It’s been a long time since I re-read article five, but I just did. My reading confirms my memory—the way around Congress involves a convention that may propose amendments to go back to the states. As I understand it, we are getting close to the convention point—but who knows what will come out of it.
I don’t see how to get a single amendment in and out without involving a convention that could do all sorts of things, including ignoring the original amendment.
A convention is just a ‘meeting’.
Congress itself can propose amendments by having a ‘meeting’.
But Congress will never propose an amendment that limits their terms or transfers power to the states. So it’s up to states to do that. It’s all constitutional and has actually been almost done before on a number of occasions. The 17th Amendment itself started out with states using Article V but Congress seeing it was really going to happen offered to ‘take it out of their hands and get it done’, and they changed it to suit incumbents. Not going to happen this time, though.
The President himself, on the campaign trail called for term limits in Congress. He surely knows Congress will never propose such a thing.
There is nothing wrong with having a ‘meeting’ even if it is called a ‘convention’.
For years, a lot of Chicken Littles have been running about squawking about a ‘Runaway Convention’. They have been moved to the side by States that know better. The 3/4’s ratification threshold is a high bar. so there is nothing to worry about unless you’re a dem or a Senator in Congress.
The state legislators who are working the committees and organization to use Article V are in many ways more competent than their counterparts in Congress. They know rules of order and they are just as disciplined if not more so than members of Congress.
Right now conservatives and republicans hold the cards in 38 states. There are at least that many states that have introduced Article V applications in their legislatures and there are now 9 that have fully passed applications with Texas due to come onboard soon. And Texas will lead many others.
As for me, I respect my state legislators far more than my members of Congress. There’s not even a question. Generally, they are more stable. Many of them could have at any time picked up and moved to the Beltway and been a member of Congress but their families and businesses are right where they are and they don’t want to uproot. So they are more dependable, more genuine, more understanding, more accessible and in most cases more intelligent.