Do we want to destroy our country and replace it with a more progressive one? Or obey our Constitution and restore the republic?
February 21, 2021
Just because I haven’t posted to this blog doesn’t mean I’ve been inactive for the past several years. Far from it! Today I penned an op-ed for the CPWVa and thought I would also post it here.
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Another Legislative Session, Another Resolution for an Article V convention
Here we go again! It’s the 2021 version of an Article V convention resolution in the West Virginia Legislature. It’s a repeat of previous attempts, with claims that we need to put an end to federal manipulation; calling for imposing fiscal restraints and limiting the power of the federal government as well as limiting terms of office. SCR 5 asserts that, “The states alone can call for a ‘Single Issue’ convention” and that, “Congress does not have the authority to define a ‘Single Issue’ convention”—which is all irrelevant since this Resolution is seeking a “multiple issue” convention.
They claim that the states—not the evil Congress—will make the rules, choose the delegates, etc.
This is all still being debated, with many scholars, Supreme Court justices and the Congressional Research Service believing that the states will only “apply” for a convention, then the Congress will take over and “call” the convention including establishing the rules.
The uncertain conditions for an Article V convention, as well as the Resolution’s own confusion as to what it is asking for, are reasons enough to reject it, but the supreme reason is, “Why put the entire Constitution at risk”? Oh, yes, the enemy has taken over the federal government and they would love a new Constitution which legalizes what they plan to do! Another question is, “Why change the Constitution when it’s not the problem?” The problem is that the Constitution is being ignored. Don’t amend it; just obey it.
“Term limits” will not solve the problem of corrupt, greedy and traitorous congressmen. That can be solved by electing a better caliber of representatives, which would be aided by voters having access to more truthful information.
The “out-of-control spending” problem can be solved by restricting government’s spending to its Constitutionally enumerated authority. In fact, the Balanced Budget Amendments do nothing but put a stamp of approval on un-Constitutional spending items and include so many loopholes that Congress is actually allowed to spend more!
If we want to help Congress overcome its bad spending habits, we might want to consider turning down those tempting federal grants. Did you know that West Virginia got grants of $4,406 million in 2017 which was a whopping 27.5% of its total spending?1 Or that, in 2021, our state comes in at #4 in “most federal funding per resident”?2
If, as SCR 5 claims, “the federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States,” it appears that our state has, also. And, I could point out that the state legislators have an obligation to their constituents NOT to be manipulated by the "manipulative process of federal mandates"—whereby legislators are actually colluding with and approving the un-Constitutional "invasion" by the federal government.
Footnotes:
1 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/policy-basics-federal-aid-to-state-and-local-governments
2 World Population Review https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/federal-aid-by-state
Just because I haven’t posted to this blog doesn’t mean I’ve been inactive for the past several years. Far from it! Today I penned an op-ed for the CPWVa and thought I would also post it here.
~*~*~*~
Another Legislative Session, Another Resolution for an Article V convention
Here we go again! It’s the 2021 version of an Article V convention resolution in the West Virginia Legislature. It’s a repeat of previous attempts, with claims that we need to put an end to federal manipulation; calling for imposing fiscal restraints and limiting the power of the federal government as well as limiting terms of office. SCR 5 asserts that, “The states alone can call for a ‘Single Issue’ convention” and that, “Congress does not have the authority to define a ‘Single Issue’ convention”—which is all irrelevant since this Resolution is seeking a “multiple issue” convention.
They claim that the states—not the evil Congress—will make the rules, choose the delegates, etc.
This is all still being debated, with many scholars, Supreme Court justices and the Congressional Research Service believing that the states will only “apply” for a convention, then the Congress will take over and “call” the convention including establishing the rules.
The uncertain conditions for an Article V convention, as well as the Resolution’s own confusion as to what it is asking for, are reasons enough to reject it, but the supreme reason is, “Why put the entire Constitution at risk”? Oh, yes, the enemy has taken over the federal government and they would love a new Constitution which legalizes what they plan to do! Another question is, “Why change the Constitution when it’s not the problem?” The problem is that the Constitution is being ignored. Don’t amend it; just obey it.
“Term limits” will not solve the problem of corrupt, greedy and traitorous congressmen. That can be solved by electing a better caliber of representatives, which would be aided by voters having access to more truthful information.
The “out-of-control spending” problem can be solved by restricting government’s spending to its Constitutionally enumerated authority. In fact, the Balanced Budget Amendments do nothing but put a stamp of approval on un-Constitutional spending items and include so many loopholes that Congress is actually allowed to spend more!
If we want to help Congress overcome its bad spending habits, we might want to consider turning down those tempting federal grants. Did you know that West Virginia got grants of $4,406 million in 2017 which was a whopping 27.5% of its total spending?1 Or that, in 2021, our state comes in at #4 in “most federal funding per resident”?2
If, as SCR 5 claims, “the federal government has ceased to live under a proper interpretation of the Constitution of the United States,” it appears that our state has, also. And, I could point out that the state legislators have an obligation to their constituents NOT to be manipulated by the "manipulative process of federal mandates"—whereby legislators are actually colluding with and approving the un-Constitutional "invasion" by the federal government.
Footnotes:
1 Center on Budget and Policy Priorities https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/policy-basics-federal-aid-to-state-and-local-governments
2 World Population Review https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/federal-aid-by-state