Posted on 03/27/2015 2:21:16 PM PDT by Strawberry AZ
Someone recently asked, “Why is it that the John Birch Society is so opposed to an Article V amendment convention today despite the fact that they have been supporters of amending the Constitution since back in the 70s?”
That’s a darned good question.
It a matter of history that Robert Welch, the first president of the John Birch Society, welcomed those who would repeal the 16th Amendment (the progressive income tax) into the society and made their cause a part of JBS lore.
In 1975, Larry McDonald, then a Democrat U.S. Representative from Georgia, who went on to become the second president of the John Birch Society in 1983, went on record in the U.S. Congress in support of a convention of states to propose “The Liberty Amendment” in their continuing effort to repeal the 16th Amendment. The Congressional Record from October 9, 1975 contains several of his statements as follows:
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“In almost two centuries our Constitution has been amended a comparatively few times. The first 10 amendments—Bill of Rights—were added almost immediately after the Constitution was ratified—in December, 1791—and there have been only 16 added since then. This may seem too slow, but any amendment is unique in that is supersedes anything preceding it which is contrary to it.
Only through an amendment, will we be able to correct the present distortion of our basic law. The Liberty Amendment will clarify the terms of our freedom, rectify the current conflict between Government and people, define our economic liberties and force the Government to abide by that definition.”
“The fifth article of the Constitution prescribes two valid methods for amending the Constitution. An amendment may be proposed by two-thirds of both Houses of Congress concurring; or the legislatures of two-thirds of the several States—34—may require Congress to call a Constitutional Convention to propose such amendments, which, in either case, become a part of the Constitution when three-quarters—38 States— ratify a proposed amendment.
The Liberty Amendment resolution is being advanced in both ways. It is now pending in Congress as House Joint Resolution 23. It has also been approved by the Legislatures in seven of the sovereign States and is pending in several others.”
“The fifth article of the Constitution provides this method of causing the amendments to be proposed. Then, too, the States must eventually ratify to make it a part of the Constitution. This country consists of a union of sovereign States which hold the only power to ratify amendments and State legislatures hold concurrent power under the Constitution to initiate such amendments as they, the States and the people within them, require.”
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Today, in a shocking display of sheer hypocrisy, they make the exact opposite argument, pretending all the while that they have never been on the other side of the issue.
As to why they take the positions that they do, I can only speculate based on my own personal interactions with self-proclaimed Birchers, and on information gleaned from Bircher-affiliated websites. In a nutshell, the majority of them seem to be still fighting the Civil War... for them, it's all about states' rights, but in a very perverse, dangerous and non-productive way.
In my view, they are the original nullifiers, the "common law grand jury" proponents who laughably deny that neither the federal government nor its illegitimate court system has any lawful power or authority over us, that all we have to do is "just say no"... they are the ones who illogically insist that the Constitution was ratified illegally, yet are the first to declare its sanctity while obstructing any effort repair it… they are the ones who alarmingly want another shot at starting and winning a War Between the States, who are just itching for a state to secede, oblivious to what the predictable response of the federal government would be... they are arrogant elitists who believe that "the masses" are all ignorant dupes and fools who must be protected from themselves… they trust NO ONE at any level of government, but especially the federal government, making us vigilant libertarian-leaning independents look perfectly sane... they are the extremists of the extreme right wing, paranoid to the max, the penultimate conspiracy theorists, the guys who invented and copyrighted the tin-foil hat.
Other than that, they're pretty good guys… many seem to be very well connected in conservative circles, and very influential, spreading their fear virally to virtually everyone they come in contact with at social gatherings, political groups, Tea Party meetings and such. What the Birchers have discovered is that when the average person doesn't know how to resolve a critical problem, it's instinctively easier for them to succumb to fear than it is to trust in an what they’ve characterized as an unknown, untried solution… the Birchers know that, and they use it… to their advantage and to the detriment of the country.
It was over 30 years ago when they first raised the bogus specter of a "runaway convention," and despite decades of evolutionary thinking to the contrary, neither their thought processes nor their arguments have evolved. But ours have. A perfect illustration of contemporary Conservative thought as it pertains to Article V is found here in a letter Ronald Reagan penned in March of 1994 to Lewis Uhler, a leading advocate for tax relief:
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“We can’t depend on Congress to discipline itself . . . we must rely on the states to force Congress to act on our amendment. Fortunately, our Nation’s Founders gave us the means to amend the Constitution through action of state legislatures . . . . That is the only strategy that will work.”
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It is now my opinion, without equivocation, that the John Birch Society and those who buy into their fear-mongering are, if nothing else, shameless hypocrites, enemies of liberty and, by their obstruction of every attempt to balance the budget by a state-led Article V amendment convention, single-handedly responsible for the fiscal mess in which we (and the world) find ourselves.
Article V Ping!
Article V ping. An intriguing vanity.
I think we would be better off if the Birchers ran the country than the current crop of Obamites! ... LOL ...
nolo contendere...
That is a fairly common trait among Article V opponents.
'We must reverse Citizens United, Restore our Democracy, and Save the Republic. Join the Fight for Free and Fair Elections in America!'
Almost universal...
The JBS was one of the first to warn about the danger of the so-called environmental cult’s attack on private property rights, later confirmed by the Cato Institute, and its connection to the UN and Agenda 21.
What’s your opinion on that?
Article V will only work as far as our leaders allow it to work. Our constitution is fine, it just needs to be defended.
I don’t know about the current crop of Birchers but I do remember the Birch Society of the mid 60’s taking positions that people back then said were laughable.
They all turned out to be correct.
I’m against the COS because it’s a waste of time. The courts, the oligarchs, the technocrats, and the ruling class will just ignore it, as they do the current constitutions. Tell me I’m wrong.
If, on the other hand, you were... please inform yourself:
Citizens for Self-Governance Convention of States Project
PS: Does that sound like the WolfPAC agenda to you?
Different issue... no one is saying that they’re wrong on everything, but they’re certainly wrong on Article V.
It is a vanity and it is logical to post information about Article V groups that are trying to curb liberty and other such movements.
And it was originally based in Belmont,MA of all places.
.
Well, you have nuts on the Right and fruits on the Left I guess.
That's what every liberal lawyer and activist judge says! You are playing right into their hands.
The Constitution is beautifully written but it's the vague and often ambiguous language of the Founders that liberal jurists twist and contort in their tortured interpretations to create new powers and broader jurisdiction for the federal government that the Framers never intended, the very same language that an Article V amendment convention can clarify.
And your statement that "Article V will only work as far as our leaders allow it to work" is nonsense. It's legal, it's peaceful, and it's a forum for debate. It can do nothing more than PROPOSE amendments, then it adjourns and every delegate returns to their lives.
Only after that will it then up to the 50 state legislatures to determine whether or not any of those proposals will ever become the Law of the Land.
"Our leaders," whoever those boogeymen may be, will have virtually nothing to say about it.
Absolutely... they were (and are today) 100% correct on many issues dear to Conservative hearts. That's not the issue.
My point is that they were for Article V before they were against it! They were right then on the issue, but wrong now, and their former or current position on any other issue is completely irrelevant to this discussion.
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