art credit: redmillenial.com
The three decisions made this week (on Obamacare, gay marriage, and the Texas "disparate impact" case) by the Supreme Court of
the United States have left many of us depressed and wondering what can be done. Can anything be done?
My own e-mailbox brings a daily flow of messages from
organizations, political groups, and politicians, most of which are looking for
money, most of which offer conservative talking points, and most of which
propose solutions based on conservative talking points. Yet we have all become
aware that conservative talking points are the stock-in-trade of not only groups,
but also – and especially – politicians who have no intention of voting on the
basis of conservative values once they are in office. That goes for politicians
in Ohio and in DC.
One suggestion that has been gathering
support from politicians such as Tom Coburn and Sarah Palin, is the Article V
Convention of States. Mark Levin wrote a book about it entitled The Liberty Amendments in which he lays out a case for eleven Constitutional amendments to "restore the Constitution’s moribund chief components: federalism,
republicanism, and limited government."
It all sounds good and promising. But I don’t think it is
going to make any difference, and the project is already diverting time,
energy, and resources away from everybody’s backyard.
Back in December 2013, someone writing under the name of
Suzanne Hamner wrote a piece, “Convention of the States – Good or Bad?,” for her
website, Freedom Outpost, and here are two points that got my attention
[emphases added]:
Our
current government is operating so far outside the Constitution, ignoring basic
tenets of the Constitution regarding presidential eligibility, enumerated
powers, and restrictions placed on it, that another amendment is just more words for them to ignore.
. . .
It boils
down to one thing and one thing only; there is no way to legislate values and
principles. Yes, the Constitution provides a remedy for our current situation
in Article V; however, every tenet of government is so corrupted with the atmosphere
of “the flavor of the month” causes that
the risk of further damage outweighs the benefit until the people reclaim their
local and state governments, then work up to the federal level. That is, if
we can at this point.
Read the whole thing here.
An Article V Convention of States can
pass all the Amendments it wants. They will be no substitute for citizens
taking daily action in their community.
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