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.
Easy... you're wrong.
Impeach Earl Warren!!
10-4
So you don’t think after millions of dollars, hours of time, and political capital spent, the ruling class will just give up their hard won powers? No, you’re wasting your time.
It seems odd that the Birchers would be so eager to promote a book by someone denounced by their leader for having "Trotskyist" views.
This is (still) a free country, and the protections and Articles of the Constitution apply to everyone, including George Soros and WolfPAC. They are free to try to pull off their own Big Government COS, but good luck with getting 32 states to sign on to that agenda.
By the way, to assuage that hint of fear that may have prompted your post, even if Soros, et al, were able to convene and report out a proposed amendment that would, say, repeal the 2nd Amendment, all it would take to kill it would be one chamber in just thirteen states... that's all... and the legislators wouldn't even have to do anything, they wouldn't even have to bring it to a vote. They could just table the proposal, as legislatures are wont to do with many GOOD proposals, and it would simply die an inglorious death.
Sez you. Personally, I think the Framers of the Constitution, the Founders of this nation had it right. That's why they specifically included Article V as an article, not an amendment.
You're the one who's wasting your time... and mine.
Very interesting... I’ll look into this. Thanks!
Same with Pat Buchanan’s predictions; he was marginalized by the left and their media pitbulls because he is a God-fearing Christian who loves America.
Just go ahead. If there’s anything left of the country when you get your term limits or 17th amendment repealed, and the court just arbitrarily throws it out, like they always do, will you join me in simply nullifying unconstitutional rulings? Go back and read Give Me Liberty or Give me Death, you’re part of the group who are begging at the feet of the king.
What is it, 33 states you need? I’ll give you 23 states, many of those are iffy. Which ones do you think will go along? When they don’t, will you just relinquish your liberty? Are you counting on Missouri, Minnesota, and Virginia? Your betting your liberty on them? How long do you think this will take?
Amazing... The John Birch Society was almost 100% correct about EVERYTHING...
They predicted the Clintoon’s and Obama... and WARNED of WORSE..
Daily we are watching WORSE happen..
Even The John Birch Society didn’t predict mass treason by americans.. black -and/OR- white..
Caution: ANYBODY that disses The John Birch Society is probably A TRAITOR... covertly HERE..
Bircher’s are probably right. The convention will probably be hijacked by those guys with all the money and power who run things now. They may even be behind the current push for a convention.
how do you defend the constitution when the judiciary took away taxpayer standing? you have no means of redress and as we have now learned, no representation.
The “Con con” drones and others that are against an Article V convention never have a solution. It would be better if they just stuck their heads back in the sand. The useless negativity does nothing except make our job harder. Doing nothing is not an option to any who really care about the restoration of the Republic and the Constitution.
This is a perfect example of misinformation. Whoever told you that the Supreme Court can throw out a ratified Amendment, arbitrarily or otherwise, did you a great disservice.
If you are a young product of today's public school system, I suppose I should give you a pass. If, on the other hand, you are simply one of the willingly uneducated regurgitators of ignorance fed to you by the JBS, then you need to be told how embarrassingly wrong you are.
Begun last year by Citizens for Self-Governance, this Convention of States Project is expected to take at least five years to reach the 32-state threshold. The greatest hurdle is re-educating our elected officials, disabusing them of the false notions they hold, many of whom are victims themselves of the liars and fear-mongers of the John Birch Society.
And we beg at no one's feet. Article V was deliberately written into the Constitution by the Framers as an Article, not added as an amendment after the fact. George Mason (and others) stated that its specific purpose was to give the people in the states the method and the authority to circumvent the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial should the need arise, and that need arose a long time ago. Article V is only 143 words, and I suggest that you take two minutes and read them... it's a whole lot shorter than Patrick Henry's beautiful monologue, and it makes his point precisely. We adhere to the notions of The Founders, not the JBS.
Lastly, although I am a supporter of certain, limited applications of nullification at the state level, I laughed out loud when I read your frivolous invitation for me to join you "in simply nullifying unconstitutional rulings." Besides being unconstitutional and an engraved invitation for violent federal intervention, if it's really that "simple," I challenge you to provide one instance where it has been upheld in any court of competent jurisdiction or even minimally effective on a national scale, for that is what we're talking about here... the nation. You let me know when Publius Huldah or anyone else at the John Birch Society figures out how we can nullify our way out of undeclared wars or invasive United Nations treaties, or a way to nullify us into a balanced budget or mandatory term limits for all federal officials.
My response: You're an ass. In case you hadn't noticed, you're doing an excellent impersonation of a Leftist. Here... let me help you with that:
"Anyone who disses Obama is a racist."
See what I did there? You're an ass.
Do you know what your use of the word "probably" tells me and everyone else here...? It's a shameful confession that you don't know. You didn't bother to do the research for yourself. You've simply decided that the John Birch Society is "probably" right.
America certainly needs more uneducated, unmotivated, uninvolved Pretend Patriots like you.
When I spoke in person with my state assemblyman almost two years ago, I was a bit surprised at HIS surprise regarding Article V. Fortunately, he was very receptive. As a businessman with 150 employees, he was well aware of the heavy hand of government on free enterprise.
So, FWIW my little experience with a state politician comports with your point.
Also, it is a mistake to equate state pols with the pols in DC. Most state legislatures are part time gigs. For many of these men and women to participate in state government is a burden, for every day in the state capital is a day away from their families and livelihoods.
There is a building groundswell of resistance. Obamacare has NEVER polled a majority. Dozens of states opposed it in the Scotus K-Court. All rat senators up for reelection in 2014 were defeated, and the GOP added to its majority in the House.
Obama largely rules by decree. These next 22 months may be our last chance to exercise peaceful means to restore the American Republic.
Article V. If not now, when?
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