Posted on 01/08/2022 2:31:44 PM PST by Jacquerie
For the past several years, the Convention of States Project has been gathering concerned citizens from every pocket of the country to urge state legislators to use this long-neglected constitutional “check” on the power of Washington. With Republicans in control of 33 state legislatures and Trump in the White House, now is the time to make this happen. The Project’s model resolution, which has been introduced in 48 states, to date, calls for a meeting of the states to consider, and potentially propose, amendments that would achieve one or more of three objectives
Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and/or Set term limits on federal officials and members of Congress.
While it is no surprise that Marxist-leaning groups would fight, tooth and nail, to resist any plan for breaking the federal government’s virtual monopoly on policy-making, all conservatives agree that this monopoly is a perversion of our federal system. But sadly, the Left’s propaganda and junk history have brainwashed some conservatives into opposing the states’ use of constitutional power to check federal overreach.
Having spent much of my adult life documenting various tactics used by the radical Left, I can’t say that I was totally surprised when I recently learned that the Left was, in fact, the original source of the fear and misinformation concerning Article V today, or that they are now escalating and publicizing their opposition to conservatives’ use of the process to restrain federal power.
In their efforts to frighten citizens and state legislators away from the one process powerful enough to “drain the swamp,” the conservative naysayers refer to the process as a “constitutional convention,” or “con-con,” slander the Founding Fathers by maintaining that the Constitutional Convention exceeded its authority, and prophesy that if 34 state legislatures should ever be so reckless as to hold a meeting to discuss proposing amendments, then Christmas will be outlawed, the Second Amendment deleted, and the nation’s Capital moved to Los Angeles.
They have overlooked a few key facts about interstate conventions, in general, and Article V, in particular. First of all, they have overlooked the fact that the state applications that trigger the convention can limit the scope of the convention however they choose. This is inherent in their power of application.
The sad thing is that the conservative opposition groups don’t even seem to realize that in stoking fears about an Article V convention, they are reading right out of the Left’s playbook. While they tell the conservatives on their direct-mail lists that they are working to save the Constitution from being rewritten by George Soros and his ilk, Mr. Soros smiles, breathes a deep sigh of relief, and toasts to their success.
Never mind how these conservatives missed the Memo in which the 230 most liberal, Marxist-leaning organizations in the country explicitly stated their opposition to the Convention of States Project.
These fringe conservative groups, fighting hard against the broader conservative movement to oppose this constitutional safety valve, are blocking the one politically feasible means the Right has to reverse our nation’s slide into socialism. So long as the John Birch Society, Eagle Forum, and certain representatives of Concerned Women for America are fighting this fight for him, Mr. Soros can save his billions to send more statists to Congress, where they can continue to exercise powers never actually given to Congress in the Constitution,but blessed by an activist Supreme Court.
JBS hasn’t always opposed it. In fact, in the late 50’s and early 60’s, JBS Founder Robert Welch and many JBS chapters lobbied for passage of state resolutions to trigger a convention to propose the “Liberty Amendment.” Today, however, JBS seems to have forgotten about all that. It now uses the Left’s label of “con-con” to refer to the process, and fiercely opposes any and all efforts to implement it.
It is important to point out that in opposing the Article V convention process, Eagle Forum and John Birch Society have placed themselves in opposition to a long list of prominent conservatives that includes Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, Jeb Bush, Allen West, Ben Shapiro, Bobby Jindal, Greg Abbott, Marco Rubio, Mike Huckabee, Michael Farris, and many, many others. As more and more well-respected conservatives sign on to the Convention of States Project, I suspect that Eagle Forum and John Birch Society will grow increasingly uncomfortable withstanding on the side of George Soros, Democracy 21, and Planned Parenthood.
I would remind them that there is no shame in changing their position. After all, I was once a radical Leftist, until I learned the truth. There is, on the other hand, considerable shame in letting fear and ignorance triumph over reality, reason, understanding, and cold, hard, historical facts.
Article V ping!
...the people are afraid of what
the people might do, and so
the people choose to do nothing...
Not. Gonna. Happen.
We know what he left is pushing, consolidation of all power at the federal level.
A Convention of States is a gamble. That’s true enough. But every day the Republic gets weaker, and the Deep State gets stronger. I can see no change in that going forward. So It’s time to roll the dice.
‘Permanently’ is intended to exclude those here on temporary visas.
Ha, Ha, thanks for the laugh. More than half those people are card carrying members of the Establishment Republican branch of the Uniparty .
1) A flat tax amendment; 2) a balanced budget amendment; and 3) an amendment that requires every legislator who voted in favor of a bill to have personally read every word of the legislation.
This is a good start as it removes a lot of power from the Congress.
<>Not. Gonna. Happen.<>
Just keep voting. As if it matters.
And interns and staffers of one politician can not be hired on by another.
I’ve heard this argument...that an Article V convention is a wildcard...for years, and I’m not sure I agree.
The convention only proposes changes, via offered amendments, based on the majority approval of the committee convened.
The proposed amendments must still pass the approval of State Legislatures.
“...shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress;”
The extent the public accepts being corralled cannot be regulated by words on paper. The CCP constitution gives ultimate control to the people, on paper.
Just as the US constitution does.
Sure, it is comforting to think about the GOP, today, controlling the majority of the state legislative bodies...
However, I can still remember the Browns having the last few minutes of a football championship game under control and Earnest Byner fumbling to ball on the 1-yard line with a little over a minute to go and the Broncos walking away with the win...
Today’s surrender-monkey GOP politicians would probably do the equivalent thing, fumble to ball, in a Constitutional Convention of the States...
After all, since WWII, what major things towards preserving our Constitutionally protected freedoms & liberties has the GOP ever accomplished when they have controlled, simultaneously, the WH, House, and Senate?
Hear the Crickets?
The constitution expressly gives Congress the power to create money and regulate its value. Inflation? An exercise of congressional power to create money out of thin air.
It's a power. Not inherently bad, no more than the power of a gun or bomb is inherently bad. Can be used for good, or for bad.
Equating Congress with all of the state legislatures is mistaken. State legislatures after all, are the bodies that submitted the Article V applications; they weren’t proposed by Congress.
No they can't.
The applications may state that only certain topics can be discussed but that has absolutely no force of law. Article V has no limiting language and while states may agree to a limitation when the convention's called they can just as easily decide to bypass that limit once in the convention.
An excellent point! You'll appreciate this short post: In Praise of the Soviet Constitution.
Read further in the article.
As the famous philosopher Forrest G said: “Stupid is as stupid does.”
Today’s GOP is as today’s GOP does... At any level, IMHO...
What accomplishments have the state GOP legislatures to their credit, except on 2nd Amendment issues?
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