There are a few words and phrases that scare most people silly. Land shark. Partially hydrogenated. Nair. Now, here’s another phrase that might make your hair stand on end.
Constitutional Convention.
That’s right. The Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly want to reconvene the Constitutional Convention of the States. If you can’t quite remember when that happened, don’t bother hunting through the C-SPAN archives: the last time it took place was in 1787.
Why do NC Republicans (and Republicans in 29 other states) want to “tweak” the U.S. Constitution? Well, they’ll tell you that it’s “merely” to inject some financial “common sense” into the Constitution, and “rein in” the “tax and spend madness” running rampant through the Obama administration. The megaminds at Glenn Beck’s Blaze say that the GOP wants to “force fiscal discipline in Washington,” and cite a “growing chorus” of state lawmakers, including some lieutenant governors, House speakers, and Senate presidents.
Under Article 5 of the Constitution, it would take two-thirds of the states to get a new Constitutional convention, and any amendments would require the approval of three-fourths of the states. Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell (R-Wheeee!) says she’s quite sure enough states will pass a resolution to force a convention within the next two years, and says she knows this will happen because she talks to a lot of disgusted people around her state.
The scary thing is, Harwell might be right. Her state legislation is poised to pass just such a resolution. That’s one out of fifty, and 22 other legislatures have passed resolutions supporting a Constitutional convention — some of them passed during the 1980s but still technically in effect. That’s 23. It takes 34 to ring the cherries and let the Republicans loose on the Convention with ballpeen hammers. Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma says that Republicans only want a balanced budget amendment, and they sincerely promise to leave the rest of the Constitution alone. Really, he swears. No touchy.
The idea isn’t uniformly supported even on the conservative side of the divide. A 2011 assessment by the Heritage Foundation calls the results of such a convention “unpredictable,” and warns:
The lack of precedent, extensive unknowns, and considerable risks of an Article V amendments convention should bring sober pause to advocates of legitimate constitutional reform contemplating this avenue. We are not prepared to encourage state governments at this time to apply to Congress to call an amendments convention.
Ya think?
And they’re not the only ones sounding the alarm. Some aggressively confused people at the Tarheel Tea Party are pretty worried, too. They don’t seem quite sure why they’re against a Constitutional convention — which they’ve given the delightfully infantile nickname “con-con” — sounds like Jar Jar Binks’s neer-do-well cousin, but they cite the supposed support for the thing by the Massive Socialist Movement and the tip of its spear, George Soros.
The juggernaut that is the American Communist Party is also for it, they write in alarmed fashion, and cite some language from a 1963 manifesto that proves the Red Menace is alive and under your bed with a big red pen, ready to rewrite the Constitution from “We the People” to “Sign Here, Please.” Meanwhile, “Constitutional organizations” such as the John Birch Society and the Eagle Forum are agin the durn thing.
Never thought you’d be lining up with the Birchers, did ya?
If I can sort out the morass of claims, accusations, and links to weight-loss sites on the TTP page, it seems that a “con-con” is an Indisputable Threat to Liberty and a Sneaky Way to Impose Tyranny. I can’t really tell, as they interrupt themselves with pictures of Founding Fathers and boldface passages in capital letters about the wonders of nullification. I got lost halfway down the page; maybe you can do better.
The NC General Assembly has taken potshots at the Constitution before now. Last year, a bill was introduced that would have declared Rowan County a “First Amendment Free Zone” and established a state religion. House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-I Wanna Be a Senator) quashed that bill before he could have it hung around his neck during his 2016 election fight with Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC). Another scary, not-fun fact: a quarter of the NC House signed the bill. Now it has a new bill, introduced by four stalwart Republicans and supported by four more, that would line North Carolina solidly up with the forces of Revamp and Revise.
The legislation itself is a masterpiece of Foxified, self-victimized drivel. It reads in part (and yes, this is real):
Whereas, the authors of the Constitution empowered state legislators to be guardians of liberty against abuses of power by the federal government; and Whereas, the federal government has created a crushing national debt through improper and imprudent spending; and Whereas, the federal government has invaded the legitimate roles of the states through the manipulative process of federal mandates, most of which are unfunded to a great extent; and Whereas, the federal government has ceased to exist under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States; and Whereas, it is the solemn duty of the states to protect the liberty of our people, particularly for the generations to come, and to propose amendments to the Constitution of the United States through a Convention of the States under Article V of the Constitution of the United States to place clear restraints on these and related abuses of power …
It may sound like Sean Hannity wrote that, but I’m pretty sure he didn’t, and not just because it has a lot of big words in it. Hmmmm. Feds have “invaded the legitimate roles of the states” via those pesky “federal mandates.” Heck, “the federal government has ceased to exist” for anyone who has a proper take on the Constitution (c.f. Bundy, Cliven). Now it’s up to the states “to protect the people” from those tyrants and Kenyan insect overlords scurrying around the Capitol District.
We can mock and deride all we like, but don’t put a “con-con” past these people. The people writing that Apocalypse Now language in these legislative efforts have the power to really, seriously add amendments to the Constitution — and we know the folks at ALEC would just love the results. The worst thing we could do would be to assume that a Constitutional convention could never really happen — and if it were to happen, then nothing truly objectionable could get passed.
Watch the skies, folks.
Edited/Published by: SB
