The Con in the Con-Con, by Nolen Cox
Calling a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con) to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) is high-risk “busy work” to solve a big spending problem of both political parties. The unconstitutional spending by Congress is facilitated by the leadership of both parties. Massive deficit spending is a terminal problem with catastrophic consequences. But equally catastrophic is calling a Con-Con in today’s political climate, to rip open the U.S. Constitution for revision by a few hand-picked state representatives.
A BBA can come in many flavors. A strong “clean” BBA would contain provisions to NOT raise taxes without a super-majority vote and a cap on federal spending to some external standard, such as % of GDP. A weak “dirty” BBA would not limit spending and allow revenues (taxes) to be raised to balance whatever spending budget Congress passes. On November 18, 2011, in a display of showmanship, the House of Representatives voted on a “dirty” BBA, and boy did they brag about that in their fundraising letters. Who even knows what kind of BBA a Con-Con would propose?
The idea of a Con-Con is a bad idea because of the risk of losing existing liberties and due process in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. There are numerous available remedies to excess spending but no way to replace lost liberties.
A Con-Con is not a real solution, but conservative “busy work” looking for a silver bullet to solve political problems. Conservatives are being used to build the Trojan horse for the liberals; a Con-Con has been a dream by liberals for decades.
Some see this as an inconsequential matter that we might gain from, and if the states do not like it they could not ratify it. Please consider what we witnessed in raw political-power-deals to convince senators to vote for Obamacare; unethical deals and the promise of money produced the votes to pass the bill. We would be extremely naïve to believe these type deals of arm-twisting and buying votes would not be present at the state level with those selected to represent us at a Con-Con. This is a condition our Founding Fathers did not deal with or expect we would be faced with when they wrote Article V.
It was because of corruption involved in the selection of U.S. Senators by some state legislatures that the Seventeenth Amendment was passed. The catastrophic consequence of that decision has converted U.S. Senators from guardians of their states’ rights to politicians swayed by lobbyists – foreign and domestic.
In today’s political climate of arm-twisting lobbyists, rampant corruption, a biased media and a dumbed-down electorate, it is naïve to think a Con-Con meeting of some state legislators will solve the problem of America’s debt crisis. The real solution will only come with diligent, hard work by grassroots patriots and replacement of entrenched politicians who are beholding to lobbyists for their reelection campaign money.
All fifty states depend on federal handouts; it’s about ¼ to ½ of most state budgets. Of Georgia’s budget, 42% comes from the feds. Just imagine the potential for deal making on a BBA, when most states would be facing bankruptcy if they failed to follow the dictates of fedgov. What makes anyone think dependent states will be different than voters dependent on handouts? It is folly to think we are going to have states all of a sudden vote on principle when they could be forced into bankruptcy by the lender. Some economic principles NEVER change: the borrower will be servant to the lender.
A runaway Con-Con would be irreversible by states. I am disappointed that in the face of such overwhelming logic and evidence that “conservatives” would support such a high-risk proposition that could completely change our form of government.
The timing on this national push for a Con-Con is suspect. Europe is slightly ahead of us in economic collapse and depression. The recommendations there are more and stricter United Nations (Common Market) guidelines, a common currency, more control, and less national sovereignty. When our economy melts down depression-style, we will probably be offered a similar UN type lifeboat solution.
Remember that Roosevelt injected the New Deal, massive socialism, devaluation of the currency and solidification of the Federal Reserve during the Depression. A liberal motto is “never let a crisis go to waste!” A Constitutional Convention is an opportunity for the fundamental, transformational change promised by Obama.
May our Heavenly Father Bless America, and May He Bless and Guide our Work
Securing the blessings of liberty,