Free Republic

Of the many people I've met over the last two years who are opponents of an Article V Convention of States to Propose Amendments to the Constitution, one of my greatest regrets is that there are many with whom I would most likely agree on virtually every other issue in modern-day political discourse. Many of them, however, almost proudly admit that their positions on a COS are rooted in a decades-old fear of the unknown and an inability to trust their fellow citizens, while most COS proponents put their faith in stringent, new safeguards and an optimistic view of the...

“Washington is never going to fix itself,” said former Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), explaining why he intends to spend the next few years trying to “cheat history” by helping to organize the nation’s first-ever Convention of the States. The purpose of the convention will be to rein-in a federal “leviathan” that he says has overstepped its constitutional bounds. Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, two-thirds of the state legislatures can call a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution that limit the scope and jurisdiction of the federal government. Alaska, Florida and Georgia passed Article V resolutions last year....

Instead of watching helplessly as our republic devolves into crown government, let’s distract ourselves with a counterfactual. What if senators were appointed by state legislatures for indefinite terms?The Senate was designed to preserve the federal nature of our system. Members of the House represent the people, but the Senators were to represent the states — really, state governments.Had this worked, the people would have benefited. (Sometimes, you win by grabbing all the power, but sometimes you win by ceding power to critical allies. The states were the people’s only allies in the War Against the Feds.) Unfortunately, senators came to...

The contrast evident yesterday between the brilliant speech of Benjamin Netanyahu and the deplorable behavior of the house republicans was a wake-up call, indeed a slap in the face, to all patriotic Americans. Witnessing a true lover of freedom speak for the world, indeed for us, was a shock that was soon juxtaposed with our betrayal by the uniparty, again. The contrast was almost too much to take. The multitude of emotions and the steely realization that something needs to be done now to save our republic was the prevailing mood in my area. What are our options? Since it’s...

Five hundred years ago, Machiavelli wrote how governing institutions designed for FreeRepublics were not only unsuited for corrupted republics, they eventually served to enforce tyranny. His prescience was on display yesterday in the US Congress. Designed in 1787 as the consensual law making body of a free people and their states, Congress joined in tyrannical partnership with President Obama. Under cover of the reaction to Benjamin Netanyahu’s fabulous speech against Obama’s nefarious plans for Iran and against peace, the Speaker of the House brought a “clean” DHS funding bill to the floor for a vote. In support of Obama’s lawless...

“Catch me if you can.” That’s what President Obama seems to be saying to the Republican-led Congress, to the Judicial Branch, and to every single American, regardless of political affiliation. He is daring all of us to try and stop him from implementing, on his own, the final act of his “fundamental transformation” of the country in the two years he has left in office. What’s worse is that we are letting him get away with it.

The accepted dogma among many conservatives is that the way to save what remains of our republic is to vote conservative, constitutionalist, virtuous men and women into office. History shows that to be a blind alley, a dead end that occupies many minds, all the while evil men get away with high crimes. It’s a pity that electoral history going back decades have failed to disprove their belief. Most of the conservative candidates we send to congress go wobbly, rino or worse. Meanwhile, no congressional rats ever turn conservative. Clearly, there is something outside the power of personal character and...

After two years of watching how‭ ‬one man‭ ‬presides over the‭ ‬Arizona State Senate,‭ ‬I can no longer withhold my opinion:‭ ‬Andy Biggs lacks the courage of his convictions.‭ ‬I refer specifically to his obstruction of Article V legislation that would add Arizona to the growing list of states applying to Congress for a‭ ‬convention to propose amendments to the Constitution.‭ ‬He‭ ‬claims to‭ ‬fear that state legislators‭ ‬– such as himself and‭ ‬89‭ ‬of his closest colleagues‭ ‬-‭ ‬would lose control of the agenda,‭ ‬risking a re-write of‭ ‬the‭ ‬entire Constitution,‭ ‬despite copious‭ ‬and credible‭ ‬evidence‭ ‬dispelling‭ ‬such concerns...

A state-level campaign to rein in the federal government by calling an unprecedented convention to amend the U.S. Constitution is gaining steam, picking up support from two high-profile Republicans as more states explore the idea. Coburn, a legendary government-waste watchdog, announced this week that he has joined the effort by becoming a senior adviser for the group Convention of States Action, which wants states, not just Congress, to pass constitutional amendments. Article V of the Constitution states amendments can be ratified either by Congress or by states if two-thirds of them petition Congress to call a convention. Then, any amendment...

The national drive to encourage states to hold a convention to pass constitutional amendments to shut down Washington’s overreach and President Obama’s executive actions picked up the support of another leading conservative Tuesday, retired Sen. Tom Coburn. The Oklahoma Republican said he will be a senior adviser to the Convention of States Project, based in Purcellville, Va. “Our national soul is being corrupted by Washington’s unhindered and unconstitutional overreach,” said Coburn, a champion of efforts to limit Washington. The effort already has the backing of Sarah Palin, radio talk show host Mark Levin, and two presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee and...

An Indiana state senator wants to change the way US senators are elected. Until the 17th Amendment was ratified a century ago, senators weren't elected directly, but by state legislatures. Charlestown State Senator Jim Smith says the idea was to make senators responsive to their states‘ concerns. He argues the switch to direct election has contributed to a shift in the balance of power from the states to the federal government. Smith says it‘s separated senators from state concerns and made it harder to remove them. "As the needs of the state of Indiana change," says Smith,"then we would essentially...

A common solution at FreeRepublic for the ills of our nation is to just enforce the constitution we have. Elect enough Tea Party conservatives and freedom will be restored. From the moment of our independence, the first question, as posited by Mercy Warren was “what government consistent with the Declaration of Independence can be designed by men too proud for monarchy, too poor for nobility, and it is to be feared, too selfish and avaricious for a virtuous republic?” Republicanism was in our blood. Despite the efforts of the British Crown, all of the states had evolved from quasi-republican colonies....

This week, Virginia’s General Assembly considered applying under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for a convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The final “no” vote from Virginia may seriously take the winds out of the sails of the effort nationwide. Virginia is home turf for both Mark Levin and Michael Farris, key proponents of a “Convention of the States” campaign. However, some have been introducing an Article V Convention year after year in Richmond, so it may very well return next year. The decision was a highly controversial, high-stakes contest of two completely alternate understandings of what...

It takes a fair amount of audacity for a pair of political bloggers to call a group of lawyers that includes professors from Princeton and Georgetown Law School, two former Supreme Court law clerks, a White House Counsel, a law school dean, an attorney with actual Article V litigation experience and a former attorney general of Virginia “a posse of supposed conservative constitutional scholars.” What could merit this kind of sneering vilification from the local political bloggers? We merely contend that the states should use the explicit text of Article V of the Constitution to stop the abuse of power...

And it's only February 3rd! AZ, KS, MA, MN, MO, MT, ND, NE, NJ, NH, NM, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, WY. In addition, three states actually passed applications last year, FL, AK and GA. That's 23 out of 34 states well on their way!

It only took 226 years for Congress to begin to take seriously its duty under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. Two weeks ago a new rule for the U.S. House was put into effect providing for a means to count incoming state applications for an Article V Convention to propose constitutional amendments. An astounding fact being that Congress has never officially tallied these applications before. So, the inquisitive might wonder, why now? More than a tweet is needed to answer this question as the Article V Convention topic can be difficult to comprehend and sometimes inscrutable when compared with...

What should American conservatives to do when the leaders of their chosen party have become nearly indistinguishable from liberal Democrats? Vote? Write letters and emails? Make phone calls? Stay at home and refuse to participate? Withhold our financial support? We have tried all of those things – repeatedly, over the course of the past 100 years – but nothing seems to have worked. If anything, today’s GOP establishment leaders are more distant from, and more hostile to, conservatives than at any time since the Republican Party was founded.

Sarah Palin, toying with a presidential bid, has joined a growing effort to choke off President Obama’s plan to rule through executive order by calling a “Convention of States” to draw up amendments limiting his power. “This idea is really the last recourse of the citizens to rein in D.C. and restore our country to a Constitutionally limited federal government,” Palin said in a new Facebook post endorsing the plan pushed by the Virginia-based group Citizens for Self Governance. She is lending her efforts to urge legislators in Richmond to approve having Virginia join in the convention, already endorsed by...

One of the most unique and important discussions among constitutional conservatives is taking place right now in Virginia’s General Assembly. It is the debate about whether the states (including Virginia) should exercise their rights to call an Article V Convention of States. Principled limited government constitutional conservative former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has come out in favor of two bills currently before the Virginia legislature calling for a constitutional convention of the states. Speaking through his e-newsletter “The Cuccinelli Compass” Cuccinelli argued in favor of a position shared – and opposed – by many principled limited government constitutional conservatives....

Six months ago, Marty Wood had no interest in politics. His said his 
priorities were elsewhere. But Tuesday night, Wood stood in front of a crowd of his fellow conservatives at the Monroe County Public Library to convince them why the U.S. Constitution needs to be amended. Wood, a graduate of Purdue University, is the director of the Indiana Coalition for the Convention of States Project, a group that is looking to amend the U.S. Constitution. But Wood said he is not proposing any specific amendments, just a 
convention of the states. “This project is not proposing anything,” Wood said....