Pro-Democracy Group Warns of Secret Right-Wing Push to Rewrite Constitution
Published on
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Pro-Democracy Group Warns of Secret Right-Wing Push to Rewrite Constitution
'This is a national train wreck that must be stopped,' says Common Cause
by
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
"This is total constitutional terra incognita," one reporter said of an
Article V convention. (Photo: Kim Davies/flickr/cc)
Under the radar of corporate media and general public, a "dangerous
proposal" is bubbling up in state legislatures throughout the country-one
that could trigger "political chaos that would make past upheavals like the
Watergate scandal and the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton seem
tame by comparison."
"We're sounding an alarm. This is a national train wreck that must be
stopped."
-Miles Rapoport, Common Cause
So warned the grassroots, pro-democracy group Common Cause on Wednesday, in
a new report entitled, The Dangerous Path: Big Money's Plan to Shred the
Constitution (pdf).
The threat comes in the form of a constitutional convention, assembled under
Article V of the U.S. Constitution, one of several mechanisms that enables
future amendments. Article V requires Congress to call such a gathering once
34 state legislatures submit petitions to do so; new constitutional
amendments agreed to at the confab would then be sent back to the states for
ratification.
Twenty-seven state legislatures have already passed resolutions calling for
a convention under the guise of balancing the federal budget, according to
Common Cause. Action in just seven more would force Congress to comply.
"We're sounding an alarm," said Common Cause President Miles Rapoport on
Wednesday. "This is a national train wreck that must be stopped."
With pro-corporate, right-wing lobby groups like the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) and Citizens for Self-Governance-not to mention a
number of 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls-pushing for such a
convention, those who care about everything from environmental regulation to
same-sex marriage to fair taxation have reason to be wary.
For one thing, the report cautions, there are no settled rules or procedures
to govern an Article V convention and experts say (pdf) it cannot be limited
in scope-meaning "there is nothing to prevent the convention, once convened,
from proposing additional changes that could limit or eliminate fundamental
rights or upend our entire system of government."
Or as U.S. News & World Report editor Robert Schlesinger put it earlier this
year, "This is total constitutional terra incognita."
Indeed, Common Cause said in a press statement: "The unprecedented assembly
could re-write the 238-year-old Constitution, imperiling civil rights and
the system of checks and balances at the heart of the nation's charter."
Rapoport acknowledged that four states with Democratic-controlled
legislatures have petitioned for an Article V convention to propose an
amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision
on campaign finance. But while Common Cause supports such an amendment in
theory, "we're unwilling to put the entire Constitution at risk in an
Article V convention," he said.
"There is simply no way to ensure that a convention would be limited to a
single issue or a small group of issues," Rapoport explained. "Instead,
there's every reason to fear it would turn into a free-for-all, endangering
fundamental rights and triggering economic and political chaos."
A coalition of reform groups, including Common Cause, went even further in a
statement this April, warning that "the call of a convention would place all
of the constitutional rights and protections of individuals up for grabs.
This includes protections that exist for civil rights, civil liberties,
freedom of religion, freedom of speech, voting rights, privacy, and many
others. The role of the courts in protecting the rights of individuals and
minority interests would also be subject to change."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
Pro-Democracy Group Warns of Secret Right-Wing Push to Rewrite Constitution
Published on
Wednesday, December 02, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Pro-Democracy Group Warns of Secret Right-Wing Push to Rewrite Constitution
'This is a national train wreck that must be stopped,' says Common Cause
by
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
. 5 Comments
.
. "This is total constitutional terra incognita," one reporter said of
an Article V convention. (Photo: Kim Davies/flickr/cc)
. Under the radar of corporate media and general public, a "dangerous
proposal" is bubbling up in state legislatures throughout the country-one
that could trigger "political chaos that would make past upheavals like the
Watergate scandal and the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton seem
tame by comparison."
. "We're sounding an alarm. This is a national train wreck that must
be stopped."
-Miles Rapoport, Common Cause
. So warned the grassroots, pro-democracy group Common Cause on
Wednesday, in a new report entitled, The Dangerous Path: Big Money's Plan to
Shred the Constitution (pdf).
. The threat comes in the form of a constitutional convention,
assembled under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, one of several
mechanisms that enables future amendments. Article V requires Congress to
call such a gathering once 34 state legislatures submit petitions to do so;
new constitutional amendments agreed to at the confab would then be sent
back to the states for ratification.
Twenty-seven state legislatures have already passed resolutions calling for
a convention under the guise of balancing the federal budget, according to
Common Cause. Action in just seven more would force Congress to comply.
"We're sounding an alarm," said Common Cause President Miles Rapoport on
Wednesday. "This is a national train wreck that must be stopped."
With pro-corporate, right-wing lobby groups like the American Legislative
Exchange Council (ALEC) and Citizens for Self-Governance-not to mention a
number of 2016 Republican presidential hopefuls-pushing for such a
convention, those who care about everything from environmental regulation to
same-sex marriage to fair taxation have reason to be wary.
For one thing, the report cautions, there are no settled rules or procedures
to govern an Article V convention and experts say (pdf) it cannot be limited
in scope-meaning "there is nothing to prevent the convention, once convened,
from proposing additional changes that could limit or eliminate fundamental
rights or upend our entire system of government."
Or as U.S. News & World Report editor Robert Schlesinger put it earlier this
year, "This is total constitutional terra incognita."
Indeed, Common Cause said in a press statement: "The unprecedented assembly
could re-write the 238-year-old Constitution, imperiling civil rights and
the system of checks and balances at the heart of the nation's charter."
Rapoport acknowledged that four states with Democratic-controlled
legislatures have petitioned for an Article V convention to propose an
amendment that would overturn the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision
on campaign finance. But while Common Cause supports such an amendment in
theory, "we're unwilling to put the entire Constitution at risk in an
Article V convention," he said.
"There is simply no way to ensure that a convention would be limited to a
single issue or a small group of issues," Rapoport explained. "Instead,
there's every reason to fear it would turn into a free-for-all, endangering
fundamental rights and triggering economic and political chaos."
A coalition of reform groups, including Common Cause, went even further in a
statement this April, warning that "the call of a convention would place all
of the constitutional rights and protections of individuals up for grabs.
This includes protections that exist for civil rights, civil liberties,
freedom of religion, freedom of speech, voting rights, privacy, and many
others. The role of the courts in protecting the rights of individuals and
minority interests would also be subject to change."
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
