Mark Meckler, founder and president of Citizens for Self-Governance, thinks Phyllis Schlafly is on the wrong track. In his latest article on the American Spectator, Meckler explains why the highly respected conservative leader should reconsider her position on a Convention of States. Here are some highlights:
After a long and brilliant career, Phyllis Schlafly has taken a terribly wrong turn.
Throughout her career she has accomplished so much good. But today, she stands firmly on the side of a huge, unfettered, unconstitutional federal leviathan…
Most people want to restrain the federal government. This is a bipartisan issue. In fact, in recent polling a full 60 percent of Americans say the federal government is too big and powerful. Fifty-three percent of Americans say the federal government is a direct threat to our liberty and freedom. Those are astounding numbers! Washington, DC, is completely out of touch with the rest of the country and no longer feels bound by constitutional restraints.
George Mason argued passionately that it was absurd to believe a government run amok would ever pass amendments to restrain its own power. The Framers unanimously agreed. That’s why the great men who gave us the Constitution inserted the second half of Article V. They wanted to give us the right, power, and obligation to call a convention to restrain a federal government run amok.
Look around. It’s amok.
The time has come to use Article V and call a convention. Phyllis Schlafly deserves our immense respect for a lifetime of accomplishment, but she is no constitutional scholar. In her defiance of the Convention of States, she is standing against some of the finest constitutional scholars and thinkers in this country. Most Americans will choose to stand with Michael Farris, Prof. Robert Natelson, Prof. Randy Barnett, Prof. Nick Dranius, Prof. Lawrence Lessig, Levin, Limbaugh, Hannity, Glenn Beck, Sen. Coburn, Sen. Johnson, Gov. Huckabee, and hundreds of state legislators who support an Article V Convention.
Sadly, Phyllis Schlafly stands almost alone on the fringe of conservatism, with no significant support from legitimate scholars or notable commentators, clutching feebly to a letter written in the 1970s by liberal activist Chief Justice Warren Burger.
She is unwittingly leading her supporters into a desperate, sad place of permanent citizen impotence and government overreach.
Instead, she should change course and align her values with the Founders. We welcome her to join the fight, bring her troops, and help the people, via the states, to restore liberty.
