WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 9—For many Americans, Donald Trump’s rise to the Presidency offers hope for the future of the United States. A Republican in the White House will ideally result in more small-government and America-friendly policies. It isn’t clear, however, how much Trump can do to change the underlying structural problems that allow the federal government to control every aspect of American life.
After Trump’s term is complete, non-elected federal bureaucrats will still dictate the majority of rules and regulations, and future presidents will still enact dictatorial executive orders. The Supreme Court will continue to misinterpret the Constitution, and the states will only have a minor role in crafting domestic policy.
What is needed for long-term change to return the power to the states is a structural change that requires Congress to voluntarily give up their power—which Congress will never do. The people should not rest, and must push to restore the necessary constitutional balance to our system. Only a Convention of States can bring about the reforms this country so desperately needs.
“It’s time to use the Constitutional mechanism our Founders bequeathed to us to shore up the rule of law and reinstate the Constitution,” said Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States Action. “It’s imperative that we recalibrate the relationship between the states and federal government and restore the proper checks and balances among the federal branches of power. Even a well-intentioned President Trump cannot do this alone. He will need the people to call an Article V Convention to give him the real reforms we need to restore the republic, and we hope that he will immediately call on the states to call such a convention.”
An Article V Convention of States can do just that. By proposing constitutional amendments that explicitly limit the power of the federal government, a Convention of States can restore the states and the people to their rightful positions of authority in the American system of government.
“Congressmen on Capitol Hill talk about change and reform, but that’s all they ever do—talk,” added Michael Farris, co-founder of the Convention of States Project. “An Article V Convention of States gives ‘We the People’ the opportunity to reform the structure of the federal government itself for the benefit of the states and the people. We must stop looking to Washington to fix Washington and take matters into our own hands, as the Founders intended.”
A Convention of States can be called when 34 states pass resolutions calling for such a Convention. Eight states have issued these calls thus far, but Texas Governor Gregg Abbott has made passing the Convention of States resolution a top priority for the Texas legislature this year. With Texas on board, dozens of additional states are set to pass their own resolutions in the coming months.
Amendment proposals that come out of a Convention of States must be sent back to the states for ratification. Thirty-eight states must vote in favor of any proposal before it becomes part of the Constitution.
