Those who want to maintain the status quo in D.C. will say just about anything to keep We the People from restraining the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.
Arkansas State Senator Gary Stubblefield has had enough of the misinformation. After helping pass the Convention of States resolution in the senate, he took to the local media to dispel three of the most common myths about Article V. Here's an excerpt:
Sadly, those who are misinformed about Article V are doing their best to undermine this constitutional solution. They rehash the same tired old arguments over and over again, year after year, with zero factual, legal, or historical evidence to support them. Here are three of their favorites:
• An Article V Convention would be a "new constitutional convention" where delegates could design a whole new government.
• No one knows how an Article V Convention would work; it's a completely unknown, untested process.
• The Founding Fathers were actually rogue agents who abused their authority and crafted an illegitimate Constitution at a "runaway convention" in 1787.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia once compared a certain awful--but persistent--legal framework to "some ghoul in a late-night horror movie that repeatedly sits up in his grave and shuffles abroad, after being repeatedly killed and buried." This is an apt description of each of the arguments made by Convention of States opponents. Each is soundly refuted by available facts, precedents, and historical data:
Article V clearly and explicitly outlines two processes for "proposing amendments" to "this Constitution"--one process for Congress to use, and another for the states to use to bypass Congress. It does not prescribe any process for a "new constitutional convention."
There are scores of factual precedents for interstate conventions in our nation's history which have been well-documented and studied. Moreover, there are dozens of cases in which courts have interpreted and explained various aspects of Article V. (You can read about this in Professor Robert Natelson's new book, The Law of Article V). State legislatures appoint and control the delegates that represent them at the convention on a one-state, one-vote basis.
We can read for ourselves the instructions the states gave their commissioners to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. It was not a "runaway convention." The founders acted within their authority, as one would have expected from men of their character.
The Founders included the Convention of States option in Article V so the people and the states could have a real recourse against the abuses of the federal government. We can't be paralyzed by mythic fears spread by the uninformed and the dishonest.
The Article V process is safe and effective, and it's high time we used it. Sign the Convention of States Petition below to show your support!
