The New Con-Con Challenge

by Larry Greenley, Director of Marketing

If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution, it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress.... [I]t would consequently give greater agitation to the public mind; an election into it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides ... [and] would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who, under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts ... might have the dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric.... Having witnessed the difficulties and dangers experienced by the first Convention, which assembled under every propitious circumstance, I should tremble for the result of a second, meeting in the present temper in America....                                                           -- James Madison, 1788

The above warning by James Madison, “Father of the Constitution,” expresses the basic argument against calling a new constitutional convention (Con-Con) under Article V of the Constitution. Such a convention would provide the opportunity for certain individuals with their own agenda for radically changing the Constitution to mask their true intentions by promoting popular amendment proposals and meanwhile to work to change the Constitution for the worse.

The bottom line is that most of the problems that people are trying to fix by calling a constitutional convention are due to the general indifference to the Constitution by all three branches of the federal government, executive, legislative, and judicial. How would changing the wording of the Constitution itself make our federal officials begin to pay attention to it?

Whether we continue with the Constitution as is or somehow manage to amend it through a constitutional convention, we are still left with this problem of how to force our federal officials to obey the Constitution. The only strategy that has a chance of getting the results we desire is the creation of a massive grassroots movement that stresses widespread education about the Constitution’s role in securing our freedom and applies continuous pressure on Congress and the President to maintain a limited government as prescribed by the Constitution. The incentive for Congress and the President to pay attention to this grassroots movement would be the desire they have for themselves and others in their party to be elected and re-elected.

Since we would need this constitutionalist grassroots movement to ensure our freedom under the Constitution whether or not the Constitution is amended, let’s avoid the risk of bad changes being made to it by avoiding calling a constitutional convention in the first place. Instead, such a powerful, constitutionalist grassroots movement would also be capable of influencing two thirds of Congress to propose desirable amendments which would then be subject to ratification by three fourths of the states.

I’m spending so much space in this month’s column on the topic of an Article V constitutional convention because we could be in for the biggest onslaught of Con-Con calls ever. In recent weeks two new websites have appeared with the sole purpose of developing grassroots organization and support for amending the Constitution through the calling of an Article V constitutional convention.

One of these new websites is “The Bill of Federalism” at http://www.federalismamendment.com/. This website is owned and operated by “The Bill of Federalism Project.” The Executive Director is Michael Patrick Leahy, a self-described Republican strategist, founder of TCOT (Top Conservatives on Twitter), and a leader of the Tea Party movement. According to the homepage, “The Bill of Federalism was drafted by Professor Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law School and is supported by The Nationwide Tea Party Coalition.”

The strategy of the “Bill of Federalism” website is: “This final document [a model resolution for state legislatures] will be presented to supportive state legislators in all 50 states, with the idea that they will use it as a ‘template’ in drawing up bills to petition Congress to convene a Constitutional Convention to pass the ten amendments that comprise ‘The Bill of Federalism.’” Their “First Ten Targeted States” are Alabama, Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. These states appear to have been picked on the basis of their Tenth Amendment activity this year. Maybe they don’t realize it yet, but Oklahoma’s legislature just rescinded all of their previous Con-Con calls in May.

A second new website is “Constitution Restoration Initiative” at http://constitutionrestoration.org. The Constitution Restoration Initiative (CRI) describes itself as “a national movement supported by a broad coalition of citizens ... with a specific plan and strategy for the People to amend the Constitution by means of a Constitutional Convention.” Their plan is to organize for the 2010 elections and “Elect 3,627 State Legislators from 40 States across the country supportive of CRI.”

So you can see our work to defeat Con-Con calls is far from over. Please network with the constitution-oriented grassroots organizations, such as Tea Party groups and Glenn Beck 9-12 Project groups, in your area and educate them about the downsides of a new constitutional convention. You should also continue educating your state legislators about the dangers of a Con-Con, even in states which have rescinded their previous Con-Con calls. All states will be subject to renewed pro Con-Con activities this year and next. Your primary educational tool is our video, “Beware of Article V,” which is available to view for free on YouTube.com and BirchTube on JBS.org. You can buy DVDs of this video from ShopJBS.org.

Let’s have zero tolerance for any new Con-Con calls!

Action Summary:

• Educate grassroots activists and state legislators about the downsides of a Con-Con using the “Beware of Article V” video.
• Go to the “Legislative Action” section under “Action” on JBS.org and concentrate on stopping ratification of the LOST Treaty, supporting passage of H.R. 1207 to audit the Fed, supporting passage of Tenth Amendment Movement resolutions in your state legislature, opposing any “cap-and-trade” global warming bills in Congress, and opposing any expansion of government-funded healthcare programs.