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34 States Call for Constitutional Convention - and Possible Rewrite
Newsmax ^ | April 11, 2014 | Andrea Billups

Posted on 04/13/2014 5:05:22 PM PDT by EveningStar

Even with Michigan recently becoming the 34th state to call for a Constitutional Convention, it's not at all certain that a rewrite of the nation's founding document is close at hand...

Unless called to deal with a specific issue, some legal experts warn a "runaway" convention could create chaos.

"Let's assume that we get Congress to call for a convention, and we are deliberating about one item. Maybe that would stick. But how can you be confident that once you open the door to a constitutional convention, even if for one narrow amendment, that it won't just become a runaway convention?" said Steve Hayward, a visiting scholar in conservative thought and policy at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"It seems to me that our Constitution may have problems these days, but I think most conservatives would be very nervous about opening it up to a new convention," Hayward told Newsmax...

(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: amendment; amendments; amendmentsconvention; articlev; articlevconvention; constitution; convention; conventionofstates; libertyamendments; marklevin; soros; statesconvention
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To: Repeal The 17th

Not this S*&t again...

Newsmax (and the writer) TOTALLY discredited themselves with this CON CON crap... Does ANYONE here read Article V of the constitution? There is NO provision for a CON CON... only an alternate way to PROPOSE amendments...

I would HOPE all those idiot groups listed would show up and let’s have the PUBLIC debate of the future of the county...

Sadly, it appears FR has our own group of LIV’s...


21 posted on 04/13/2014 5:26:07 PM PDT by bfh333 (William Wallace was right! ~~~ FRRRREEEEEEEEEEEDOM ~~~)
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To: EveningStar

Once again we see the scare tactic of a ‘runaway convention’.

These ivy league academic scarecrows don’t realize that our US Constitution limits Article V activity to proposing and passing amendments, requiring 2/3s of states to propose and pass and 3/4s of states to ratify into the Constitution. That’s a very high bar.

Yet Congress could do the same as the states and they could do it today. AND THE QUESTION IS .... who do we trust more? The ruling class in Congress or ourselves?


22 posted on 04/13/2014 5:26:30 PM PDT by Hostage (ARTICLE V)
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To: Jacquerie; Publius

If the small majority of America that is represented on free republic does not understand,
then how will America as a whole ever understand?


23 posted on 04/13/2014 5:28:34 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th (We have met the enemy and he is us.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

Wasn’t it Obama who complained that the Constitution was a document of Negative rights.

That’s right. It is a document of “no”.

The Constitution was the ceding of state’s authority to the Federal Government with limited rights. The states hold the power. The last 150 years have seen such an erosion of that fact.

Be aware and be scared.


24 posted on 04/13/2014 5:28:52 PM PDT by plangent
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To: EveningStar

The Constitution doesn’t need to be re-written. Just obeyed. Same with the immigration laws.


25 posted on 04/13/2014 5:29:34 PM PDT by Old Yeller (In Latin, the word sinister means left. Which is appropriate for left-wingers.)
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To: bfh333

Agreed, see #23.


26 posted on 04/13/2014 5:30:00 PM PDT by Repeal The 17th (We have met the enemy and he is us.)
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To: EveningStar

REPEAL the 16th and 17th Amendments, it will fix itself.


27 posted on 04/13/2014 5:30:39 PM PDT by eyeamok
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To: plangent

People hankered for an emperor. The tail began to wag the dog.


28 posted on 04/13/2014 5:31:13 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Embrace the Lion of Judah and He will roar for you and teach you to roar too. See my page.)
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To: Repeal The 17th

Here... Here....

Understanding is only a click away... The amount of time it took to come here and read through the posts would have been well spent at the COS website...

http://conventionofstates.com/welcome/


29 posted on 04/13/2014 5:31:31 PM PDT by bfh333 (William Wallace was right! ~~~ FRRRREEEEEEEEEEEDOM ~~~)
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To: 5thGenTexan; AllAmericanGirl44; Amagi; Art in Idaho; Arthur Wildfire! March; Arthur McGowan; ...

Here we go again.


30 posted on 04/13/2014 5:33:16 PM PDT by Publius ("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
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To: EveningStar

Stopped as soon as I read the propagandist and malinformed buzzwords “Constitutional Convention”. Those terms are the battle cry for the drones.


31 posted on 04/13/2014 5:33:20 PM PDT by Kaosinla (The More the Plans Fail. The More the Planners Plan.)
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To: Reddy
The amendatory process under Article V consists of three steps: Proposal, Disposal, and Ratification.

Proposal:

There are two ways to propose an amendment to the Constitution.

Article V gives Congress and an Amendments Convention exactly the same power to propose amendments, no more and no less.

Disposal:

Once Congress, or an Amendments Convention, proposes amendments, Congress must decide whether the states will ratify by the:

The State Ratifying Convention Method has only been used twice: once to ratify the Constitution, and once to ratify the 21st Amendment repealing Prohibition.

Ratification:

Depending upon which ratification method is chosen by Congress, either the state legislatures vote up-or-down on the proposed amendment, or the voters elect a state ratifying convention to vote up-or-down. If three-quarters of the states vote to ratify, the amendment becomes part of the Constitution.

Forbidden Subjects:

Article V contains two explicitly forbidden subjects and one implicitly forbidden subject.

Explicitly forbidden:

Implicitly forbidden:

I have two reference works for those interested.

The first is from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative pro-business group. This document has been sent to every state legislator in the country.

Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers

The second is a 1973 report from the American Bar Association attempting to identify gray areas in the amendatory process to include an Amendments Convention. It represents the view of the ruling class of 40 years ago. While I dislike some of their conclusions, they have laid out the precedents that may justify those conclusions. What I respect is the comprehensive job they did in locating all the gray areas. They went so far as to identify a gray area that didn't pop up until the Equal Rights Amendment crashed and burned a decade later. Even if you find yourself in disagreement with their vision, it's worth reading to see the view of the ruling class toward the process.

Report of the ABA Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee

32 posted on 04/13/2014 5:35:38 PM PDT by Publius ("Who is John Galt?" by Billthedrill and Publius now available at Amazon.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

They’repulling a reverse bootleg pass. Its a trick. Open the conversation to changing the Constitution and there will outside forces trying to dissect it and remove key amendments.


33 posted on 04/13/2014 5:36:17 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: Repeal The 17th; EveningStar; Jacquerie; Publius
Here we go again.

It is NOT a “constitutional convention”.

It is an Article V Convention Of The States to propose amendments to the Constitution.

These lies about a con-con are coming
from the John Birth Society.

34 posted on 04/13/2014 5:39:41 PM PDT by Uri’el-2012 (Psalm 119:174 I long for Your salvation, YHvH, Your teaching is my delight.)
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To: EveningStar

BUMP - FOR LATER


35 posted on 04/13/2014 5:40:59 PM PDT by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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To: EveningStar
Here is my amendment to the Second amendment: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

Yes, I know...

5.56mm

36 posted on 04/13/2014 5:41:46 PM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: jsanders2001

Seriously? The only way to REMOVE an amendment is to REPEAL it... Remember prohibition?

So lets says we have an Article V convention and an Amendment comes out to repeal the 2nd...

Do you REALLY think that 13 states won’t say HELL NO to that?

http://conventionofstates.com/welcome/


37 posted on 04/13/2014 5:44:20 PM PDT by bfh333 (William Wallace was right! ~~~ FRRRREEEEEEEEEEEDOM ~~~)
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To: Mark17

“Watch these slime bags try to disarm patriotic Americans. “

Well, that’s where “Molon Labe” would enter into, wouldn’t it?


38 posted on 04/13/2014 5:44:21 PM PDT by PLMerite
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To: EveningStar

The Constitution as written is just fine. We just need to use it again. This convention would be a disaster, does anyone think for an instant that the current crop of thieves, hacks and morons in power could approach the brilliance of Madison et al?


39 posted on 04/13/2014 5:45:08 PM PDT by wny
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To: bfh333

0 will get his army of zombie rats to try to repeal the 22nd amendment...


40 posted on 04/13/2014 5:46:03 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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