Three months ago, Mark Levin released a blockbuster new book, The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic. In it, he proposes that the states call a convention to amend the US Constitution. I have a key suggestion about how to make that work.
In the book, he proposes eleven amendments to help restore the original intent of the US Constitution. If passed, they would do that. They would limit the size of the Federal government, limit its taxing power, and provide a check on regulations and congressional and judicial power. He proposes bypassing Congress with this process. This is necessary because Congress has helped create the problem and would not be disposed to reform itself. The state legislatures would call what is called an Article V Convention and give that convention instructions for crafting certain proposed amendments. If these amendments were then passed by 3/4 of the state legislatures, they would become part of the constitution.
There is already a movement among state legislators across the country for getting this to happen. Wednesday night, Mark Levin had as a guest on his radio show David Long, the President of the Indiana State Senate. He has called a meeting of interested state legislators to come to Mt. Vernon, Virginia on December 7, to discuss this amendment process. The meeting is called the Mount Vernon Assembly. This assembly won’t actually propose amendments but rather is designed to just get this ball rolling.
But the problem is that there is a lot of inertia resisting this Article V Convention process. Even good conservatives, some of them, are leery of this convention process and reluctant to unleash it. So I wish to propose a strategy for implementing Mark Levin’s ideas.
Here’s my proposal: Start with just one amendment – not all eleven. And the amendment I would start with is term limits for members of Congress. Here is the reason this strategy would work.
There is tremendous impetus for such an amendment. A recent poll found 81% of respondents agreeing that Congress should be subjected to term limits. Support for the notion is bipartisan. There is great resentment of Congress across the country from Republicans, Democrats, and independents. And it is more obvious with this particular issue that nothing will get done unless we bypass Congress. So start with that and keep it simple. Call a convention for the sole purpose of amending the constitution to limit the terms of Senators and Representatives.
Once that occurs, it will put the ruling class on its heels and it will give the people a taste of the power they have. It will break down the inertia that exists resisting this method of amending the constitution and make it much easier to try other amendments to balance the budget, limit federal spending, etc.
This is how these things need to be done, incrementally. This is the strategy the Left has used for over a century. If we push for all eleven amendments at once, the effort will fail.
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I couldn’t agree with you more. While I mostly agree with Mr Levin and his proposed amendments (and I know enough that he will defend each and everyone of them). We have the best shot at accomplishing this one amendment, and one that will have a profound impact on society the fastest.
As jaded as I am on the current state of the country and the direction we are heading, I am still very hopeful that given the correct influence from the people we can correct the course we are on.
Many people will say that we have term limits its called free and open elections, but in the case with house members they have aligned the districts to a point that over 90% regain election regardless, and the states have no direct association to the federal government when senators pander to the wealthy or the people that seek handouts leaving the middle American to carry the load.
So instead of repeal the 17th I agree replace it with a 2 term limit in the senate and 3 terms in the house people in office at the time of ratification can serve out the current term but may not run again. That gets a clean(er) house in 2 years (max) and 6 years senate.
Then the next thing must be balanced budget and it must come on the heels of the term limits amendment or they won’t think we are serious.
Comment by Dave Hall:
Dale – thanks for your comment.
Mark Levin’s term limits proposal sets a maximum of 12 years that any one person can serve in the US Congress. I like that better than setting separate limits for the House and Senate. The whole idea of the founders was to have a citizen legislature. Now, instead, we have a professional ruling class.