Tag Archives: convention

Constitutional Convention Can Succeed

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  1. Mock Constitutional Convention was successful.
  2. Congress is broken.
  3. Congress acts when 2/3rds of votes are near.
  4. Congress will limit topics and set a deadline.
  5. States and Congress will specify attendees.
  6. 3/4th of States have to approve any amendments.

Mock Constitutional Convention was successful. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration 2012 national assembly resulted in 15 amendment-like grievances by 75 people in 3 days. Arizona State University is hosting another one. https://constitutionaldesign.asu.edu/2024-model-constitutional-convention/

Congress is broken. 2023 was one of the worst years for Congressional productivity.

Congress acts when 2/3rds of votes are near. 27th Amendment passed in 1992 when state approval was near. See “The People’s Constitution” book page 245.

Congress will limit topics and set a deadline. Congress will limit convention topics to the state resolutions so no new Constitution will result. Congress will also set a deadline.

States and Congress will specify attendees. Some state resolutions specify attendees. Congress will designate the rest.

3/4th of States have to approve any amendments. Per Constitution Article V a whole new Constitution will never pass in 3/4th of States.

Why a Convention?

  1. Get Capitalism out of politics.
  2. Rights in the Constitution are for each person not groups of people like Super PACs. (Reverse Citizen’s United)
  3. Campaign finance limits and lobbying limits are mandatory.
  4. Term limits are needed.
  5. Filibusters are unconstitutional.
  6. Gerrymandering is unconstitutional.
  7. Unanimous consent is unconstitutional.

What about a runaway Convention?

“Much of the fear surrounding a convention is unfounded. The Convention Clause’s text and history indicate that it grants power to the States to limit the scope of any such convention. In addition, the States have the ability to reject any amendments proposed by a convention through the (3/4th of States) ratification process.”

– The Other Way to Amend the Constitution: The Article V Constitutional Convention Amendment Process, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, Vol. 30, Issue 3

Overturn Citizens United

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We need only 1 more state legislature to ask for a Balanced Budget Amendment and then a Constitutional Convention will be held to overturn Citizens United AND pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.  That is because the Constitution DOES NOT LIMIT the topics at a Constitutional Convention.

Citizens United said that Corporations are people and that money is free speech.

That isn’t what our Founding Fathers intended.

See the following wikipedia website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_budget_amendment
go to the History section and read the last paragraph which says the following:

Article V of the Constitution specifies that if the legislatures of two-thirds of the states petition Congress for a constitutional amendment, then Congress must call a convention for proposing amendments. Between May 8, 1957 (Indiana), and July 21, 1983 (Missouri), applications from 32 different state legislatures, were submitted to Congress on the subject of a Balanced Budget Amendment.  On October 30, 2013, the Ohio Senate adopted Senate Joint Resolution No. 5; making Ohio the 33rd state.

If one additional state legislature were to petition, then the required two-thirds majority of states would be reached (34 out of 50 states) and some contend that Congress would be required to call a convention to propose a Balanced Budget Amendment.

A constitutional convention could overturn Citizens United  WITHOUT CONGRESS!  Please talk to your state legislators!