The threat of a Runaway Convention: Myth? Lie?
Paranoid argument invented by the left wing?
Nope, it’s REAL.
Let’s break this down.
#NoConCon
Paranoid argument invented by the left wing?
Nope, it’s REAL.
Let’s break this down.
#NoConCon
A lot of people think that fighting against a Constitutional Convention is tinfoil hatty. A lot of people are saying to me “oh, that will never happen” or “they need three-fourths of the states and they can’t get that,” or they just ignore me. #NoConCon
Well, it can happen and if it doesn’t, it’s because people are fighting like hell for it not to happen.
#NoConCon
#NoConCon
34 states have to sign resolutions to call a Constitutional Convention. The Balanced Budget Amendment Task Force (BBATF) presently has 28 with dozens and dozens of bills pending in many different state legislatures across the country. That’s six more resolutions to go.
Then after the Constitutional Convention proposes Amendments to the Constitution, they need three-fourths of the states to ratify it. That’s a lot of people’s safety net. Safety net? Have you thought about that? That’s only 38 states.
Four more than actually voted for a resolution for a convention. That is not a lot more states to convince.
#NoConCon
#NoConCon
The next reason it could be a runaway convention is because we’ve had one (in 1787) and it was…wait for it…a RUNAWAY CONVENTION! 1. They changed the original intent; 2. They changed the ratification process.
In 1787, the delegates from every state except Rhode Island met in secrecy in Philadelphia for the purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation. What did they do? They threw out the Articles of Confederation and they wrote a whole new document called The Constitution.
They took four months to write it. They agreed that it had to be approved by all thirteen states. UNANIMOUS approval by the states. But they couldn’t get that. Ten months later, they only had 9/13 states so they CHANGED THE RULES.
9/13 is not even three-fourths. 9/13 is just over 69% while 3/4ths most people know is 75%.
#NoConCon
#NoConCon
When the 9th state, NH, ratified the Constitution on June 21, 1788, they considered it the law of the land & decided to start the government. Two more states: VA and New York ratified the Constitution before the Presidential election was held and Congress had their 1st session.
But it took nearly THREE YEARS before the thirteenth state, Rhode Island ratified The Constitution after being threatened by a trade embargo which treated them like a foreign country. Even after the threat, it was passed by a very thin 34-32 margin.
The Constitutional Convention would be also run by delegates, some of whom are private citizens and can be legally bribed. See this thread:
#NoConCon
#NoConCon
The John Birch Society, a right wing organization (yes Republicans) also argues against a Constitutional Convention. They have three main arguments. 1. The Constitution is not the problem. They believe that the problem is with the government, not The Constitution.
The John Birch Society believes that a “large-scale, grassroots, constitutional education program that would inform the electorate” is needed in order to elect new representatives in government.
I would think most Democrats would concur, while undoubtedly disagreeing on which representatives should be elected. 2. From the John Birch Society...2. is much the same as my argument about the first Constitutional Convention in 1787, but they add two VERY important points.
One is pointing out that there is an often overlooked phrase in Article V. Three fourths of the states need to ratify the amendments passed in the Constitutional Convention. But this is done by the state legislatures OR by special state conventions in three fourths of the states.
The second VERY important point from the John Birch Society is that the people running the ConCon would cite the powers of the free people who have the right to “to alter and abolish” our government which is enshrined in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence.
Below is a short paragraph about the Declaration of Independence from the John Birch Society's article "The Solution is the Constitution, not Article V" printed in the New American February 24, 2015.
thenewamerican.com/usnews/constit…
thenewamerican.com/usnews/constit…
3. From the John Birch Society is that an Article V Convention would enable powerful special interests to revise The Constitution in their favor. Who’s organizing this drive for an Article V Convention?
And we know what the Koch Brothers’ is…which is getting ticked off one by one. The two biggest parts of the plan were to cut taxes (#GOPTaxScamBill)…then say they had to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in order to make up the $1.9 trillion added to the national debt.
And while we’re in on the Koch Brothers, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) told state legislatures that they shouldn’t bother about writing any stipulations in their resolutions to restrict them. Don’t worry your pretty heads, state legislators!
Last point in the argument that there could be a runaway convention is that there is no legal precedent for ANYTHING. We have not had a Constitutional Convention since 1787 so there are no rules, no safety nets, no NOTHING. #NoConCon #NoConConForAnything
