The following was written by Dustin Romney, a Convention of States volunteer in Arizona.
I faithfully believed we could elect constitutionalists who would ride in to the capitol building on their white horses and restore a Constitutional Republic by eliminating every extra-constitutional program. Then I learned about politics.
About six years ago I considered myself a well-informed person. I watched the news and read the occasional article on a few topics that interested me. Then I remember watching a show in which Glenn Beck issued a challenge to his viewers to read original sources for themselves. I don't remember how, but around the same time I also came across the congressional testimony of a man named Roger Pilon, a constitutional scholar at the Cato Institute. In his testimony, he recounted how the government had departed from constitutional restraints over the years. I took up Beck's challenge. I read the Constitution, looked at our current government and said to myself: What's wrong with this picture?
From there I began reading everything I could get my hands on; Federalist Papers, Anti-Federalist Papers, Supreme Court Rulings, law reviews, early debates, commentaries, books, journals, biographies, letters, speeches and more. For a while, as it became clear just how far removed the federal government actually was from the Constitution, I faithfully believed we could elect constitutionalists who would ride in to the capitol building on their white horses and restore a Constitutional Republic by eliminating every extra-constitutional program.
Then I learned about politics. I began to see how easy it was for good ideas to be steamrolled by a biased media, special interests, and a grossly misinformed public. From there it didn't take long for me to conclude what most people already know: our system is broken. How else is it possible that in a representative democracy almost no one is satisfied with the work of our own elected leaders? How is it possible that large majorities of voters want tax reform and less spending yet elected leaders do not oblige?
How do we respond to a broken system? By electing better leaders? Consider an analogy: If you own a broken down race car would you conclude that all you need to win the race is a better driver? No. If you put Mario Andretti in the seat of a broken car he would have no chance of winning. This is one thing that must be understood. The VA, NSA, BLM, EPA etc. are not just mismanaged, they are part of an unmanageable system.
There is only one thing to do: take the car back to the shop and get it fixed. Amend the Constitution. I hear you skeptics; the problem is not with the original Constitution. But the charter of 1787 is gone, shredded by more than two centuries of usurpation, misguided judicial review, and amendment. There is no scenario in which our current political environment is going to allow a magical and voluntary return to the Constitution.
When it became clear that Article V held the solution to our problems, I knew that I wanted to dedicate everything I could to the movement for a new convention. The most logical thing for me was to put to good use the knowledge I had accumulated over the years by writing my book, "Rule of Law." Then I came across the Convention of States Project and there was no way I was not going to be as big a part of this group as they would allow me to be. I am so thankful for the work they are doing and I urge everyone to get involved with this citizen movement.
I am certainly sympathetic to the trepidation felt by many about the amendment process. It may help to remind those who harbor these feelings that the same spirit of apprehension existed about the Constitution in 1787. But we must do as the Framers did: first, realize that our current system is unworkable; second, set aside the tribal mentality which the two-party political system has engrained in our minds and come together for the good of the country. The Founders gave us Article V for that very purpose. Let's not disappoint them.
