The following is an excerpt from a letter by Convention of States volunteer Seth Essendrop and published in the Hudson Reporter.
Dear Editor:
I disagree with you on absolutely everything. Well, maybe not everything, but for the sake of argument, let's assume so.
But, at the end of the day, you’re my neighbor. We can debate and argue, and ultimately I have no illusions, you’ll probably win at the polls (though not on the merits). This is New Jersey, after all.
The problem is, though, for most things that matter to either of us, I don’t care about what you think. Why? Because the decisions that affect our lives are not made by us in Trenton, but by other people in Washington, D.C.
I could convince all of you to support a given position, but that would be a massive waste of effort. You’re not the people I need to convince.
Instead, I’m fighting people from other states, or monitoring cases at the Supreme Court. My battles are with people 1,000 miles away, my allies are national organizations, and the caprices of nine unelected judges can hand my side a smashing victory or crushing defeat on any given day.
That’s not healthy, and that’s not how our government is supposed to work.
The Founders designed a federal system that envisioned the states handling the vast majority of issues, with the federal government handling only those things absolutely necessary to maintain a strong union.
Over time, however, the states have become increasingly irrelevant appendages of the federal government itself. Sadly, there are unelected bureaucrats and judges in Washington, D.C., that wield more direct control over your affairs than the state legislators you actually have a significant voice in electing.
That’s great for massive corporations, who can concentrate their lobbying in one place—but it’s horrible for regular people who want a meaningful say in how they’re governed.
During the Obama years, I was consistently frustrated to see how the president could completely ignore Congress and essentially legislate whatever he wanted by pulling the right administrative levers. You might feel the same about Trump.
Let’s change that. Let’s stop fighting World War III over every Supreme Court vacancy and presidential election.
How? We can rein in federal government and bring power back home where it belongs by calling an Article V Convention to amend the Constitution (you can learn more at conventionofstates.com). Let Texas be Texas, let California be California, and leave both of them out of our affairs.
If I’m going to fight, I would rather fight with you, even if I lose. Neither of us should have to lose to someone in Washington, D.C
