Article V of the U.S. Constitution allows for two ways to amend our nation’s charter.
The first is the manner in which every adopted amendment has been proposed: two-thirds of both the House and Senate approve the amendment, sending it to the states for ratification. The second, however, has never been used—yet. By the second method, two-thirds of the state legislatures call for a convention to proposed wholesale changes to the Constitution, which then are sent to the states for ratification.
For the past several years, there has been an on-again-off-again effort to push for just such a convention, know alternatively as the “Convention of the States” or the “Article V Convention.” But, the movement picked up tremendous steam during the Obama administration and in the early months of the Trump administration.
And now it has a new champion who is pledging to push it to completion.
“I tried to rein in Washington from inside the House and Senate, then by starting the Senate Conservatives Fund to elect good conservatives, and finally as President of the Heritage Foundation, creating and promoting good, conservative policy,” former U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint wrote Monday morning. “But once I realized that Washington will never willingly return decision-making power back to the American people and the states, I began to search for another way to restrain the federal government. I am excited to get outside the beltway and work with the grassroots of the Convention of States Project to continue the fight I started almost two decades ago.”
Convention of States Project co-founder Mark Meckler, in an official statement announcing DeMint’s involvement in the effort, said the former senator’s “extensive experience in Washington” gives him first-hand knowledge of the “near-impossible task” of making significant changes while within the federal government. He said DeMint knows how to “fight the opposition” to do what is best for our nation.
“He is a principled legislative leader and a friend of the grassroots, which makes his addition to the Convention of States Project a natural fit,” he said. “The founders’ vision was never to surrender sovereignty, yet the people have been willing for more than half a century to hand over their liberty for the carrots of big government.
“The slow-creep of waste, fraud, abuse and selfish interests, along with unfathomable debt, has made citizens frustrated with all branches and departments of the federal government. The Convention of States is the constitutional, viable solution the founders gave us for exactly this moment.”
Given the nature of today’s culture, the Article V convention process is potentially dangerous, but that hasn’t stopped a long list of conservative leaders to endorse it, including:
- Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson,
- U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R- Fla.,
- U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.,
- U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R- S.C.,
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott,
- Ohio Gov. John Kasich,
- former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla.,
- former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush,
- former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,
- former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal,
- former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin,
- former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli,
- talk radio host Mark Levin,
- FOX News Channel and talk radio host Sean Hannity,
- economist Thomas Sowell and
- historian David Barton.
Twelve states—Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arizona, North Dakota, Missouri and Texas—have thus far adopted the CSP resolution calling for limited federal government and term limits on federal officials, such as judges. The measure was being considered by 32 other states during this year’s legislative sessions.
“I’ve finally realized the most important truth of our time: Washington, D.C., will never fix itself,” DeMint added. “Convention of States is the only solution.” {eoa}
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