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Unfortunately, the constitution contains at least two vague instances and combined they cause most of the problems.
What does "commerce" mean and what does "due process" mean. Both are terms where changing the definitions completely changes the scope of the federal government. Since now anything can be defined as "commerce" even if it only has a secondary or tertiary economic effect (me eating grain I grow in my own back yard reduces my need to buy it elsewhere, and since some of the elsewhere'es are in other states the federal government can regulate me growing grain in my back yard as interstate commerce) the federal government can claim an almost unlimited authority.
That is a word the framers almost certaintly did not view as "vague" but it has become vague over time. So I say ammend the constitution and define "commerce." If we think free abortion on demand should be a human universal right, amend the consitution to say so. We don't need hundreds of amendments but more than 14 in 230 years would probably be appropriate.
As it is, when you treat the constitution as some arcane scroll in which you have to squint and find the subtle hidden meanings, it makes the constitution a political document rather than a founding document. Rather than looking to it for guidance you battle over the right to interpret it. Yes, amendment should be difficult, but it is only so extremely difficult because we lack the willpower to actually focus on it, preferring to just hedge our way through it and then bitch if someone hedges the other way.
wendy, there are only six amendments that have made it out of Congress and then failed to get ratified by the states:
1. An amendment dictating the size of the House of Representatives (it is good that it didn't pass because under its guidelines we'd have several thousand representatives now).
2. An amendment revoking the citizenship of anybody accepting a foreign title or office without permission of Congress (permission is already required but no punishment is mentioned).
3. An amendment to prevent Congress from outlawing slavery (essentially saying it is up to each state).
4. An amendment giving Congress authority to regulate child labor (under 18); they've since pretty much taken that authority through the commerce clause.
5. The Equal Rights Amendment. Essentially recognizing sex in the way race is in the 16th Amendment.
6. Washington DC Voting Rights. An amendment to give Washington, D.C., full representation in Congress.
1-4 are still technically alive and could still become part of the Constitution if more states ratify them (good to know that slavery is still an open issue, technically). 5 and 6 had expiry clauses and are long dead.
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