According to a Pew Research poll, faith in government is at an abysmal 17 percent – and the political parties seem unconcerned.
Our debt has reached an incomprehensible 40 trillion dollars. Our great-great-great-great grandchildren will be making interest payments on the loans we took out, before their morning commute to work on Mars.
The people we send to Washington to serve us, spend a few decades in office and forget why they’re there. Politicians start representing the government rather than the constituents whom they no longer live with. Judges start deciding cases according to their wishes rather than the Constitution or the law.
The deep state bureaucracy has become so unaccountable that it treats the citizenry like subjects rather than masters. We have almost a quarter of a million pages of regulations – each one of which takes away a bit more of our freedom.
I volunteer with Convention of States Action (COSA), because I’ve come to believe that the federal government will never fix itself. Fortunately, our founders included a clause in the Constitution, empowering the states to redirect a federal government which has lost its “mission focus” – the second clause of Article V. It reads in part:
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 … (emphasis added)
COSA is lobbying for the states to exercise that 2nd clause. To date, 20 state legislatures have approved resolutions calling for a convention to propose amendments imposing fiscal restraint, term limits, and restraint of government overreach. COSA polling indicates that 68 percent of Americans are in favor of a convention to address those issues. In spite of broad support, 30 states remain reluctant to call for a convention. Why is that?
In my home state of Idaho, the legislature has held hearings discussing an Article V convention in each of the last 3 years. Each time the topic has come up, representatives from both major political parties (Republican and Democrat) have given testimony expressing their opposition to the measure. In fact, opposition to allowing the states to “throw a penalty flag” on the federal government seems to be the only thing which both Republican and Democrat party leadership are in complete agreement on.
Why is that? Perhaps we should follow the money.
Individual politicians may have various reasons to pursue office. But the parties which back them aren’t in the “fix America” business. They aren’t really even in the “win elections” business. They’re actually in the campaign finance business – and donations pay the bills. To keep the “collection plates” full, their mission is to convince Americans that they’re the only solution to every problem – with only being the operative word. Non-electoral methods of securing America’s future are not in their interest.
For the political parties, elections are simply a convenient tool to rally donors.
Consider what happens whenever a politician says something which other citizens might disagree with. The opposition party sends out a blast email soliciting donations to combat the most recent “threat to our democracy.” It’s never a rational email, debating the merits of the subject. It’s always a hysterical email predicting the end of our republic, unless we send money. It’s almost as if the whole point of the political parties is to make money. Scare mongering is good for business – while a return to founding principles is not.
Admittedly the Article V convention process is arduous:
- Multiple state legislatures must be convinced,
- “The sky is falling” panic incitement will be epic,
- Congress will drag its feet in meeting its duty to schedule the convention,
- Lawsuits will be filed,
- Diverse delegates will need to agree on proposal wording, and
- Only 13 states can scuttle any proposal (during ratification).
But we should consider the work/reward calculus. What it could achieve is well worth the effort.
Just imagine if:
- Politicians and judges actually complied with their oaths of office and operated within founding principles;
- The value of the dollar was determined by national productivity, rather than federal spending; and
- Accountability transformed deep state bureaucrats from overlords into servants.
It rather makes the political opposition to a convention understandable.
Were it to succeed, the states and citizens would gain power, at the expense bureaucrats and politicians. Elections would become far less consequential. Every two years would cease being “the most important election of our lifetime” – and political parties would lose income.
Both Republican and Democrat parties’ profit by preserving our current state of affairs, not by improving it. Their opposition to an Article V convention simply confirms that they’re terrified that it might actually work.
[Image generated by ChatGPT]
Author Bio: John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now on strike in Galt’s Gulch – which the locals call Idaho. He is a retired engineer who spent much of his career applying engineering principles to organizational development (yes, really). He has written for The American Spectator, Convention of States Action, and American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.
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