‘Washington is watching’: Meckler, Farris, Santorum respond to amendments passed out of simulation

After hours of deliberation, the 2023 Simulated Article V Convention adjourned late Friday afternoon, having passed six amendments, which, in an actual Article V convention, would then go back to the states for ratification. Following the event, Convention of States Foundation President Mark Meckler, co-founder Michael Farris, and Senior Advisor Rick Santorum joined constitutional attorney Rita Peters to share their thoughts on the six amendments.

First, all three men praised the process, noting that while a real convention might last for more than six months, the over 100 commissioners at the simulated convention managed to meticulously craft and approve six solid amendments in less than 48 hours.

Farris commended attendees who “behaved with great wisdom” and said he was “very, very impressed.” Mark Meckler agreed, adding that the experience “gave me a lot of faith in the process.”

Next, the trio addressed the first passed amendment, a term limits proposal, which Mark Meckler called his least favorite. “I wasn’t a huge fan,” he said, describing that, in his opinion, with nine terms for Representatives and three for Senators, the proposal did not go far enough. He also wished the amendment had term-limited unelected bureaucrats, not only elected officials. Farris countered that, in a real convention, where commissioners would have more time to consider term limits on the bureaucracy, he was “confident” such an amendment would pass.

SEE ALSO: 49 states agree on six constitutional amendments to restrain D.C. tyranny

Farris called the next amendment, which simultaneously capped the Supreme Court at nine justices and gave the states standing to sue the federal government for perceived constitutional violations, his “very favorite thing of the whole convention.”

“There [are] a lot of important cases that can’t get brought successfully, including virtually all spending cases,” he noted. “It’s really hard to challenge the constitutionality of federal spending. This would fix [that] because you say the states, as sovereigns, have the standing to sue on any constitutional claim, an act by Congress or an act by the Executive."

However, Santorum pointed out that the two unrelated topics (the Supreme Court cap and states’ ability to sue the federal government) should have been split into two separate amendments. Besides that, all three agreed that the provisions of the passed amendment were “great” and “really important.”

Thirdly, they addressed the convention’s balanced budget amendment, which Farris called “comprehensive” but Mark initially disagreed was “weak” due to commissioners ripping out the initial spending cap and debt reduction components. As Santorum pointed out, however, if the “modest” amendment was any stronger, it would not “have any chance of passing.” He argued that “baby steps [are] a good thing” and that the amendment was a step in the right direction.

SEE ALSO: Santorum: A convention will show Washington that the states are at the top of the food chain

Santorum worried that the next amendment, which reinforced the Founders’ original intent for the oft-abused commerce clause, might be too bold to pass in 38 states (the threshold needed to ratify an amendment), but all three men concurred that the amendment was important, nevertheless. Farris, in particular, praised the passed proposal for doing away with “the whole area of duplicate jurisdiction,” whereby myriad issues are left to both the states and Washington.

Next, Meckler, Farris, and Santorum turned their attention to the “boldest” amendment of the week, the countermand proposal enabling a simple majority of state legislatures to abrogate federal rules and regulations. Farris called the proposal a “great idea”; “I love it,” Meckler agreed. They pointed out that, while the amendment seemed unlikely to pass, it would incentivize Congress—threatened with the possibility of losing power to such a sweeping affirmation of states’ rights—to behave more responsibly.

Lastly, the three COS patriarchs examined the “return of state lands” amendment, Rep. Ken Ivory’s signature legislation. Centered around the issue that the federal government controls vast swathes of public land, particularly in the West (in Utah, Ivory’s home state, for example, nearly 60 percent of state land belongs to the federal government), the amendment would force national authorities to relinquish much of that control.

Overall, all three men agreed that the 2023 Simulated Convention was a smashing success, sounding alarm bells for corrupt federal politicians that the Article V movement is serious about reining in their power.

“I guarantee you,” Mark Meckler shared, “Washington, DC, broadly speaking, is watching us. To see this many states that angry, that would like to see [the Fed's] power curtailed that dramatically, I think it has an impact on them.”

To learn more about this week’s historic event, watch Friday’s proceedings here!