Posted on 11/18/2013 2:54:40 PM PST by Moseley
The next session of Virginia’s General Assembly needs to pass important legislation as well as sending an amendment to the Virginia Constitution to the voters for ratification. This may be the most important priority in generations. And it might attract bipartisan support, so Republicans need to try it and not simply assume Democrats won’t be on board.
Battle of the Titans: Mark Levin vs. Phyllis Schlafly
• Mark Levin, insists: Amend the US Constitution independently from Congress by States calling for a Constitutional Convention, in his new book The Liberty Amendments. This is the only pathway left, Mark Levin argues, to reverse the abuses by the Washington establishment. No, he doesn’t disrespect our Constitution, he says. But there are no other options left that can work. Levin rejects wishful thinking.
• “Hell no!” warns Phyllis Schlafly. “Can the Con-Con,” Of course Phyllis Schlafly is also a giant, one of the founders of the modern conservative movement. A Constitutional Convention to amend the US Constitution can’t be controlled, attorney Phyllis Schlafly warns. A “runaway convention” will be abused by liberals to completely destroy our country, Schlafly has warned since the 1980’s.
• Now, a perfect solution has been developed by the Madison Coalition. Endorsed by former Governors George Allen and Bob Ehrlich and a growing list of conservative stars, the Madison Coalition, Roman Buhler has not only bridged the gap but done brilliant work solving the problems at both a constitutional level and at a practical level of implementation.
(Excerpt) Read more at virginiafreecitizen.com ...
Our Founders built in a process to amend the U.S. Constitution in Article V, precisely to give more power to the people and to keep the Constitution and government on track. However, Article V is badly flawed.
There are two ways to amend the U.S. Constitution: Either the U.S. Congress can pass an amendment. Or the States can call a Constitutional Convention and bypass Congress entirely.
Obviously, Congress is not going to pass amendments that reverse Congress’ power grabs or restrain the sources of Congress’ abuses of power such as runaway spending and borrowing and excessive regulation. So, amending the Constitution becomes meaningless where Congress doesn’t want to restore power back to the people and the States at Congress’ expense.
But the process is deeply flawed for the States calling a convention. So it has never been used because it is so defective and full of danger. The Founders realized that the States needed to be able to bypass Congress. But they messed up. The State-called Convention was thrown in as a last-minute idea.
Notice what is missing in Article V:
1) Nothing in Article V requires that delegates come from the States.
2) There are no rules on how delegates are chosen. Theoretically, Congress could call a Convention of liberal political hacks from inside the beltway, from academia, or liberal think tanks. People assume that a Convention would represent the States. But Article V doesn’t say that. Could a State Governor like Terry McAuliffe appoint his friends to a Constitutional Convention? Does the legislature appoint delegates? Will they be popularly elected?
3) States would not have to be represented equally.
4) A “runaway Convention” as Schlafly warns could completely rewrite our Constitution. If the State legislatures want an amendment about X, nothing in Article V that limits the Convention to the topic for which it was called. The Con-Con could even ignore the original topic that prompted it.
5) There is no guarantee that the Convention would follow any of the rules we expect, such as majority vote of the delegates, fair procedures.
6) Demagoguery of low information voters might sway States to ratify damaging amendments that sound good on a superficial level. The fear is that liberals are just waiting for the chance to rewrite our Constitution, if conservatives fall into the trap.
The first is from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative pro-business group. This document has been sent to every state legislator in the country.
Proposing Constitutional Amendments by a Convention of the States: A Handbook for State Lawmakers
The second is a 1973 report from the American Bar Association attempting to identify gray areas in the amendatory process to include an Amendments Convention. It represents the view of the ruling class of 40 years ago. While I don't like some of their conclusions, they have laid out the precedents that may justify those conclusions. What I respect is the comprehensive job they did in locating all the gray areas. They went so far as to identify a gray area that didn't pop up until the Equal Rights Amendment crashed and burned a decade later. Even if you find yourself in disagreement with their vision, it's worth reading to see how the ruling class will try to dominate an Amendments Convention.
Report of the ABA Special Constitutional Convention Study Committee
How odd. My copy of the constitution says three fourths must ratify.
The idea that there will be a runaway convention that will drive the country into progressive hell is no longer relevant, WE ARE IN PROGRESSIVE HELL, and doing nothing would be folly.
If a convention is such a godsend for liberals, why haven’t they engineered it themselves? To get single-payer health care for example?
Since the Civil War.
It is a difficult question, but I'm not sure I agree with you. At least now, we can argue that the Progressive hell is unconstitutional and against the law. That may seem like cold comfort at this point, but as things continue to get worse, it is at least possible that Americans can be persuaded we are on the wrong path.
But at least we will have a guide to that path - namely our constitution.
But once that document is replaced by an abomination produced by a runaway convention, all bets will be off. Once the new constitution is in place, there will be no way back.
My take on a runaway Con-Con, from my novel Foreign Enemies And Traitors.
http://enemiesforeignanddomestic.com/index.php?page=excerpt&p1=Foreign_Enemies_And_Traitors&p2=FEAT Part 2&
I agree more with Mark Levin, but I understand where Schaffley is coming from. There is danger that the current constitution could be thrown over and something totally new adopted. And, we all know that the current condition of the hearts of men and women, many cannot be trusted. However, if we delay and do nothing, we cannot know that we’ll win in 2016, and if we do nothing and Hillary takes over....well, I can tell you right now. Any attempt at a Con-Con then would be met with prison and martial law. I think we need to proceed by setting up a process as we go that sets the parameters for the convention and the articles must be submitted before hand, with a copy of the compiled articles sent to all delegates that are decided on by the states. Then the delegates can send back the articles with comments and try to reconcile differences. We do not need 50 states to attend/participate. We need 2/3 of them, although it will take 3/4 ths of the states to ratify, according to my understanding. Maybe it’s the other way around, but I think I’m right.
I’m encouraged that we are even moving in this direction. We cannot put this off for another generation. They will not even understand the US Constitution, or the beauty of it. Too bad we waited so long, really. I understand the risks involved but the risks of doing nothing are greater, in my mind.
This website will explain why an Article V convention is NOT a pathway to a runaway constitutional convention. It is not a convention to “rewrite” the constitution”. It is a convention to PROPOSE possible amendments that will return power to the states or the people on specific topics (such as repealing the 17th amendment or making it possible for states to recall federal or Supreme Court judges). The proposed amendments must be ratified by the states. The federal government is not involved in any way except to issue the call when enough states request it.
Go to www.conventionofstates.com for more details & FAQS on why the process is safe. Michael Farris , president of Home School Legal Defense Association, founder of Patrick Henry College, and constitutional lawyer is head of this organization.
I respectfully disagree. Three quarters of the states will not ratify amendments passed by a runaway CC. If we don’t get the feral government under control we will soon have a choice between slavery or inserruction. The election process has been subverted by both the courts and the politicians. Our government encourages foriegn nationals to enter the country for the purposes of legalization with the expectation that they will in the majority vote for marxists and destroy America. There is so much more subversion and outright treason going on than can be catalogued here. Yet we fear a potential run away convention. No sir, I cannot join you in that fear. Bring on the CC. A slim chance is better no chance.
Ideally, a Republican elected President in 2016, would get into office and begin championing the State amendment process and utilize the leverage to move Congress to act as well.
Vanbasten in #5 is correct, and I think that is why the balance has shifted from Phyllis Schafly’s “Can the Con-Con” hell no to Mark Levin’s Liberty Amendments.
However, that does not mean we should ignore things that we can do to improve the process.
When there is a way right in front of us to lower the risk and improve the process, we should not be debating whether or not it is really needed.
“Good enough” usually falls short.
Lets assume that all the bad things happen at a con-con.
I still say it is the right move.
States that don’t like the result of the convention - just don’t sign on.
This is the easiest way to get the peaceful separation that this country so badly needs.
” At least now, we can argue that the Progressive hell is unconstitutional and against the law. That may seem like cold comfort at this point, but as things continue to get worse, it is at least possible that Americans can be persuaded we are on the wrong path.”
Cold comfort indeed...
The state amendment process IS constitutional, and it doesn’t involve replacing anything.
What is being argued as the worst case scenario is essentially an overthrow of the current constitution, a coupe, a revolution. With or without state conventions, these dangers always exist.
I think all would agree that the legislative and the executive working in concert to reestablish the preeminence of the constitution would be the ideal. I simply don’t believe the politicians can be trusted to do so. Yes even “ours”. The vast majority of them will lie straight to your face. Tell you what you want to hear then betray you once your back is turned. So what can we do to minimize the threat they represent to our liberty? The only course I see is the CC. And then we must go beyond the liberty amendments.
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