The following was written by Wisconsin volunteer Dave Certa. A shortened version was published in the Capitol Times.
This new year has brought us more examples from Washington of just how incapable of governing our federal officials really are. The media is filled with news of more investigations investigating investigations. The fighting between the major parties only underscores the fact that, once elected, our representatives turn their backs on us, the citizens of this great country. It is infuriating!
My wife and I have so far spent our lives working, raising a family and paying taxes. We made our opinions known with our vote. Some we won, and some we lost but we always believed in our country. But now, our elected officials in Washington have focused their attention on destroying the "other" party and in the mayhem, our country. We decided to do more than just vote, but get involved. We started with local, then county and most recently with our state government here in Wisconsin.
So these past several months my wife and I have met with many Wisconsin State Senators, Representatives and their staff to discuss Convention of States. We met with them regardless of party. We found they and their staff to be very courteous, respectful and willing to engage in a discussion of returning power to our state from Washington. While not everyone was initially in support, no one disagreed that Washington is out of control in three areas that Convention of States proposes to address: "fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and limit the terms of office for its officials and members of Congress."
All our Senators and Representatives are familiar with Article V of our Constitution which authorizes states to call for a convention to curtail an out of control Federal government. The people of Wisconsin know what is best for Wisconsin. Our representatives know their constituents and are in close contact with their needs and their frustration with Washington. I came away from the discussions with our representatives more convinced than ever that the solutions to our problems are here, not in Washington, if only we can bring decisions that affect our citizens back to Wisconsin.
I encourage others to address our out-of-control Federal Government within their respective state. The fix to Washington will not come from Washington but from the citizens from each state of this great country.
