Convention of the States

The Fix for a Broken Government 

By Chuck Marshall 

  

     
     Happy Birthday to the US Constitution as of Sept. 17th 2017, it is 230 years old !    I am going to hold off  on elaborating on the positives and the genius of our forefathers in establishing this great document and the liberties it has served us to this very day for fear of boring the reader with my unusually strong enthusiasm for history.   I am however,  going to point out a very important part of the constitution that has grown fat and flabby for lack of use.  I am talking about Article 5 of the constitution that gives the states the right to call a convention (a Convention of the States) whereby the state leaders get together in DC and do some housekeeping.  

For reference, here is what Article 5 states;

 "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."


       What does it all mean ?  Since we know 2/3 of both houses aren't going to agree that up is up and down is down, then it is up to the states to call a convention proposing Amendments.  There are many proposals such as "Term Limits" amendment, "Balanced Budget" amendment,  and election reform ( in which case I would suggest removing $$ from our elections but that's another blog).    I believe the most important task would be to reign in a federal government that has gotten so large that it is in the habit of ignoring the will of the people.  They've spent us and  our children into $20 Trillion worth of debt with no end in sight.   In addition, whether it be corporate lobbyists or any special interest, there is no doubt it is too influenced by outsiders to fix itself.   We really have no choice !  It is an opportunity we should all relish to fix our broken government !   The constitution puts this power  in our hands.  In fact,  I've read several times that our founding fathers would probably be shocked that by 2017 we still had not acted on this power.  We all must encourage our state leaders to take action as afforded by Article 5.  As long as the two parties are running the federal government then we can all rest assured that nothing will get done.   There's a reason Congress has an approval rating of 10% or less.  They are stuck in the mud of a system that makes any improvement impossible, and a big part of that mud is the never ending battle between the R's and the D's.  

     This could be for both conservatives and liberals as it will allow for stronger rights at the local level such that the states would be able to operate according to their specific states' needs, demographics, and philosophies.   All this absurd talk of Texas (2008) and California (2016) seceding from the union !  Why ?  There is a way for us all to get what we want.  

Below is a link to the Convention of the States website.  Please check it out, donate and call your STATE congressmen !  This is a call to action from the founders of our country !   


https://www.conventionofstates.com/