Organization of the Convention
Verily:
Okay. Everyone (except Rocky, which is a special case I has been dealing with) has signed in as a delegate. We can therefore assume that all delegates are reading this forum and will be keeping up-to-date with the goings-on of the Constitutional Convention.
Now, before we really delve into how to construct an ideal Constitution, we need some semblance of order around here. Most of us have all sorts of ideas, some great and all in need of attention, but we can't just post them all over the board and expect this Convention to stay orderly. There needs to be some structure.
First off, we need to select someone to be in charge of the Convention; that is, someone to keep everything organized and running smoothly. This position (Presiding Officer of the Convention?) seems sufficient to keeping order. But we need to have some rules governing what the PO can and cannot do before we choose one, so I thought we should discuss that here.
Basically, I envision the position of PO as a guiding force for the Convention. We have all sorts of issues to tackle. (To name just a few: bicameral legislature v unicameral, presidential v parliamentary systems, universal participation in government or restricted participation, the electoral system, region reform, which enumerated rights the Constitution should contain, etc.) The PO should open and lead discussions on each topic as well as compiling proposals made by all of us. The PO is of course not solely responsible for raising important topics, but he would at least work to get discussion started and continuing. It would also be the duty of the PO to alert delegates to important decisions being made and also to keep the public informed of the goings-on at the Convention. In other words, I imagine it as a big job.
Anyone have any suggestions as to how we might better guide a Presiding Officer, or whether we should even have a Presiding Officer at all (or some alternative)?
CultureKing:
hmm... I think some sort of PO is definately needed and should preside over at least the organization of the proceedings lest everything devolve into chaos.
Perhaps we should start with a few separate threads that advocate different positions or regard certain aspects about our future government. Then these threads can simply brainstorming different ideas and give them a bit of time to develop.
DownWithTheLeft:
I think we should have a PO holding basically the same powers as the PPT in the senate
Marokai Backbeat:
Quote from: Sen. DownWithTheLeft on March 15, 2009, 12:16:33 AM
I think we should have a PO holding basically the same powers as the PPT in the senate
I second this idea. With of course some changes considering this is a convention and not an up or down vote. But that framework to base the PO on isn't bad.
Smid:
Verily,
I believe you would make an ideal Presiding Officer, with the responsibilities you detailed in your post here.
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