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24 UALR L. Rev. 803 (2001-2002)
The Congressional Oath of Office

handle is hein.journals/ualr24 and id is 817 raw text is: THE CONGRESSIONAL OATH OF OFFICE DALE BUMPERS Senator from the State of Arkansas, 1975-1999 Vic Snyder deserves high praise for his article on the Constitution and what the oath of office should mean to those who solemnly swear to sup- port and defend the Constitution of the United States. It is a powerful re- minder to all of us that the Constitution is sacred, that it is the longest living organic law in the world, and that it is the reason the United States is the oldest democracy in the world. The Constitution can be a real pain at times because the lengthy amen- datory process precludes our codifying our prejudices on whatever happens tO be trendy at any given moment. Since 1787, there have been roughly 12,000 resolutions introduced in the House and Senate to amend the Consti- tution. The lion's share of those have been in the last fifty years, and re- cently the number of proposals has become an absurdity. The American people in their infinite wisdom, excluding the Bill of Rights, have only seen fit to amend the Constitution seventeen times. When you take out the Eight- eenth Amendment and its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendment, only fif- teen remain. It is a testimonial to the common sense of the People. In my late years, I have replaced Thomas Jefferson with James Madi- son as my number one hero because of his craftsmanship of so many provi- sions in the Constitution. He understood the vagaries of men's thinking, and did an excellent job of making sure political expediency never became a substitute for serious governance. I would be more than happy if historians consider the legacy of my twenty-four year Senate tenure to be that I voted against thirty-eight consti- tutional amendments, or amendments which would lead to the forced vote on a proposed amendment. This is not to say that I do not believe the Con- stitution should ever be amended. On the contrary, I believe the framers erred in not granting House members four-year terms. Nevertheless, on bal- ance, it is always wise to have a long, measured debate on any proposed amendment. In practice, the longer the debate, the less chance of passage. One interesting point that has always intrigued me is that it is the con- servatives who should be most protective of the Constitution, yet, invaria- bly, in the last few years, it has been the conservatives who offered the vast majority of amendments. Congressman Snyder's salient and unassailable point is that swearing to support and defend the Constitution is a deadly serious oath, not to be trashed on a whim.

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