I have a question for conservative friends excited about the prospect of an Article V Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) to amend the U.S. Constitution: What makes you think that only conservatives would show up?
The Convention of the States (CoS) campaign, largely led by Republicans, recently persuaded Wisconsin and Nebraska to apply to Congress for an Article V Constitutional Convention. Seventeen states have applied, half of the two-thirds (34) needed to trigger this unprecedented event.
CoS resolutions propose restraints on federal spending, limits on government power and jurisdiction, and term limits. Additional campaigns are promoting various amendments to achieve similar goals. Con-Con enthusiasts promise to cure government spending and overreach by amending the Constitution.
It doesnt matter what they promise, however, or which organizations support or oppose the Con-Con. What matters is who shows up. Liberal activists would crash the Con-Con party and whatever ratification process ensues. This would not be hard to do, so why wouldnt they?
Article V says Congress shall call a convention requested by two-thirds of the states. Its unclear what the role of all 50 states would be, but they are of course blue as well as red. This means that liberal activists will have full access to any constitutional convention.
So if the Con-Con process started tomorrow, who would Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer select as delegates? Pelosi could exclude Republican choices, as with her January 6 committee, or trade her speakers gavel for the Con-Con chairmanship.
Conservative Con-Con promoters will not control who attends, what issues are discussed, or what constitutional amendments ultimately are approved. The convention will make all decisions and conservatives will not be able to guarantee the outcome.
Imagine both political parties attending the same national convention, at the same time, with progressive insiders controlling credentials, rules, issues committees, and voting procedures.
Participants would include not just conservative Republicans, but Democrats, RINOs, socialists, Green New Dealers, Supreme Court packers, gun controllers, police de-funders, big spenders, Roe v. Wade codifiers, teacher unions, Anthony Fauci fans, Electoral College critics, race-obsessed wokesters, social justice warriors, and peaceniks who would balance the federal budget by disbanding the Department of Defense.
Conservatives who blithely assume that only conservatives would be empowered to participate in a Con-Con, and that ratification procedures would block unwanted results, should read Mollie Hemingways book, Rigged: How the Media, Big Tech, and the Democrats Seized Our Elections. As Mollie wrote, well before Election Day arrived, leftist factions used insider manipulations and bare-knuckled tactics to wire the election for Joe Biden.
Mark Zuckerberg spent $419 million Zuck bucks to finance the private takeover of government election offices. And allies in big tech media used perception management tactics to create false news and promote belief.
The Constitution empowers state legislatures to oversee elections. Thirty-nine states modified their laws or procedures in 2020, and many courts and state election administrators got away with changing or overriding election rules without legislative approval.
Why would such tactics not be used to control the outcome of an Article V Constitutional Convention? Millions more Zuck bucks could easily subsidize Con-Con crashers participating in expensive state and national conventions, especially in blue states.
Most leaders of the Article V Con-Con movement have no personal experience with the dynamics of political conventions, much less contested conventions. Key decisions are made months before a national convention begins, and decisive motions often are passed without warning with a gavel crack on a voice vote.
As reported in Rigged, courts are useless when fast-moving political events override internal organizational rules and even established law. Several book chapters end with regret, with statements like, Republicans later learned and The court ruled in Trumps favor, but it was too late.
Presidential elections come and go, but Donald Trumps loss was a small setback compared to the political calamity for America if our Constitution were permanently altered to suit progressive goals.
Regardless of how an Article V convention is called or who promises what, it is nave to assume that a pre-written set of rules for a Con-Con would play out as conservatives expect. Once a convention begins, it makes its own rules. Promises about procedures and outcomes are meaningless because they are unenforceable.
When things go wronglike marching brooms and buckets swamping the Sorcerers apprentice in Disneys Fantasiacourts would be no help. In disputes about convention procedures or results, advocates making promises today will lose later in court where, if they win, it will be too late. Either way, this is a fiasco in the making.
I saw how this works years ago, when I was active in grassroots issues and elective politics in the Michigan Republican Party. In 1988 the Michigan Party was the first to choose national delegates. The contentious state convention split in two, and the conservative coalition filed a lawsuit charging violations of state law.
The lawsuit lost in a lower court but prevailed on appealmany months after the National Convention ended. Recently, the Trump campaign finally won an election lawsuit in Wisconsin, but the ruling is on appeal. Meanwhile, Biden has been president for 13 months.
Now comes legislative redistricting. According to Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel, former Attorney General Eric Holder is using aggressive litigation, accusations of voter suppression, racial intimidation, and misleading rhetoric to gerrymander election maps and make it harder for Republicans to win in 2022 and 2024. This is no time for conservatives to divert time, attention, and resources to cope with a self-induced Constitutional Convention crisis.
Some well-meaning leaders seem to imagine themselves as latter-day Founding Fathers, and excited followers envision a festive gathering socializing with Fox News celebrities who anticipate a good show. All should reconsider what they are asking for.
Federal spending is unrestrained, but our Constitution is not the problem. It would make more sense for state lawmakers to return federal subsidies to the U.S. Treasury than to bet the Constitution in a reckless gamble they are likely to lose.
Instead of rose-colored glasses, we need a clear-eyed assessment of political realities. Conservatives should focus on strategies to win, without putting our Constitution at risk.
Elaine Donnelly is President of the Center for Military Readiness, an independent public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military and social issues.
Go here to see the original:
Why Is The Right Betting The Constitution On An Article V Convention? - The Federalist
- Trump Fight On COVID Bill Shows Strength Of Conservative Populism - The Federalist [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Report: Infants Born Alive During Botched Abortions In Texas In 2019 - The Federalist [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- 8 Of The Craziest Items In The $900 Billion COVID Blue-State Bailout Bill - The Federalist [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- We Must Ban These Christmas Classics To Please The Wokesters - The Federalist [Last Updated On: December 26th, 2020] [Originally Added On: December 26th, 2020]
- Josh Hawley Was The Exact Sort Of Prick Youd Imagine Him To Be At Yale Law School - Above the Law [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- GOP Lawmakers Have A Point: Americans Need To Trust Elections - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- The Year Another Capitol Siege Almost Took Place on the Hill - Governing [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- I lost a law school election to Josh Hawley. I moved on then, and he should now on Trump. - USA TODAY [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Trump Calls For Peace As Riot Roils Capitol: 'You Have To Go Home Now' - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Devin Nunes Tells The Truth Until It Hurts - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Democrat Pastor Ends Congressional Prayer With 'Amen And A-Woman' - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Why Georgia's May Be The Most Important Election In Recent History - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Maxine Waters: Trump Is Creating A 'Civil War' And Must Be Prosecuted - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- The Tipping Point: What Drove People To Riot At The Capitol? - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Biden Calls Hawley And Cruz Nazis Who Are 'Part Of The Big Lie' - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- No Police Officers Will Be Charged In Kenosha Shooting Of Jacob Blake - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Somalias 2021 elections and the threats of federalism | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Watch Obama And Clinton Support Objection To The 2005 Certification - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Ridiculing Election Fraud Concerns Will Not Make Them Go Away - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Michael Flynn And Sidney Powell Are Permanently Banned From Twitter - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Why it's time for state IT to have a 'federalist moment' - StateScoop [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Left Won't Be Satisfied Until Conservatives Smear Trump Voters As Bigots - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Facebook Will Ban And Delete All Photos And Videos Of Capitol Riots - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- The Capitol Riot Will Hurt The People Who Were Already Hurting Most - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Listen To Rush Limbaugh On The Federalist's Capitol Hill Coverage - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Georgia Confirms The Pre-Trump GOP Is Dead And Gone - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Twitter Just Nuked The Account Of The World's Biggest Critic Of Big Tech And China - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Your Monthly Reminder That Nikki Haley Is A Social-Climbing Opportunist - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 9th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 9th, 2021]
- Dems With COVID Voted For Pelosi, Then Blamed GOP For Infections - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Democrats Are Using The Recent Capitol Riot To Consolidate Power - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Federalist Publisher: Big Tech Colluding to Destroy Conservative Speech - WBAP News/Talk [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- The election that foreshadowed 2020 - Newsday [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Why Millennials Love To Hate Boomers And Whether It's Deserved - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Facebook And Instagram Just Permabanned The US President - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- The 2020 Election Aftermath Is Not At All Unprecedented In US History - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- To Win In The Future, Republicans Need To Move On From Trump - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- The Biggest Gun Forum Just Kicked Off The Internet Without Explanation - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Democrat Wants To Put Josh Hawley And Ted Cruz On The No-Fly List - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- Andrew Yang Can't Imagine The Reality New Yorkers Face - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- A Divisive Impeachment Will Only Make Trump A Martyr - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- 'Mandalorian' Star Gina Carano Takes Us Behind The Scenes, Explains Her Politics - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 13th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 13th, 2021]
- In Modern Storytelling, 'Mank' Is A Beautiful Blast From The Past - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- 8 Strategies For Exiting The Biden Years Stronger Than The Right Went In - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Why School Choice Isn't Enough To Really Improve American Education - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Disney And Marvel's 'WandaVision' Is As Fun As It Is Weird - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Unity has long been a theme, and anxiety, for new presidents - ABC News [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Attorney and Federalist Society member sounds alarm about 'progressive tide' in small towns - Yahoo News [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Hemingway: Leaders Should Be Wary Of Post-9/11 Style Crackdown - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Illinois Dem With #MeToo History Could Be The Next State House Speaker - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Russell Crowe Is Right, If You Think 'Master And Commander' Is Boring, You Need To Grow Up - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- March For Life Cancelled As Abortion Extremist Descends On White House - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Andrew Yang Used To Champion Ideas. Now He Is A Boring Democrat - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Twitter CEO Says Censorship Will Be 'Much Bigger' Than The Trump Ban - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Dems Say GOP Lawmakers Gave 'Reconnaissance' Capitol Tours. Where's The Evidence? - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- What Jefferson And Lincoln Say About National Unity In Dark Times - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- One Student's First-Person Account Of The Rally That Turned Into A Riot - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- MSNBC's Joy Reid Calls For 'De-Baathification' Of The GOP - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- A Second Trump Impeachment Ensures The GOP Will Never Be The Same - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Politico's Ben Shapiro Freakout Is An Illustration Of A Much Bigger Problem - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- The Nuclear Energy Tech Of The Past Four Years Will Blow Your Mind - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- How Big Government And Big Tech Conspire Against Voters - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Trump Set To Leave Office With A Higher Approval Rating Than Bush - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2021]
- Of Course We Don't Need A 9/11-Style Commission On The Capitol Riots - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Chris Wallace: Biden's Speech Is 'Best Inaugural Address I've Ever Heard' - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Column: Political Ambitions Leave Nation Struggling to Move Forward - Southern Pines Pilot [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Why Are Vaccinated Members Of Congress Still Wearing Masks? - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Book excerpt: seditions and insurrections are inseparable from politics - Orange County Breeze [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Why Does Biden Have A Bust Of A Union Radical In The Oval Office? - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Rand Paul: I'm Not Going To Listen To Comey, He Should Be In Prison. - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Senate Can Convict Trump After He's Out. Would That Be Prudent? - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Biden, Harris Release Statement Celebrating Killing Babies In The Womb - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Why Calling China's Genocide What It Is Really Matters Federalist #3 - 2 hours ago - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- From The Tea Party To Trump: Reflections On The Eve Of Inauguration - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Amanda Gorman's Inauguration Poem Shows What The Left Truly Believes - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Biden Follows 'Unity' Speech With 48 Hours Of Divisive Social Policy - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- DC Elite Used National Guard As Props, Questioned Their Loyalty, Then Made Them Sleep In Parking Garage - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Reshaped By Trump, Our Institutions Will Hobble Into The Biden Era - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Things Are Beginning To Unravel On 'WandaVision' - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Day One, Biden Destroys Girls' Sports With Anti-Science Executive Order - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]
- Biden Plans To Put Big Tech In Charge Of Its Own Regulation - The Federalist [Last Updated On: January 25th, 2021] [Originally Added On: January 25th, 2021]