The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.Delegates where chosen by States in a previous Convention called by Congress.U.S. Const. art. V
On February 21, 1787 Congress proposed a Convention for "the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation"
Resolved that in the opinion of Congress it is expedient that on the second Monday in May next a Convention of delegates who shall have been appointed by the several States be held at Philadelphia for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation and reporting to Congress and the several legislatures such alterations and provisions therein as shall when agreed to in Congress and confirmed by the States render the federal Constitution adequate to the exigencies of Government and the preservation of the Union.The rest is history.
Who controls the States? Democrats and Republicans do. The Uniparty - Democrats and Vichy Republicans - are the problem, not the structure of the government.
Do you trust Democrats or Republican bosses to select delegates? Would “fairness” be construed to demand equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans? These organizations are the problem, they have a stranglehold on power.
A Convention for a "sole and express purpose" can and has morphed into a new form of government.
Note that it was Congress which decided that states would choose delegates.
I certainly do not trust much in my state of MA selecting delegates, nor from a handful of other rat hellholes.
Clearly, a COS is going to have its contingent of left wing nutjobs.
That said, I do trust some states, where virtue still sits heavier in the balance, to select decent delegates.
So, say this COS gets off the ground, with its good and bad. Say they propose some great amendments - term limits, repeal the 17th, and so on. Say, in addition, they propose some lemons, with the nutjob delegates having a bit of sway - repeal the 2nd. So be it!
Then it goes thru the ratification process... One state, one vote. 3/4 needed for ratification. If that was not sufficient to weed out the “repeal-2A” amendments, then we might as well advance to the next stage anyway (CW-III). But, I think the ratification phase much more likely to weed out the repeal-2A’s, and ratify the 12-year term limit amendments.
Timeline:
1786.
Annapolis convention September 11-14.
November 23, Virginia authorizes election of delegates.
November 23, New Jersey elects delegates.
December 4, Virginia elects delegates.
December 30, Pennsylvania elects delegates.
1787.
January 6, North Carolina elects delegates.
January 17, New Hampshire elects delegates.
February 3, Delaware elects delegates.
February 10, Georgia elects delegates.
February 21, Congress calls for a federal convention.
There was nothing to prevent congress from proposing amendments, which it did, regarding taxes and trade a couple of times in the early 1780s.
Just as the federal convention of 1787 was extra-congressional, our future amendment convention of the states will also be extra-congressional. Unlike nullification, the state amendment convention will be constitutional.
Yes, late February. But 2 or 3 months elapsed before the convention convened... that was no vacuum. There would have been plenty of activity, letters, discussions. It is my understanding that in May, the legislatures and those in power in the states that commissioned the commissioners knew quite well the evolving purpose - to write a new Constitution. Any surprises would have generated anger, delegate/delegation recall, and no appetite for ratification. The issues against ratification, that raged for months, almost causing some states like MA not to ratify, surrounded things like too much federal power like we see today... and not that it was "run-away".
Do you trust Democrats or Republican bosses to select delegates?
No, of course not. They are Slime (both groups). But, I do trust at least some states to send some decent folks. When a COS meets they will just have to sort it out themselves. There WILL BE, by definition, leftist jerk morons. If in the balance there are not enough Constitutionalists in the balance, well, then it's over...