'Restoring constitutional republicanism': Mark Levin's vision for COS

Since Convention of States Action launched in 2013, critics have spread the lie that our grassroots Article V movement is secretly plotting to subvert the Constitution.

They say we would rewrite that singular document entirely; some have even gone so far as to say we already have a new “Constitution” on deck.

Such a claim could not be further from the truth, of course. Anyone who is even remotely familiar with the everyday American patriots behind this movement knows it is an outright lie.

Unfortunately, it is parroted regularly both in the liberal media and by a limited few on the fringe right. Last summer, for example, Business Insider accused Convention of States of trying to “fundamentally remake the United States.” The New York Times called our push for an Article V Convention of States an “exceptionally dangerous threat” that could “gut our Constitution.”

Amazingly, right-leaning groups such as the John Birch Society (JBS) have aligned themselves with the far left on this topic. “An Article V Constitutional Convention would threaten individual rights and our nation’s very form of government,” JBS falsely asserts. “Individual rights are secured by the Constitution, and a Con-Con [JBS’ sham nickname for Convention of States] would have the inherent power to become a “runaway” convention that could completely change the Constitution.”

Much ink has been spilled to debunk these historically inaccurate, misinformed falsehoods. Yet opponents keep on asserting that our conscious objective is to rewrite and destroy the Constitution.

Besides the abundance of historical attestation to the contrary, there is another key piece of evidence our opponents willfully ignore: the people behind Convention of States.

If the Constitution had a fan club, it would consist of the grassroots volunteers who labor tirelessly to call a Convention. These people are passionate about the Constitution. If they believed for a second that a Convention of States posed a threat to America’s beloved founding document, they would jump ship immediately.

Instead, these people know better than anyone that Article V is the only way to save the Constitution.

Article V, after all, is part of the Constitution. The Founders put it there unanimously… and for good reason. No wonder Constitution superfans want to use it!

To those who still aren’t convinced, take a look at what Mark Levin wrote in “The Liberty Amendments,” the hugely popular book that helped launch the Convention of States:

“I undertook this project,” he said, “not because I believe the Constitution, as originally structured, is outdated and outmoded, thereby requiring modernization through amendments, but because of the opposite–that is, the necessity and urgency of restoring constitutional republicanism and preserving the civil society from the growing authoritarianism of a federal Leviathan.”

He goes on to describe how “Statists have been successful in their century-long march to disfigure and mangle the constitutional order and undo the social compact. To disclaim the Statists’ campaign and aims is to imprudently ignore the inventions and schemes hatched and promoted openly by their philosophers, experts, and academics, and the coercive application of their designs on the citizenry by a delusional governing elite. Their handiwork is omnipresent, for all to see—a centralized and consolidated government with a ubiquitous network of laws and rules actively suppressing initiative, self-interest, and success in the name of the greater good and on behalf of the larger community. Nearly all will be emasculated by it, including the inattentive, ambivalent, and disbelieving.”

His point? There is nothing wrong with the Constitution itself. Our problem is that we, in the modern age, live in a system that has been meticulously and intentionally constructed to dethrone the Constitution as the Supreme Law of the land. That centuries-old charter has been so totally trampled, to restore it to its proper place of glory, piece by piece, would be an impracticable task. Many have tried – and perhaps they succeeded in one limited sphere of influence – but in the end, the system triumphed. Thankfully, Article V gives us the ability to totally smash that post-constitutional system, thereby freeing the Constitution to function as the Founders intended once again.

As Levin’s words remind us, the movement to call an Article V Convention has always been about preserving the original intent of the Constitution. We do not believe the Founder’s work is faulty or “outmoded.” We simply want to use the Constitution to save the Constitution, utilizing every portion of that blessed document the Founders in their great wisdom gave us.

To do so is just as “constitutional” as the First or Second Amendment or any other part of the Constitution.

Rather than playing Whac-A-Mole endlessly with our opponents’ misinformed attacks, it’s time for Convention of States to assert itself. Our aim, as Mark Levin said so many years ago is simply to “[restore] constitutional republicanism and [preserve] the civil society from the growing authoritarianism of a federal Leviathan.” Anyone who says otherwise is simply wrong.

To join us in our fight to save the Constitution, sign the Convention of States petition below and get involved today.