Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
ConventionUSA is the brainchild of Thomas Brennan – a retired Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, founder of the Thomas Cooley law school, and today, just your average octogenarian trying to save the country. Brennan conceived “Convention USA” as a virtual constitutional convention, organized along the lines of the original 1787 convention, i.e., each state has its own “delegation” and the proceedings will be conducted according to standard parliamentary procedure -- but online. Today the delegates will convene to adopt rules and elect a Chairman. I’ll post later with updates on how it goes.
The convention has a prominent advisory committee, including such liberals as Prof. Lawrence Lessig, and conservatives like Prof. Kevin Gutzman. The goal is to gather enough attention to kickstart a movement for whatever amendments ultimately emerge from the convention. It could spur congressional action (if you'll pardon the oxymoron) or even an Article V amending convention (an idea to which I am partial). Of course, the whole thing could be quixotic, but why not try? I've joined the New York delegation and hope to attend as many online sessions as possible.
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May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I've often advocated an Article V series of state conventions. It's the only way we are going to get the most needed amendments:
Balanced Budget and Line-Item Veto.
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Keith Preston: I've often advocated an Article V series of state conventions. It's the only way we are going to get the most needed amendments:
Balanced Budget and Line-Item Veto. · 7 minutes ago
Exactly - Congress will never propose an amendment that limits its power. But if the requisite number of states request a convention, Congress is forced to call one.
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
God only knows what would emerge from a real convention. I suspect we may not like it.
If you put 2,000 conservatives in a room and asked them to draft a new constitution you would emerge with something that would look strikingly similar to the one we have.
Ask 2,000 liberals to do the same and you would get a 450-page document full of newly discovered "positive rights," possibly the elimination of the Senate, a ceremonial President and a new Prime Minister who would live in the White House.
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
EJHill: God only knows what would emerge from a real convention. I suspect we may not like it.
If you put 2,000 conservatives in a room and asked them to draft a new constitution you would emerge with something that would look strikingly similar to the one we have.
Ask 2,000 liberals to do the same and you would get a 450-page document full of newly discovered "positive rights," possibly the elimination of the Senate, a ceremonial President and a new Prime Minister who would live in the White House. · 0 minutes ago
alright then, let's have the debate. This is as good a time as any to strike the anvil. I think Prof. Rahe is right. America's about to make a comeback and many of differing views realize that some basic restrictions on "spending to get re-elected" must be enacted. Now's the time.
Bring it on...
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
EJHill: God only knows what would emerge from a real convention. I suspect we may not like it.
If you put 2,000 conservatives in a room and asked them to draft a new constitution you would emerge with something that would look strikingly similar to the one we have.
Ask 2,000 liberals to do the same and you would get a 450-page document full of newly discovered "positive rights," possibly the elimination of the Senate, a ceremonial President and a new Prime Minister who would live in the White House. · 19 minutes ago
But EJ, an Article V convention has only the power to propose amendments. Anything proposed would still have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, and that would have to include many solid red states. The worst case is that a convention would be a waste of time, but it couldn't foist amendments on us against our will.
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
State politicians are an unknown. Your faith is greater than mine, Adam.
Mar '11
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. I've just signed up as a delegate.
Aug '12
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I agree with EJHill; beware the unintended consequences. An open convention would result in the liberals, progressives, libertarians, and all sorts of single-issue folk uniting to render a parliamentary system, so every group of kooks could have their representatives jockeying for a place on a ruling coalition. Lord, have mercy.
Aug '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Adam Freedman
EJHill: God only knows what would emerge from a real convention. I suspect we may not like it.
If you put 2,000 conservatives in a room and asked them to draft a new constitution you would emerge with something that would look strikingly similar to the one we have.
Ask 2,000 liberals to do the same and you would get a 450-page document full of newly discovered "positive rights," possibly the elimination of the Senate, a ceremonial President and a new Prime Minister who would live in the White House. · 19 minutes ago
But EJ, an Article V convention has only the power to propose amendments. Anything proposed would still have to be ratified by three-fourths of the states, and that would have to include many solid red states. The worst case is that a convention would be a waste of time, but it couldn't foist amendments on us against our will. · 35 minutes ago
That specific check is why I want the states to pass resolutions demanding a constitutional convention. Just the threat of states passing such a resolution has resulted in Congress proposing the required amendments. (Congressional pay springs to mind).
Oct '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I signed up as a delegate from California. I am also wary of some of the ideas proposed, but not for the reasons others have mentioned. The criticisms are a bit exaggerated I think. I don't like the idea of a balanced budget amendment for one. However, I think there needs to be some proposals that check the growth of power in the federal gov't. How about an amendment to return the election of Senators back to the state legislatures?
Mar '11
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
My solution for term limits is to eliminate Congressional pensions.
Aug '12
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I do not find the current system that objectionable, I don't think many of the amendments I've heard proposed are good ideas (Balanced Budget Amendments will be impossible to enforce, and it isn't clear you'd want to, and it isn't like they work at the state level), and as a result, I suspect that it is far more likely that the result of such a convention would be far worse than the current system. How hard was it to beat back the ERA?
Most of my prefered changes could easily be done legislatively (things like triple the size of the House), so I'd rather focus my attention there.
Mar '11
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I too am a little hesitant. We are going to start out aiming for a balanced budget amendment and end up with a constitutional right to transgendered Bingo nights.
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
I am now.
Nov '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
As I have posted on other threads here, we will NOT win back this country unless and until the power of the agencies to Rule by Regulation is curbed.
We need an amendment to the Constitution that provides that no regulation of any governmental agency may take effect unless and until it has been submitted in its final form to Congress, lain over for consideration for not less than sixty (60) legislative days, and thereafter received the approval of a majority of both houses. The Supreme Court has given the agencies virtually carte blanche to make law, relying upon the idea of delegation. The current system is an abomination and the key to the rise of Leviathan, the bureaucratic state run by "experts" and Governor George Wallace's "Pointy-Headed Bureaucrats".
Aug '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Only if 3/4 of the states (that is 38 of 50) agree - which is actually why I think the amendment limiting the power of the bureaucracy is a good idea.
Aug '12
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Our Constitution is fine. We just need to read it and go back to it. We don't need a Balanced Budget Amendment. If the Federal Government stayed within the numerated powers given it by the Constitution, we would not have a budget problem.
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
A BBA is needed. Hamilton never imagined we'd borrow trillions just to pay other Americans in order to get their votes. In his day, you had to be a property owner to vote. Who would pay taxes on their land to pay non-voters a benefit?
Also, we need a sunset provision. Their should be something like a 10 year sunset on federal laws. It gives us a chance to get rid of laws that had bad "unintended consequences."
May '10
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
This will be interesting indeed ...
My thoughts on amendments ....
Balanced Budget ... nice idea, impossible to implement in practice. I do like the idea of reducing Congressional pay by the fraction that expenditures are above receipts.
Sunset Provision ... I like it.
Line Item Veto ... I utterly oppose. A piece of legislation is a single legislative act, full of compromise and trade-offs. The President should not have the power to adjust that compromise. It would eliminate any possibility of good faith negotiation in Congress. It also give the Executive **FAR** too much power.
Session Limits - Congress should have a (relatively small) limit on the number of days it can be in session in a given year.
Confirmation Time Limits - The Senate should have 90 days to vote, otherwise the appointment becomes a recess appointment.
Mar '11
Re: Is Anyone Else Involved in Convention USA?
Indeed so. It turns out that if your elected representatives are spendthrifts no mere words on a piece of paper will deter them from being spendthrifts. California has a Balanced Budget Amendment does anyone care to hazard a guess at how effective that has been in restraining spending?
The way to balance the budget is to balance the budget. Imagining that a amendment will somehow make the difficult decisions for us is to embrace an illusion.