Article V Convention

The article of the Constitution allows for the convention process of proposing and ratifying amendments to the US Constitution.  (It is not a Constitutional Convention.  It does not, and cannot rewrite the Constitution.  Proponents of arguments claiming this are sending forth red herrings.  These are individuals who are unaware of the facts, or are deliberately attempting to usurp individual and state rights.  A Constitutional Convention is an entirely different event.)  Amendments for such an Article V convention can be proposed by two-thirds of both houses of Congress, or by the request of two-thirds of the state legislatures.  If an amendment is approved by the convention, then three-fourths of the state legislatures or three-fourths of state ratifying conventions must approve them in order for the proposals to be added to the US Constitution.  The Congress gets to select which method will be used in the ratification voting process.  Such a “failsafe” mechanism will ensure that a so-called “run-away” convention, which would threaten the US Constitution, could not occur.

The ignoring of the will of the people, as well as the Constitution, was forewarned by Alexander Hamilton when he wrote in Federalist 85 on the Article V process that, “In opposition to the probability of subsequent amendments, it has been urged that the persons delegated to the administration of the national government will always be disinclined to yield up any portion of the authority of which they were once possessed.” (1) He could not have been more prophetic or accurate than that with regards to the current situation in Washington, D. C.  As Joel S. Hirschhorn wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Using the Article V convention option is necessary to rein in Washington and all of the status quo corruption in the two-party plutocracy.” (2)  [Plutocracy is an elite or ruling class of people whose power derives from their wealth.]

Undoubtedly the most glaring example of this in recent times has been Obamacare.  In his article, “Had Enough?” Rob Natelson, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Montana, said, “If there were any doubt that our constitutional protection has been lost, that doubt should be removed by the congressional vote subjecting the personal health care decisions of every American to central governmental authority.  By an extremely narrow majority, the House of Representatives has crammed a profoundly unpopular and unconstitutional measure down the throats of the American public: And not only unpopular and unconstitutional, but expensive enough to virtually ensure our nation’s eventual bankruptcy.” (3)

Add to the debate for an Article V action, the current crisis-levels to which our national debt and deficit spending have been raised.  A balanced budget amendment, brought about by the ratification of an Article V Convention-spawned amendment to the Constitution.  This would prohibit the continued calamitous and reckless actions of Washington in perpetuating their out-of-control spending, and inflicting untold debt upon our children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren.  US Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX) said on the floor of the House that an Article V Convention “may be the only way to undo the damage the current Congress and administration are inflicting on the public.” (4)

This will not be an easy undertaking.  In recent times, Congress has consistently refused to obey its constitutionally mandated duties and respond to repeated citizen calls for such a convention.  As presented in two lawsuits, Walker v. United States (in 2000), and Walker v. Members of Congress (in 2004), “…the question of whether Congress was required to obey the text of the Constitution and call a convention when the states applied which the evidence in the suit clearly showed they had, or whether, despite the language of the Constitution which the Founders termed ‘peremptory’ Congress could ignore, or veto, the direct text of the Constitution and refuse to call such a convention even though the states applied.” (5) [Peremptory means insisting on immediate action.]  It appears that what US Congress is saying, is that they must be forced to listen to the voices of the electorate, to do what is constitutionally mandated.

There is everything to gain from the corrective process of fixing Washington, and nothing to lose.  Decentralizing those particular aspects of governing, which are most effectively and efficiently accomplished by the states must be acknowledged and undertaken.  The rights of the individual voters must be respected.  Undoubtedly, there is everything to lose if we let go unchecked the surrendering of the states’ sovereignty to a corrupted federal system.  If we do nothing, and allow for the continuation of the way things are operating now, then we will find ourselves destitute, and in the refuse pile of history with other great countries and empires who ignored the will of the people, and instead bent to the winds of corruption and self-serving interests.  We must use the Article V convention to stop Washington from usurping ever more of our personal freedoms, our national security, our wealth, and our future, as well as the states’ sovereignty.

(1) http://foavc.org/

(2) http://www.nolanchart.com/authors/articles/article.php?ArticleID=7568

(3) http://.lewrockwell.com/orig11/natelson.1.1.1html

(4) http://lonelyconservative.com/2010/03/time-for-an-article-v-convention/ (

5) http://article5.org/

[VERY GOOD]

 

 Biography of

 Dr. Kevin Gutzman


Kevin R. C. Gutzman’s first book was the New York Times best-seller The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, an account of American constitutional history from the pre-Revolutionary days to the present.  This work is unique in joining the fruits of the latest scholarship, a very readable presentation, and a distinctly Jeffersonian point of view.   His second book, Virginia’s American Revolution:  From Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840, explores the issue what the Revolutionaries made of the Revolution in Thomas Jefferson’s home state.  Most recently, he joined with New York Times best-selling author Thomas E. Woods, Jr., author of the current best-seller Meltdown, in authoring Who Killed the Constitution?  The Fate of American Liberty from World War I to Barack Obama.

Gutzman has edited new editions of John Taylor of Caroline’s Tyranny Unmasked and New Views of the Constitution of the United States, and his essay “Lincoln as Jeffersonian:  The Colonization Chimera” appeared in editor Brian Dirck’s collection Lincoln Emancipated:  The President and the Politics of Race.

Kevin’s writing has appeared in The Journal of American History, The Journal of Southern History, The Journal of the Early Republic , The Review of Politics, The American Conservative, National Review, Modern Age, Human Events, The University Bookman, Publius:  The Journal of Federalism, World Net Daily, Military History, The Charleston Post and Courier, The Journal of the Historical Society, LewRockwell.com, TakiMag.com, and many, many other publications.  He has also written essays in 21 historical encyclopedias.

Gutzman has appeared on well over 100 radio programs, including syndicated shows such as The Michael Medved Show, the Janet Parshall Show, the Curtis Sliwa Show, and multiple programs on Air America, on Sirius Satellite Radio's Mike Church Show (including as guest host), as well as on C-SPAN 2's "BookTV," CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight," and Fox News's "The Glenn Beck Program." He has also been interviewed by reporters from the AP, the Washington Times, the Philadelphia Enquirer, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.

Kevin Gutzman has served as technical advisor to two documentary CDs and one feature film project. In addition, he was a featured expert in the documentary film “John Marshall: Citizen, Statesman, Jurist."

Kevin R. C. Gutzman is the New York Times best-selling author of three books.  Professor of History at Western Connecticut State University, Gutzman holds a bachelor’s degree, a master of public affairs degree, and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an MA and a PhD in American history from the University of Virginia.  Happy to be a former attorney, Gutzman devotes his intellectual energy to teaching courses in the Revolutionary and constitutional history of the United States, to writing books and articles in these fields, and to public speaking on related topics.

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