Marco Rubio Brings New Wrinkle to Campaign

Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) made it clear this week just how much he wants to win the GOP nomination.

After relentlessly attacking President Obama on foreign policy and national defense, wooed establishment voters with big-name endorsements, and courted evangelicals with a new religious liberty advisory board—and a new ad that will begin running this weekend in Iowa—he decided to throw in the kitchen sink. In an op-ed published Wednesday in USA Today, he wrote:

“America was built on the revolutionary idea that our rights come from God, not from government. To protect those rights, our founders created a government of the people, by the people and for the people. But today, that government has been hijacked by politicians and bureaucrats who disregard the will of the people, rack up trillions in debt and expand the federal bureaucracy into more and more aspects of our lives. As president, I will promote a convention of states to amend the Constitution and restore limited government.”

Rubio said a convention of the states, which is prescribed in Article V of the Constitution of the United States, is the only means left to American citizens “because of Washington’s refusal to place restrictions on itself.” He said the Framers allowed for a constitutional convention because they knew our citizens were the ultimate defense against an overbearing federal government.

“They gave the American people, through their state representatives, the power to call a convention made up of at least 34 states, where delegates could then propose amendments that would require the support of 38 states to become law,” he said. “The amendment process must be approached with caution, which is why I believe the agenda should be limited to ideas that reduce the size and scope of the federal government, such as imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court and forcing fiscal responsibility through a balanced budget requirement. Limiting the agenda will prevent the convention from being overtaken by special interests.”

While the convention of states movement has deep ties to the Tea Party and grassroots conservative movement—and has its most ardent advocate in talk radio host Mark Levin—in the early voting states, particularly in Iowa, it has broad support. Draft resolutions have been offered by both Republicans and Democrats in the Iowa General Assembly calling for an Article V convention.