Posted on 12/15/2014 2:53:12 PM PST by Strawberry AZ
Irrespective of our political philosophy, few among us are not concerned with the conflict between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. Grandstanding has become the norm in an increasingly polarized environment, but events of late – specifically, the unilateral de-criminalization of millions of illegal aliens under the guise of prosecutorial discretion - far exceeds the usual.
Atop the list of attributes that make the structure of our republican federalism the world’s benchmark for self-governance is our constitutional system of checks and balances. For almost 2¼ centuries it has ensured against the disproportionate amassing of power by any one of the three co-equal branches of government. It is and has always been the prerogative of the legislature to conceive the law, that of the judicial to review the law, and that of the executive to enforce it. This unique design was a product of the brilliance of the Founders, having just shrugged off the heavy-handed affliction of a distant and arrogant monarchy - that no single entity or individual should ever again have the authority to rule over a free people simply by decree.
Certainly a president is expected to lead the nation, not just in terms of direction, but in the establishment of policy and even in the creation of law. The latter, however, by longstanding tradition, has typically been accomplished by varying methods of persuasion, motivation and influence, all aspects of executive leadership, among the most critical of managerial skills, and arguably the single-most valuable attribute of any president.
There can be little doubt or credible argument that the results of the recent midterm election spoke plainly the sentiment of the majority of the American electorate. Whether measured by party or policy, it is clear that the over-arching desire is to have a more cooperative and more conservative hand at the helm of government at all levels, from local legislative districts and governorships to congressional representatives and senators.
Elections should matter. When they don’t, we forfeit the right to lay claim to being a representative republic. When our leaders choose to ignore the voice of the people and resolve instead to govern in direct defiance of the will of the governed, they are no longer leaders but tyrants.
The Constitution defines for us the standards for just and competent leadership, but when leadership fails or is simply abandoned in favor of government by fiat, that cherished text is silent on the consequences. It shouldn't be. The Founders anticipated the day when the federal government would become so far removed from the people in the states that it would simply cease to respond to their demands, and would sense no fear in doing so. It was Thomas Jefferson who concluded that when government fears the people, there is liberty… but when the people fear their government, there is tyranny.
The steady decline of our political culture combined with the non-stop judicial and legislative assault on the original intent and the text of our Constitution has finally brought us to the point where the word “shall” in an Article, Section or Clause now requires the force of “or else,” followed immediately by unequivocal and unavoidable consequences for violation. As a remedy short of revolution, the Founders provided us in Article V of the Constitution the power and authority to repair any such errors detected in the process of self-governance, to be used at a time when it becomes apparent that government is either unable or unwilling to repair itself. The solution to many of the issues that we face today could be as simple as ratifying a formal clarification of currently vague and ambiguous Constitutional language, closing the loopholes that the courts have used to create new federal powers in the incremental creep away from original intent.
The time is now, and the remedy is an amendments convention - a Convention of States to Propose Amendments to the Constitution. There is a solution as big as the problem: Convention Of States Project
This is what Mark Levin proposes.
For a hundred years we have chopped off the hand of the states in favor of Capital State power via the FEDERAL Senate...
We need Article V to TAKE BACK power from the Federal Government and hand it BACK to the States and State houses where is belongs.
That might be Levin posting. lol. Sounds about right.
(Levin would never do vanity)
“Certainly a president is expected to lead the nation, not just in terms of direction, but in the establishment of policy and even in the creation of law.”
President,,, create law. Got it.
Dio Amendment V with the full understanding that a lawless federal Oligarchy will NEVER abide by whatever it is the Convention ratifies.
“Law” is now whatever the Executive and the Ruling CLass leadership say it is, and they will IGNORE those “laws: they disagree with.
A lawless government cannot be restrained by law.
Whatever Amendment V produces, it will require it’s imposition by force and the threat of force.
I’m ready for Article V.
Now is the time.
Elections have been rendered null and void by the GOP.
We must take our power back, or we are done.
wow thx for posting. i don’t believe with the current bunch of idiots living in this country it will ever happen.
Section VI
The Second amendment is hereby recognized: no court shall bar a juror from wearing his weapon, as he is a free man.
I particularly like that one: it would substantially alter the relationship between the jury and court-officers (esp. judge).
(IMO, it would illustrate that the Jury is THE group with the power in the court.)
This has nothing to do with the 5th Amendment.
10-4... should be Item One on the slate of proposed amendments!
The best response I can provide is this relevant excerpt from a thesis I’m working on:
“DOES GOVERNMENT IGNORE THE CONSTITUTION?
Another tactic used to discourage support of the effort to convene a state-led convention to propose amendments to the Constitution is to suggest that it would be a total waste of time, that the federal government as we know it today already ignores the Constitution, so it’s naïve and foolish to believe that they would act any differently just because the states called a convention.
Not only is this misdirection – trying to change the subject of the discussion – but it’s also demonstrably false. Even our current “lawless” administration adheres to virtually every modern day amendment to the Constitution. It’s the Articles that they’ve raped and plundered.
On average, amendments to the Constitution are followed VERY closely for about 100 years after they are ratified by the states and made part of the Constitution. Some have endured even longer. When an amendment has been debated, drafted, proposed and ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures, the federal government has little choice but to sit up and pay attention. For example, it’s been almost 225 years since the First Amendment was ratified, and only recently have the federal courts dared to trespass on religious freedom, and even at that, only on the margins and in the service of a small but influential political special interest group.
It is simply the nature of government to adhere to the will of the people until it identifies an area where there is no longer a sense of exigency. It then chips away, usually by court decree, at those liberties, or to put it another way, at the restrictions imposed upon government by the Constitution as amended.
Similar things can be said of the government’s nipping at the edges of the Second Amendment… private ownership of firearms went virtually unchallenged until New York passed the first “gun control” law in 1911… that’s 120 years. And even though the Fourth and Fifth Amendments (Search & Seizure, Privacy, Due Process, etc.) have been held virtually sacrosanct since the nation’s inception, no serious discussion about loss of liberty can avoid acknowledging the impact that September 11, 2001 and consequent federal legislation has had on them over the last decade, to wit: The Patriot Act, The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, The President’s Surveillance Program (PSP), and “Stellar Wind,” the code name for NSA’s secretive program of data mining, compiling an enormous database of private citizens’ communications, including phone calls, private banking transactions, eMail and general activity on the Internet.
Although these are all liberties that are currently under attack, we have enjoyed most of them for almost 2¼ centuries, and all were achieved by amending the Constitution. These liberties are being changed, however, by legislative fiat, without benefit of the amendment process, and when challenged, the Supreme Court has enabled the infringement.”
We can either use the remedy left to us by the Founders just for such a contingency, or we can cave to negativity and defeatism and do nothing.
The longer we wait, the bigger the risk of secession or outright civil war.
Convention of States - Alabama Way to go Alabama! A good introduction.
'Convention of states' to rein in government Another great summary explanation.
The Case for an Article V. Convention. Fantastic explanation of Article V convention to the Mass State Legislature.
I would recommend watching the above three videos first and then:
Convention of States Lots of information here.
Call a Convention A call for a Convention of States
Article V Project to Restore Liberty Another good source.
Convention of States model Resolution
A Summary of Mark Levin’s Proposed Amendments by Jacquerie
Chapter 1 of Mark Levin’s Book, The Liberty Amendments
Mark Levin, Constitution Article V, and the Liberty Amendments
Rep. Bill Taylor introduces a Convention of States
Mark Levin Article V, Liberty Amendments youtube video hub
Three hour video of C-Span interview with Mark Levin
Mark Levin’s ALEC Speech, Dec 4, 2014
Gaining Steam? Nearly 100 Lawmakers Descend on Mount Vernon to Talk Convention of States The beginning.
Mark Levin’s “Liberty Amendments” Sean Hannity Special
Convention to Propose Amendments to the United States Constitution
The Other Way to Amend the Constitution: The Article V Constitutional Convention Amendment Process
Friends of the Article V Convention
Friends of Article V Convention Links
Ulysses at the Mast: Democracy, Federalism, and the Sirens' Song of the Seventeenth Amendment by Jay Bybee. Repeal the 17th!
Article V Handbook - for State Legislators An important resource.
State Legislators Article V Caucus State Legislators, Join up at this site!
Send this list of links to your State Representatives and Senators here: Contact your State Legislators.
Sample Letter to state Representatives regarding the Convention of States Project and also, Talking Points. Both from Here.
Excellent Article V Letter to a State Assemblyman by Jacquerie
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke.
Let’s all work together to get this going.
Amendment Booklet.pdffile.
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