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Would it be a good for Congress to call a convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution? The answer is easier than you think, if you will simply CONNECT THE DOTS... |
May 12, 2015 Many people who normally agree on political issues are on opposing sides of the Article V convention issue (aka, “Convention of the States” or “COS”). A lot of claims are being thrown around by both sides, most of which are speculation or, at best, educated guesses about what to expect would happen if a convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution did occur. As a long-time opponent of such a convention, my approach has been to point out just how many critical questions must be answered before it is reasonable for state legislatures to apply to Congress for a convention. (See some of those questions here.) In an epiphany moment, though, I realized how to boil the entire issue down one simple indisputable and decisive fact. The realization of this elementary fact is a game changer for anyone who might be on the fence or even a supporter of a COS. There are only a few dots to connect, so please read on... DOT 1: We all agree that Congress is broken and we can't trust them to fix what ails America. If we could, there would be little to no need for amendments to the Constitution. Congress IS most of the problem! (Remember, Congress could propose a single amendment without the uncertainties of a convention, if they wanted to.) DOT 2: Article V provides that, besides Congress itself, only state legislatures can initiate an amendment convention. The state legislatures attempting to do so set themselves up as the ones selecting delegates to the convention AND ultimately ratifying any proposed amendments that come out of the convention. DOT 3: The vast majority of the members of Congress came from state legislatures! The state legislatures are the farm teams for the United States House of Representatives and Senate. CONCLUSION: It makes no sense to assume that state legislatures will do much, if any, better job securing the rights of the People than the representatives and senators in Washington D.C. do! Even if you think the Missouri state legislature does a good job of sticking to the spirit of the Constitution, like not changing the original purpose of bills (Art. III Sec. 21), and only passing single subject bills (Art. III Sec. 23), and not passing “special laws” that only apply to one region or one company (Art. III Sec. 40), to feel good about turning the U.S. Constitution over to an Article V amendment process, you had better be equally confident that the OTHER state legislatures are committed to constitutional principles. They are not. The people pushing for an Article V convention, many of whom I appreciate and respect, claim that the requirement for ¾ of the states to ratify any proposed amendments is the ultimate “check” on bad amendments, but the picture painted by connecting those three dots does not support their claim. After all, it didn't work out so well when the 16th and 17th Amendments were being ratified! For liberty, - Ron
The first Constitutional Convention sprung from a special time in history, with a special set of circumstances and it was conducted by some very special people. Don't expect as good an outcome if it is tried again.
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