By Mark Meckler, The Federalist
Since I helped found the Convention of States Project in 2013, I’ve heard many objections to the idea of convening state legislatures to amend the U.S. Constitution. Using the process the founders laid out in Article V would allow states to work together to pass limits on federal spending, government power, and politicians’ terms in office.
Seventeen of the 34 states needed to call the convention have passed resolutions in favor of it, but the movement is not without its critics. Many of the objections I’ve heard before appeared in Elaine Donnelly’s recent article in this publication, “Why Is The Right Betting The Constitution On An Article V Convention?”
Usually, those objections are coming from the same people and organizations Donnelly claims will “rig” a Convention of States in their favor. Nearly 250 leftist organizations, many funded by billionaire George Soros, have come out against the Convention of States option.
This coalition has gathered around the ultra-left-wing group Common Cause and includes leftist powerhouses like the Sierra Club, the NAACP, and state chapters of Planned Parenthood and the AFL-CIO. Hillary Clinton has also thrown her influence (such as it is) behind the effort to oppose a Convention of States.
Clinton, Soros, and other organizations join a long line of left-wing activists who in the mid-20th century suckered conservatives into opposing the Convention of States option — which could have been used to overturn Roe v. Wade and other big-government initiatives.
I’ve seen firsthand how the left offers the exact same arguments against the Convention of States Project as those outlined by Donnelly. Soros-backed groups show up regularly in committee hearings to argue against the Convention of States Resolution. They try to convince state legislators that the process is untried, too dangerous, and will open the Constitution to all kinds of terrible amendments.
Clearly, if the left believed they could “rig” an Article V Convention of States, it’s news to them.
Or maybe, the left has come out against the Convention of States movement (currently backed by over 5 million supporters and activists) because they know that a Convention of States can effectively and permanently decentralize power away from Washington.
Article V allows the states to call “a convention for proposing amendments” to the U.S. Constitution. At this convention, states propose and vote on constitutional amendments that must be ratified post-convention by 38 states.
That 38-state threshold is an extremely high bar and ensures that only the best, most popular amendments will become part of our founding document.
But what if, as Donnelly says, “liberal activists … crash the Con-Con party and whatever ratification process ensues”? Donnelly’s fear is understandable, but it stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of who controls the Article V process.
To answer this question, a quick history lesson is in order. In the waning days of the constitutional convention, George Mason stood up to point out a serious flaw in the original draft of Article V. In that draft, only the national Congress was permitted to propose amendments.
Mason objected that “no amendments of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people, if the Government should become oppressive,” according to James Madison’s notes. Mason proposed, and the framers unanimously adopted, a second method for proposing constitutional amendments: one that was to be directed and governed by the states.
The states control the Article V process. If they didn’t, the second method for proposing amendments would be entirely redundant. Why would the framers include two methods for proposing amendments if both were controlled by the U.S. Congress?
Donnelly also suggests that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would have the power to select delegates and that they could exclude Republican choices, but this is incorrect. The states choose their own representatives, and while states like California and New York will no doubt send radical leftists, Republicans control 31 state legislatures. This will give Republicans an overwhelming majority at a Convention of States as well as during the ratification process.
Clinton and Soros are dead set against calling a Convention of States because they know Article V is the best way to decentralize power away from Washington and return power to the states and the people. They know that a Convention of States can propose constitutional amendments that limit federal power and eliminate the alphabet soup of federal agencies. Other amendments can force Congress to cut spending while further amendments can impose term limits on federal officials.
They also know that the states, which are overwhelmingly controlled by Republicans, will control the process from beginning to end. This is why leftists can’t “rig” a Convention of States, and it’s why anyone who cares about limiting federal power should join the movement to use the founders’ tool to put Washington back in its place.
Mark Meckler is the president and co-founder of the Convention of States Action.
Read more at The Federalist.
when to you usually do “match the donation”
I want to donate but would like my money doubled!
Meckler is incorrect saying the convention was meant “to be directed and governed by the states.” The Framers wanted the convention to be dependent on the people alone, and wrote Article V to preclude control by the national government and/or state governments. foavc.org
Once an Article V Convention is called, state legislators have absolutely no say on what happens. And, they may not even get a chance to ratify any proposed amendments since Congress can change the mode of ratification to ratifying conventions. Meckler launched this latest drive to rewrite our Constitution back in 2011 when he co-hosted the “Conference on the Constitutional Convention” at Harvard University with Professor Larry Lessig, a far-left professor who is no record as calling for a new constitution. Also on hand at this event was the repulsive Cent Uygur who went on to form Wolf Pac-a left-wing group working with Meckler to hold an Article V Convention.
A Convention of States gives all states equal votes which drives the highly populated states nuts. It takes 34 states to call the convention and 38 to ratify any amendments that are proposed. The advantages outweigh the disadvantages currently. Go for it.
As the Federal government works its tyrannical overreach on the people of America, It’s past time for this Conventions of States to commence and keep the federal government from extending any more power to the elitist in Washington D.C. The framers of the constitution, were aware of the possible take over of rogue individuals or groups with authoritarian ideologies that would be detrimental to the individual freedoms of our citizens. They were working hard to insure all future generations would be a free people to speak and run a country without being punished for expressing their views and opinions.
The protection of the American citizens freedom is at the forefront and the most dependent upon less government intrusion of their everyday lives. Go US!
The power hungry leftists sure don’t want the power to go to the states because they know that the majority of the states don’t allign with the left, and they love their power!