RINO Republicans Taking Aim at our Constitutional Process; Update on HB1419

March 7, 2023 Action Alerts, ALEC, Arkansas Government, Arkansas Legislators, Arkansas State Sovereignty, Article V Amendment Convention, Ballot Initiative, Civil Liberties, Constitutional Convention, Education, Featured, General Information, Gun Control, NCSL, News, Preserve the Constitution, Voting

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In this article, we’ll be taking a look at 3 things the Arkansas RINO Republicans are doing which will violate our constitutional process:

HB1419
SB260
A Constitutional Convention/ Article V Federal Convention

1. Update on HB1419 sponsored by Rep. Kendon Underwood from Cave Springs and Senator Jim Dotson from Bentonville — Sadly, it passed! Restricting The Ballot Measure Process… by raising the process from 15 counties to 50 counties when acquiring signatures! This violates our state constitution.

And look at the deceptive wording of the Title of the bill: “ENSURING ACCESS FOR ALL ARKANSANS AND VOTER PROTECTION ACT OF 2023.”

See? Once again, it’s deceptive! But it sounds like they were thinking of us. This is NOT what the bill actually does.

Rep. Kendon Underwood and Sen. Jim Dotson

And look at this outrageous and evasive statement from the spokeswoman: “The governor wants to ensure all Arkansans, especially rural residents, have a voice in this process,” Henning said Monday night in a written statement. This was reported, March 7, 2023, by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Office phone number for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders: (501) 682-2345.

From the article:

In the 2020 general election, voters rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have increased the number of counties from which sponsors of proposed ballot measures would be required to collect signatures of registered voters from 15 to 45 [with HB1419, now it’s 50 counties] to qualify their measures for the ballot. In 2019, lawmakers referred that proposed constitutional amendment to voters.

It sure looks like the Republicans (RINOs?) have tried to restrict ballot measures in the past few years so that voters will have a harder time enacting policies and amendments themselves. In Republican-controlled legislatures, it’s going on in several states this year. Initiatives and ballot measures have been an essential part of our American way of life for voters to enact needed policy changes.

Also from the DemGaz article:

Under the emergency clause, the bill would go into effect upon the governor signing it.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is going to sign HB1419, Sanders spokeswoman Alexa Henning said afterward.

It sure looks like we’ll have our hands full with a rubber-stamp governor.

So, let’s use our logic and reasoning here:

In 2020, the people voted AGAINST legislation that would increase the number of counties required for signatures from 15 to 45. The people spoke. They said, “NO!”
And Governor Huckabee Sanders recently said she wants all Arkansans, especially rural residents, to have a voice in this process — the most recent HB1419 which would increase the number of counties required for signatures from 15 to 50 (more than the previous bill). But the people DID have a voice! Back in 2020, they voted AGAINST such a measure. They said, “NO!”

So, what exactly are we to conclude but that the governor and the legislature are not only ignoring the public but also deceiving and misleading them!! When they say one thing but do another, their words are a total lie. What don’t they understand about the word “NO”??

This is contemptuous.

Here’s the history of the bill, and here are the Senate votes.

2. Now… look at SB260 from the same two men: Sen. Dotson and Rep. Underwood.

Both bills would increase the number of counties in which signatures would need to be gathered from 15 to 50… but in addition, Dotson’s deceptive bill would increase the required number of signatures from one-half to three-fourths of registered voters that voted in the last gubernatorial election.

That’s ridiculous! And laughable!

So far, there are no upcoming events for that bill… so far.

Here’s the history of the bill.

3. One final thing that the RINO Republicans are doing to harm our state and our country is calling for an Article V “Federal” Convention. (Just because a legislator has an “R” next to their name does not mean they are conservative.) If our Arkansas legislators truly wanted to protect our U.S. Constitution, they would be filing a bill calling for the repealing of all calls for a dangerous federal Constitutional Convention.

Here’s a good model bill: CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION RESCISSION RESOLUTION

Summary: The Constitutional Convention Rescission Resolution would repeal and withdraw all applications to Congress which have called for a federal constitutional convention.

A federal Convention called by Congress under Article V cannot be limited and would risk our precious U.S. Constitution! Remember, the states have no power to control delegates to an Article V Federal Convention.

“I certainly would not want a Constitutional Convention. I mean whoa. Who knows what would come out of that.” — Justice Antonin Scalia, April 17, 2014.

States Likely Could Not Control Constitutional Convention on Balanced Budget Amendment or Other Issues — from Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. From their article:

A convention could write its own rules.

A convention could set its own agenda, possibly influenced by powerful interest groups.
A convention could choose a new ratification process.
No other body, including the courts, has clear authority over a convention.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Jan. 20, 1982, President Ronald Reagan stated “Well, constitutional conventions are kind of prescribed as a last resort, because then once it’s open, they could take up any number of things.” Ed Regan, Townsend news outlet.

The con-artist, Mark Meckler, President of Convention of States (COS) group is on the move, along with wealthy special interests groups that are pushing for a dangerous convention of states, better known as a constitutional convention (Con-Con) that could put every American’s rights up for grabs. It’s up to us to stop them. The Article V Convention, AKA Convention of States’, main purpose is to get rid of the present U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights and replace them with a constitution in which there are no rights, only privileges.

Unfortunately, the malevolent COS group has made up a lie that an Article V Convention is controlled from start to finish by the state legislators. Beware…

In closing — We are in warfare to protect our state and our country, but the powers-that-be are trying to devastate everything upon which our country was built: our sovereignty, our liberty, our rights, and our freedoms.

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