly deserved, that should be trivial to achieve.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Impeachment proceedings work differently in Atlasia because Atlasia is a different beast. We don't have a Senate of 100, we have a Senate of 10, and they are easily swayed. A few partisans and a couple guys with a grudge, and suddenly you have the Senate deciding who can and can't stay in office all on their own, and that's too much power for a body that gets it wrong with the frequency that it does.

Yeah, the Supreme Court is 3 guys that have the most power in this game, but when we make new appointments, we don't pick Joe Sixpack off the street, they have to be qualified and go through an arduous process to get confirmed. When Lief was deciding who to appoint to the Senate, and Franzl and I were interested, we had to fill out lengthy forms and answer a ton of questions before I even got to a confirmation hearing. Senators, no offense to the rest of us, don't have to hold up to very high standards to get elected, and for most of us, getting elected ain't that hard.

You can get to be a Senator on the basis of very little to nothing, but you can't do that as a Supreme Court Justice; at least, in theory, I suppose Justice Opebo might make you think twice, but, he's also a pretty good justice. In a body where the different between a supermajority and a simple majority is one guy, the possibility for abusing that power is horrendous, and I don't want every single administration from here on out to have a bunch of impeachment proceedings because a few Senators hold a grudge. Administrations get bogged down in nonsense enough as it is.

I don't hold any hard feelings here, because I know this effort is coming from a very genuine place; I'm not happy with Napoleon or much of his cabinet either, and I know there need to be some changes, but I'm increasingly concerned with how this Senate just seems to want some sort of legislative supremacy as if we're a parliament or something.

The public vote used to be a simple majority in the Senate and two thirds of the public to get an impeachment. Purple State and I swapped those two when we rewrote the constitution because we understood it's much easier to get Senate votes than public votes. We're talking about a simple majority of voters to impeach someone. Impeachment should only be done in extreme circumstances, and if those circumstances are appropriately extreme, a simple majority should be easy to get.

Here's a change I can support, if you don't think I'm being constructive enough: Maintain the current impeachment process, but add an extra clause to it that bypasses the public vote if the Senate is unanimous in an impeachment vote, but if it's not, the public vote stands. I don't think you'll find any argument that much of Napoleon's cabinet needs changing, and that's a way we can accomplish the immediate problems without the potential abuse.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I propose an amendment (changes to the Constitution in bold):

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[Marokai Backbeat]

OAKVALE WHAT DO YOU THINK.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I'm leaning toward supporting Senator Marokai's amendment, but I'm not entirely sure about it. I agree with Oakvale in principle, but this seems like an effective compromise (although I'd prefer requiring at least two dissents to trigger a public vote).

I'd rather take it slow and see how this change would affect the process before taking it further; but I'm not inherently opposed to the idea. I'd just prefer to take this one step at a time.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Aye.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Crazy.

[Marokai Backbeat]

A good old fashioned 5-5 tie. When was the last time that happened?

[Marokai Backbeat]

In principle, I don't have a real problem with the compromise.  My preferred system would be to give the Senate full impeachment powers, with the addition of a recall mechanism in the Constitution, but for the sake of consensus, I'll hold off on that.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Oh don't worry, I can handle Barnes.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Aye

*Sigh* I suppose I understand some of the Senate's qualms, but it would be nice for those to actually be stated before the vote on an amendment, instead of just waiting to vote it down with no pretense of debate.

You've become a victim of Suddenly Nay. Welcome to the Senate.