Posted on 08/22/2013 1:05:12 PM PDT by Red Badger
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., explained to a town hall of his constituents that he wanted to call a national Constitutional Convention after reading Mark Levin’s new book, The Liberty Amendments.
“I used to have a great fear of constitutional conventions,” Coburn said according to the Tulsa World. “I have a great fear now of not having one.”
As the Tulsa World notes, a national convention is called by two-thirds of the state legislatures and is one of two ways the U.S. Constitution can be amended.
Coburn made his remarks in Muskogee, Okla.
If all a Con-Con produces is liberal, socialist legislation that's doomed to be rejected by more than 1/4 of the states, why even waste the time and money?
There is no Constitutional "solution" to the mess we've gotten ourselves into (other than the 2nd Amendment), because TPTB don't respect the Constitution. The only way we're going to wrestle our Republic out of the jaws of those who want to see it dead and gone, is for the states to form a coalition to tell Congress, the Obammunist, and the courts how it's going to be. The states need to tell DC which laws, which governing bodies, and which court decisions they'll (we'll) abide by, and reassert that "federal" means power shared between the states and the national government.
The states created Congress, and it's about damn time they step and remind those Potomac swamp rats of it. The states created the Constitution, which strictly limits and defines the powers of the national government, and reserves all other powers for the states and the people. They/we need to tell those elected thugs how it's going to be, not go begging to them, hat in hand.
Unfortunately, I don't there are enough guts in the various state capitals to even comprehend what needs to be done.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
We should just pass the Old Constitution.
And say that this time we mean it.....
That ABA Report will be retrieved from 535 dusty file cabinets in a warehouse somewhere, and 50 different bills will be introduced to regulate the selection of delegates and the conduct of the convention. Eventually, the House and Senate will agree on a bill despite Rand Paul's arguing that Congress has no place in the proceedings. By the way, I agree with Paul and you, but I'm just telling you how power politics work.
At least one state attorney general will go to federal court to argue that Congress has overstepped his bounds. He'll be making your arguments. Eventually, it will reach the Supreme Court, and we'll get one of those definitive decisions like Dillon or Coleman. I don't know which way the Court will go, considering that there are already two precedents allowing Congress wide latitude in regulating the amendatory process.
Eventually, your side will win, or Congress will win. I'm not prepared to wager on the outcome.
I have not read it yet. What is his answer for “it will get hijacked by Liberal activists”? Cause that’s my biggest fear. They’d enthusiastically jump on-board and then use it to implement FDR’s Second Bill of Rights.
“I look at Congress and I look at the legislatures and I don’t see any Madisons or Washingtons or Franklins or Hamiltons or Shermans or any of the quality of leaders that gave us this magnificent document to begin with.”
That’s true. It was an amazing group of men, of the first, second and even third tiers.
But there have been scheming rogues in every time, mainly because they are the types that go into politics for the most part, and as John Adams wrote, the “ones with teh deepest pockets or the least scruples” get elected. It has always been so. We have to work with what we have. I’m sure there are men like Cruz and Lee in the legislatures out there.
Last night a caller on Levin’s show said that Coburn had mentioned Levin’s book at a town hall and expressed his support for the idea of a CC. Apparently the caller wasn’t kidding. Pretty big that a senator has latched onto Levin’s idea, I think.
Some amendments cannot be ignored, such as term limits or returning selection of Senators back to state legislatures.
It would be quite the sight to watch a Senator refuse to vacate his office.
-PJ
I don’t know how delegates would be selected but if it’s by our present electorial process now in place or if it’s by political appointments we have much to lose. I would prefer to go by the original intent of our Constitution, even those who have subverted it know what that is. All we have to do is get past those in power today, democrats, elite and rino republicans and progressives.
I did not make myself.
There already exist a way to change the constitution. Amendments can be proposed and the states can vote on them.
Without the need to toss the entire constitution.
BTTT BOOKMARK!
Dear Lord, please share Your strength and wisdom.
This is an attempt to divide conservatives!!!!!!!!!!!
Absolutely NOT on 0bam-says watch.
Agree with many here saying this is INSANE.
The current Constitution should be enforced! It’s in-your-face NOT being enforced.
I don’t have the book yet, but I’ve been listening and watching Mark a lot in the promotion of the book. He’s saying the states can call the convention and the state legislatures would select the delegates. What he thinks that does is create a firewall to keep out the leftist amendments because there’s no way 2/3 of the states would send delegates to produce leftwing amendments. Nor would 3/4 of the states ratify them afterwards.
There are no rules that I know of governing a Constitutional Convention, as to who gets to be ‘in charge’, who is allowed to attend, who is responsible for the costs and where it is to be held and what is to be discussed.................
Oh boo hoo, maybe get involved if one happens in your state.
At least it won't be Pelosi, Reid, McConnell, or Boehner. They are constitutionally prohibited as long as they hold their current offices.
-PJ
“All delegates to the Con Con will not be conservaatives. This is a bad idea to the 10th power.”
The delegates would be representatives of their states, which is appropriate. The convention would still vote on what amendments they would send to the states, and three-fourths of the state legislatures would still need to ratify them.
If we cannot trust our own people to vote the right way then this is the last gasp before an actual revolution...
If we do not breathe we will certainly succumb to tyranny by drowning in it...
Don't be too sure about that.
The beauty of this plan is that it leverages the innate desire of a pol to give himself more power to rectify the overreach of the feds.
Referring to the documents to which I linked in Post #15, the ALEC Document agrees with your assertion. The ABA Report does not. It's not that cut and dried.
I recommend you print off and read both documents. Even if you find the ABA Report tilted way too much toward congressional control of an Amendments Convention, the committee that wrote that report did a thorough and conscientious job of identifying all the gray areas in the amendatory process.
[ A constitutional convention is the most dangerous idea I have heard lately.
Amendments can be proposed and voted on by the states if changes are required.
Once a constitutional convention is opened, everything can change. Do we really want to do that when the left control so much of the power right now?
This idea is insane. ]
If we cannot trust our own people to vote the right way then this is the last gasp before an actual revolution...
If we do not breathe we will certainly succumb to tyranny by drowning in it...
[ It’s not going to happen. And does he really expect that Democrats and liberals won’t run and be elected to the convention? That somehow everybody there would be conservative?
Maybe Coburn’s thinking a convention would vote on its decisions by state. That won’t happen. Too many delegates would want the votes to be apportioned by population.
I could see a constitutional convention (if one ever happened) breaking up over just that issue. ]
If we cannot trust our own people to vote the right way then this is the last gasp before an actual revolution...
If we do not breathe we will certainly succumb to tyranny by drowning in it...
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