This time of year finds me watching plenty of committee hearings and floor debates in state legislatures across the nation. And while I see glimpses of passion, statesmanship, and standing on principle, I also see discouraging symptoms of a political epidemic that seems to afflict conservatives, in particular.
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It’s the conviction that our national doom is inevitable, and that no one can be trusted to act wisely or in the nation’s best interest. It’s the attitude of “hunker down and defend” instead of “move forward to improve.” It’s conspiracy theory upon conspiracy theory.
In short, it’s bunker politics.
Bunker politics withdraws from our society’s messes instead of engaging them. Bunker politics believes every election is rigged, every political process will be hijacked, and every court will fail to provide justice. Bunker politics hints at “nullification,” secession, and even armed conflict. Bunker politics sees every political opponent as an enemy.
Bunker Politics vs. Article V
On the other hand, Convention of States Action is working to implement a meaningful solution to the problems that ail our federal system. We aim to bring about the nation’s first convention for proposing amendments.
It’s a process gifted to the state legislatures in Article V of the Constitution. It gives the states the same power to propose amendments as Congress has, because the Founders knew that the states might need that kind of “check” if the federal government started to overstep its bounds.
Using this process, the states can reverse bad Supreme Court precedents and put Congress back in its box. They can force Congress to stop its reckless spending. They can end the federal stranglehold on education, the environment, and small business.
The process is a meeting of the states, through their own chosen delegations, to propose amendments on the limited agenda agreed to in advance by 34 states. On the agenda already agreed to by 19 states: imposing fiscal restraint, limiting federal power and jurisdiction, and setting term limits for federal officials.
But those who deal in bunker politics can’t stomach the idea that there is actually something we can do to repair our broken federal structure. In keeping with their general outlook on the world outside the bunker, they think the bogeyman will be hiding behind the curtains at a convention of the states.
So instead of putting their energy into the common-sense solution contained in our Constitution, they put their energy into stopping it. The John Birch Society–a leading practitioner of bunker politics–doesn’t seem to mind that its bedfellows are groups who actually want a bigger federal government. So they stand with Common Cause, The League of Women Voters, Planned Parenthood, and the Sierra Club to say, “Stop! This is scary!”
They make outlandish predictions about the repeal of the Second Amendment (not possible legally or politically). They accuse our Founding Fathers of being scoundrels who abused the public trust in crafting our current Constitution (completely false). They say we don’t know how an Article V convention would work (utterly untrue).
They claim to love the Constitution so much, that they abhor the idea of amending it. Nevermind that through amendments we have protected freedom of religious exercise, abolished slavery, and given women the right to vote. Nevermind that the very process they so vehemently opposed is part of our beloved Constitution. They deal in emotion rather than reason, fear rather than faith.
Paralysis = Status Quo
The practical result of bunker politics is paralysis. When we see monsters under the bed and attackers around every corner, we can’t make any significant progress toward a more just and virtuous society. No one is winsome or persuasive when they’re ruled by fear and suspicion.
At the end of the day, bunker politicians end up in the pathetic position of defending the status quo they don’t want. They complain about the national debt, they bemoan federal control of virtually all public policy, but they won’t use the one constitutional tool given to them to actually fix the problem.
Some might defend this posture as a hallmark of conservatism. “Conservatives don’t like change,” they say. I say they’re wrong. Or at least they’re describing a brand of conservatism that I don’t want any part of. Conservatism is about conserving what is good, true, and beautiful. In today’s America, that requires plenty of change.
The good news is, our Founding Fathers anticipated all of this, because they knew the natural tendencies of mankind. So they gave us a constitutional system fitted with all the processes needed to keep it healthy. If we choose to cower in fear and turn our backs on one of those processes–the convention of the states for proposing amendments–we shouldn’t be surprised to be stuck in this mess.
Fear…or Faith?
It’s important to recognize the faith element in all of this. In fact, one opponent to Article V recently stated very clearly in his testimony in Wyoming. After talking about our cultural decline, he said, “God won’t have anything to do with [a Convention].”
That man doesn’t know the God I serve. The God I serve holds men and nations in His hands. Nothing escapes His notice.
The people who know Him and serve Him will go into a lion’s den if that is the penalty for doing what’s right; their faith rests fully in their God. The people who know Him will go to battle alone against a giant, armed only with a slingshot and a few stones. They will walk into a fiery furnace, knowing their God has the power to save them. Even if he chooses not to rescue them from the flames, they will do what is right, because it honors Him.
The people who know the God of the Bible refuse to be ruled by fear. They act courageously, trusting the results to their God.
Americans who have the courage to keep working toward reform, to engage instead of retreat, need to step up. Bunker politics has no place among a self-governing people, and it is unbecoming of any public official who would deign to lead us.
Click here to listen to Crossroads Podcast about Bunker Politics, with Rita Peters, Mark Meckler, and the Honorable Rick Santorum.
We are close to passing our resolutions in Kansas, North Carolina, and Iowa. Click above to learn what you can do to help us get our resolution passed!
