Conservative lawmakers weigh bid to call for constitutional convention

[PoliticAverse]

Conservative state legislators frustrated with the gridlock in Washington are increasingly turning to a plan to call a convention to consider a new amendment to the U.S. Constitution — an event that would be unprecedented in American history and one that could, some opponents predict, lead to complete political chaos.

Legislators in 27 states have passed applications for a convention to pass a balanced budget amendment. Proponents of a balanced budget requirement are planning to push for new applications in nine other states where Republicans control both chambers of the legislature.

If those applications pass in seven of the nine targeted states, it would bring the number of applications up to 34, meeting the two-thirds requirement under Article V of the Constitution to force Congress to call a convention.

What happens next is anyone’s guess.

Read the rest at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/conservative-lawmakers-weigh-bid-to-call-for-constitutional-convention/2015/04/04/b25d4f1e-db02-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html

[villager]

1. One way or another, they're going to succeed in splitting the country into smaller, regional

polities.

Even if that's by a refusal to do anything about climate change, and the Empire starts its irrevocable slide into constituent pieces as the crises mount.

Suppose this way just gets us there "sooner" rather than "later."

[longship]

2. This is what they want.

And if the Dominionists did not scare you before, they should scare you now. And if you haven't figured it out yet, the GOP is FULL of Dominionists, like Ted Cruz, and Brownback, and Pence, and almost all the others. The balance merely kowtow to the Dominionists, their political base.

The GOP is nothing short of an extremist religious cabal. It has increasingly become that since Jerry Falwell started the Moral Majority (hint: they were neither) in the late 70's. Christopher Hitchens had him dead to rights: If they had given him an enema he could have been buried in a matchbox.

We ignore this at the world's peril.

No ConCon for you, GOP!

[2naSalit]

3. +10000000000000000000000000!!!!

[freshwest]

4. Paul Ryan ran on this in Wisconsin. He said 'When we get enough states red, we can repeal the 14A.'

It was couched in anti-emigrant speak. I've posted on it before.

People really should look at the 14A with its due process, equal protection under the law and birthright citizenship clauses.

That would wipe out voting rights, Roe v Wade, women and minority rights. They also want to get rid of the IRS to totally defund the government.

For the rest they will install, check out the Koch Libertarian agenda which takes away all public land, schools, services, regulations, taxes, assistance and the rest.

And we argue about stuff that won't kill us fast, and they are planning a quick kill. We can not afford being complacent, yet too many think nothing will ever change. It's changing under our noses right now.

[Jim Lane]

5. This is why I think Wolf-PAC, for all its good intentions, is a huge mistake.

Because the Constitution is so vague and the precedent is nonexistent, there are many uncertainties, such as this one from the linked article:

Michael Paulsen, a constitutional law expert at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, contends that applications that purport to limit subjects covered in a constitutional convention are invalid.

Other experts disagree.

There's at least a colorable argument that states joining in Wolf-PAC's call for a convention to address campaign spending and/or corporate personhood would be counted toward the total, triggering a convention that would then be more likely to ignore those issues in favor of a balanced-budget amendment.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. There are some on DU pushing for a convention with some 'cross party' activist group.

I think they adopted 'cross party' to avoid sharing the bi in bipartisan with the bisexuals which makes their Republican members feel like they have cooties. But I though the Republicans already were the Cross Party. It's confusing.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

7. This is an example of what I've said for years

Ultimately, the final say always belongs to the states. Whether they choose use it or not, and they haven't as of yet, it's there. The states, should they choose to do so, can nullify laws and overturn Supreme Court decisions via this process.

[davidn3600]

8. Anything that comes out of a convention still has to be ratified by 37 states

There is absolutely no way to avoid that requirement no matter how you propose the amendment.

The only thing the convention does is take congress's approval out of the equation. But the states still have to ratify.