Convention of States

A national movement to call a Convention under Article V of the US Constitution, proposing amendments to enact fiscal restraints, limit Federal power and impose term limits on Federal officials.

Today, the federal government operates largely outside the bounds of the Constitution. It has become the all-powerful central government the Founders feared, has largely usurped the power of the state governments and effectively controls them through various means...

Any of you that have been following Restore First Principles know that the goal of this site is to review and shine light on organizations and groups that are working to reign in the left and its Marxists movements.  To put it bluntly the Convention of States is not only such a group but the group that is, as stated by President Ronald Reagan, “The Shining City Upon a Hill”. Please read on to see why I feel so strongly about this organization…

There are many levels of leftist ideology in our systems and politics from local governments all the way up to the current President and his cabinet. So, let’s look at the problem from a big picture standpoint. With so many fronts that need to be addressed which should we prioritize, local government or the federal government? (I have struggled with this question MANY times as I review organizations from across this country for RFP) Personally, I feel we need to cut off the head of the snake because if we grab it from the tail (local government) the head of the snake (federal government) can still bite us.  Do we need to confront local governments where Marxists ideology exists?  Absolutely! But again, we must cut off the head of the snake first or we cannot possibly win this revolution. That’s where the Convention of States comes in…

Article V of the U.S. Constitution gives states the power to call a convention to propose amendments. It takes 34 states to call the convention and 38 to ratify any amendments that are proposed. Our convention would only allow the states to discuss amendments that, “limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints, and place term limits on federal officials.”

Let’s look at these “amendments” one at a time and see if this is even a battle worth having…

Limit the Power and Jurisdiction of the Federal Government ~ The Founders believed that the structures of a limited government would provide the greatest protection of liberty. Not only were there to be checks and balances between the branches of the federal government, but power was also to be delineated between the states and federal government. The latter was to exercise only those “few and defined” powers specifically granted in the Constitution, while the states’ powers were left “broad and undefined.

And what were those “few and defined” powers granted to the Federal Government in the Constitution?  Those powers include providing a national defense, dealing with foreign nations, regulating commerce, financing the federal government, creating and operating a federal court system, controlling immigration, establishing a capital and other things that affect all the states. We can see that the powers given to the federal government are few and are well defined. This allows the federal government to do what needs to be done at the national level while (if limiting itself to these powers) preventing it from becoming too powerful and oppressive.

It doesn’t take much brain sweat to realize that the Feds currently have WAY more power than those listed. Yup, time to rein them in!

Impose Fiscal Restraints ~ America’s national debt numbers in tens of trillions of dollars, but it only tells a part of the story. Under standard accounting practices, the federal government actually owes well over $100 trillion more in vested Social Security benefits and other programs. The government cannot tax its way out of debt. Even if the government taxed at 100 percent and confiscated everything, it wouldn’t cover the mountain of debt that we have already accumulated!  Have a look at the Dr. Rand Paul Release of the “2023 ‘Festivus’ Report on Government Waste”. This is an incredible report that breaks down the incredible waste (totalling over $900,000,000,000) that our federal government produces.  Here are a few examples of that waste:

• Dr. Fauci’s Monkey Business on NIH’s “Monkey Island” ~ $33,200,000

• How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 1: Engines ~ $89,000,000

• How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 2: Transmissions ~ $12,600,000

• How to Ruin Expensive Military Equipment Part 3: Tank Treads ~ $68,000,000

• Improper Federal Payments ~ $236,000,000,000

Imagine if we could stop this incredible waste and put this money to more important uses, or better still not be taxed for these dollars!  The amendment of “Impose Fiscal Restraints” would/could do just that!

Place Term Limits on Federal Officials ~ In the United States, term limits restrict the number of terms of office an officeholder may serve. At the federal level, the president of the United States can serve a maximum of two four-year terms, limited by the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution. Some State government offices are also term-limited, including executive, legislative, and judicial offices.  Term limits date back to the American Revolution and prior to that, to the democracies and republics of antiquity. The Council of 500 in ancient Athens rotated its entire membership annually, as did the ephorate in ancient Sparta.

From Wikipedia on Term Limits: When the states ratified the Constitution (1787–1788), several leading statesmen regarded the lack of mandatory limits to tenure as a dangerous defect, especially, they thought, as regards the presidency and the Senate. Richard Henry Lee viewed the absence of legal limits to tenure as "most highly and dangerously oligarchic." Both Jefferson and George Mason advised limits on re-election to the Senate and to the Presidency, because, said Mason, "nothing is so essential to the preservation of a Republican government as a periodic rotation." The historian Mercy Otis Warren warned that "there is no provision for a rotation, nor anything to prevent the perpetuity of office in the same hands for life; which by a little well-timed bribery, will probably be done".

Anyone that believes that well-timed bribery is not occurring in our government, at ALL levels, is either not paying attention or is part of that bribery and has every reason to have it continue.

The ”Place Term Limits” amendment would stop politics from becoming a “career” as well as rather effectively stopping special interest lobby groups from buying our elected officials! (How is it that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are so wealthy on a public employees’ salary?)  To me this is SO very self-evident that it cannot be ignored if we are to stop the destruction of this country.  

After all of this I have basically laid out the “why” there needs to be a “Convention of States” and have not even begun to get into the details of how or why such a convention can and should take place.  It is not an easy thing to pull off, it’s never happened in the history of this country. BUT IT MUST HAPPEN SOON as this is the only way to “cut off the head of the snake” and take our country back!

 So there will be a part 2 of this article which I will post as quickly as possible.  In the meantime, I’d suggest that you head over to the “Convention of States” website and get a head start.  It IS involved and complex and will take some time, focus and brain sweat. But it is SO worth it. Let me know how it goes!

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