Right Wing Plans to Remove the Bill of Rights.

San Francisco CA

Description

How to Reboot the Constitution It is clear to any observer that the Federal government has grown to an untenable size, and that it has become increasingly more abusive of its powers. Something clearly needs to change, yet it seems unlikely that anything will substantively be improved in the near future, at least in Washington. According to some, Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides the best solution. Article V provides two methods for proposing and adopting amendments to the Constitution. The first method, which is far more commonly known, requires that a proposed amendment be passed by two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress, then sent to the states – 75 percent of which must approve the amendment for it to be ratified. Article V also states that on direct application to the Federal Government from two-thirds of all state legislatures a Convention of States must be called for the purpose of proposing amendments. These amendments must be passed by two-thirds of convention delegates, before being sent to all states for ratification – just as in the more common method. Amendments proposed and ratified in this manner are to be considered just as valid as those ratified in the first method. A number of well-known figures have recently voiced their support for a movement that would call a Convention of States to propose constitutional amendments – including U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and conservative talk-show hosts Glenn Beck and Mark Levin. Levin has done more than simply talk about it on air – he is the author of “The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic,” a book on the issue that debuted at No. 1 on Amazon. In it, Levin argues why the Article V Convention strategy may provide the safest and most viable way to reign in the federal government. Several grass-roots organizations have sprung up, all advocating state legislatures submitting applications to call a Convention of States. The proposed topics or amendments are diverse, from a balanced budget amendment to amendments establishing term limits for Supreme Court justices. I recently spoke with Mike Westrich, the NC Coalitions Director, and Gary Lyons, NC legislative liaison with Convention of States, a project of Citizens for Self-Governance. The Convention of States organization seeks to educate voters and legislators about the possibilities of an Article V Convention, and support legislative action in adopting applications. The organization plans to use the same application for all states, to remove any questions about how applications are counted. More than the required 34 states have submitted applications in the past, yet there is controversy about whether it requires that a Convention of States be called, due to differences in applications. The proposed application here calls for a Convention with the purpose of proposing amendments to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, to impose fiscal restraints, and to limit terms for members of Congress and other government officials. The application has already been passed in three states, and is currently being debated or discussed in several more state legislatures.