“… the most important truth of our time: Washington, D.C. will never fix itself. Article V is the only solution.” –Sen. Jim DeMint
Former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, who stepped down after 14 years in Congress, told listeners to the Nora Firestone Show (AM 1110 WKQA, Norfolk) that he refused to become a Washington insider.
But not joining them did not help defeat them. Instead, after fighting for limited government and fiscal responsibility throughout his years on Capitol Hill, he “finally realized the most important truth of our time: Washington, D.C. will never fix itself.”
The first and foremost goal of Washington’s insiders, regardless of party, is staying in power. Avoiding decisions that hurt narrow interests, no matter its impact on the national interest, is how long tenure in federal office is achieved.
Politicians avoid saying “no” to special interests for fear they will then mobilize electoral opposition. Even fraud, waste, and abuse are never seriously tackled, and for the same reason: while those benefiting are highly motivated to resist and to support a politician’s opposition, there’s no off-setting electoral benefit for doing what’s right. It’s just the opposite. By promising “free” benefits—ones charged to future generations, not current voters—reelection is made easier.
As a result our nation has accumulated a $20 trillion debt, over 70 percent of which piled-up just since 2001. At this rate, DeMint explained, Congress will bankrupt America. The Congressional Budget Office projects the deficit will average more than $1 trillion every year over the next 10 years.
The change needed to stop reckless federal spending and borrowing must come from outside D.C.’s insider bubble. Now a senior advisor to Convention of States Project, DeMint has joined the effort to convince state legislators they must use their constitutional power to propose amendments before it’s too late.
Sen. DeMint explained to listeners how Article V of the Constitution spells out the two-step amendment process. First amendments are proposed, then separately ratified by the states. All 27 ratified amendments were first proposed by Congress.
Yet the Framers foresaw a time when federal officials would run roughshod over commonsense voters, serving only the self-interest of Washington’s elites. They wisely set down in Article V another way for amendments to be proposed: by the states gathered in a convention.
This is the Convention of States process, which in Article V is referred to as “a convention for proposing amendments.”
The key goal of the Framers was to ensure We the People are not at the mercy of Washington insiders, who will never propose amendments that limit their power and perks . . . will never fix themselves, as Senator DeMint came to realize.
When asked to state the main objective of a Convention of States, DeMint replied simply, “To save our country.”
He noted that Washington will spend more money next year than ever in our history. Currently there are no effective constitutional limits on federal power or how much it can spend. We need to change that, DeMint argued, and an Article V Convention of States is the only way left to us. It is an obligation we have to our children and grandchildren.
Listen to Sen. DeMint's interview at this link.
