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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Koch Brothers Want To Rewrite The Constitution. They May Succeed.
The Wisconsin Assembly votes Wednesday on whether to call for a convention to change the U.S. Constitution. While that in itself is surprising the American people have never exercised their legally enshrined right to convene a new Constitutional convention whats more surprising is that pro-business groups with ties to the Koch brothers have pushed for similar legislation in more than 30 states, and theyve been remarkably successful: A dozen states have passed bills calling for a convention that would produce an altered Constitution that would likely limit federal spending and power.
According to Article V of the Constitution, just two thirds (34) of the 50 state legislatures need to call for a convention for the purposes of proposing constitutional amendments (no governors signature is required). Those amendments would then need to be ratified by three quarters of the states, currently 38, to become law. But beyond those very basic requirements, nobody knows what the rules for a convention would be, since one hasnt occurred since the original in 1787. That single instance, Constitutional law experts warn, provides a harrowing precedent: Delegates tore up the Articles of Confederation they had convened to improve, and produced a whole new governing document.
The Wisconsin legislation, which is supported by Gov. Scott Walker, was introduced by Republican Sen. Chris Kapenga, who introduced similar legislation in January 2014 as a member of the Assembly. His bill would call a convention to pass constitutional amendments that would require the federal government to balance the budget, something that Congress will simply never do on its own, Kapenga told International Business Times.
For the country to continue spending at this rate, where revenues are exceeding expenditures consistently, is not sustainable, Kapenga said. Whether its Democrats or Republicans in charge in Washington, its not getting fixed, and no solutions are being proposed to deal with it...I think this is the only option left.
But while proponents of this kind of legislation say that Congress is incapable of reining in a nearly $20 trillion national debt, opponents believe that the Article V movement is an astroturf effort backed by corporate interests that would eliminate environmental and labor regulatory bodies and slash taxes and spending by forcing the federal government to drastically reduce its reach.
Its not just about a balanced budget, said Wisconsin Democratic Rep. Chris Taylor. Mostly I think they are going at the social safety net, they are going to go after Social Security and Medicare because its so unpopular to cut those programs, and this is how they do it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-koch-brothers-want-to-rewrite-the-constitution-they-may-succeed/ar-BBCFR7Q?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp
QC
(26,371 posts)Not as sexy as presidential elections, but they are incredibly important.
roamer65
(36,744 posts)Each state has a right to ratify, or decline and leave the Union. That ratification or declination will need to be done by referendum in each state for any hope of legitimacy.
Kentonio
(4,377 posts)LishaD35
(40 posts)The Russians effected 39 states and 38 are needed for ratification?
Maybe it's all too much and everything feels like a conspiracy any more?
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)yardwork
(61,536 posts)Certainly the Tea Party movement was created for this purpose. They took over North Carolina in 2010 and immediately redrew the district lines to ensure permanent right wing Republican power.
Unless people wake up, it's curtains. Too many people are blinded by racism and resentments. They're brainwashed and manipulated.
Hekate
(90,538 posts)Can't remember which historian recently observed that democracies have about a 200 year life expectancy, usually less, before they transmogrify into, well, something else.
The Genealogist
(4,723 posts)it is nightmare fuel to consider what the right wing would come up with for a constitution.
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)for 5 years. they have passed this in almost 50% of US states and the Koch boys are keeping it as low key a possible.
Initech
(100,030 posts)Do you want these corporate bastards rewriting it so they can profit handsomely? Hell no! Do you want the fundie evangelicals implementing Biblical law? Hell no!
no_hypocrisy
(46,019 posts)Is it indefinite? Five years? Ten years?
I'm confused about this process. By contrast, when the Equal Rights Amendment was passed in Congress, the states had a certain number of years to ratify that vote, and that's why it failed.
I suppose my real question is can a vote for a constitutional convention be held viable indefinitely until 34 states approve it?
Buckeyeblue
(5,499 posts)I suspect that unless you had a current affirmative vote from each state's legislative session, there would be a legal challenge. Remember, a vote for a con con is not a law, because it does not require the governor's approval.
There is also the question about if the con con would be open to any change or would the scope be narrowed.
In any case, I don't think this would be a good way to amend the constitution. Aside from the crazies being in control. it could result in too many changes at once, which would result in a lot of legal challenges.