A continuing series of discussions of Mark Levin’s new book,
The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic
(Discussion #13 – Activism, and the Scope of the Problem)
As you will no doubt hear on Mark Levin’s radio program this evening, the Mount Vernon Assembly was held this past Saturday, on the 72nd anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day. I suggest you find a way to record or download tonight’s broadcast (assuming Mark will be on—I see nothing on his website indicating otherwise). I’m sure Levin will have a few things to say on the subject.
The Mount Vernon Assembly was organized by Indiana Senate President David Long (R-Fort Wayne), and was a meeting of legislators from the several states for the purpose of discussing an Article Five Convention for proposing Amendments to the United States Constitution. We do not yet have a full count of attendees, but according to some reports, as many as 23 to 30 states were “sending” delegates to this Assembly (quotes around the word sending are because I have no independent confirmation whether each attendee was indeed dispatched by their respective legislative body, or had decided to show up on their own). The article I linked above (at TheBlaze) claims “nearly 100 lawmakers” showed up. Again, I’ve found no independent confirmation on that number, and whether all of them were in fact “lawmakers.” (UPDATE: Michael Farris at ConventionOfStates made the same claim, so that number looks accurate.)
Whomever and however, their attendance was an historic occasion. From such gatherings are the tectonic shifts in the political landscape created.
We’ll have to wait on Levin’s report, among others, to tell if they made progress beyond assertion of purpose and a pledge to proceed. The reports so far indicate that the main action item was to agree to meet again next year. For a first get together, this is not a big surprise. However, these legislators have shown much bravery by merely showing up. This is why we must support them in the coming months. This first meeting will be remembered, much the way many meetings were remembered during the turbulent years of the founders.
And like the Founders, we must face the fact that the present danger we face as a nation is grave. The collapse of our system is inevitable, and the only people that don’t recognize this are the low-information partisans who blindly follow the Progressives in power (both Republican and Democrat). The rest of you (and that includes many Democrats who know in their hearts the system will collapse) know something must be done or we have reached the end. The Progressives in power also know this, because it is their goal to seek power in the heart of the very chaos they have caused.
Senator Long and many forward-thinking legislators are already beginning the process of Restoration. This shows that such activism now has a solid core of key advocates. But they must have your help. You must do as many have already reported in these discussions (see the comments), and contact your local state representatives now. Do not leave it up to others. Each of you must do this, because this is the answer to the common question you have all had over the last decade. You ask, “What can I do?” The answer is within this process: the Article Five second process to Amend the Constitution.
As our friends at ConventionOfStates have said, “It’s the only solution as big as the problem.”
And the scope of the problem really is so massive that Mark Levin and others have written entire books on that subject alone. It’s economic, it’s the abuse of power, it’s a hollowing out of our military, it’s a weakened foreign policy, and it’s a debasement of the full faith and credit of the United States. If two downgrades cannot wake people to this danger, then nothing short of the Full Soviet will do it. (Some people in the gulags died believed Stalin would rescue them.)
I urge you to participate in these discussions. I know you are all busy, and it’s a difficult time of year to focus on activism, but you know the left never sleeps. Unfortunately we are also getting pushback from the more reactionary part of the right, where old fears of a “con-con” simply refuse to give way to the actual facts of the matter. Regarding the counterfactual claims by people warning of a runaway “con-con,” Michael Farris wrote:
Here is why their arguments are doomed to fail: 1. They are based on faulty history. The original Constitution was not adopted as the result of a runaway convention. Their entire argument is premised on this fallacy. 2. They have to convince state legislators that we can’t trust state legislators.
You see, state legislators control the Article V process from beginning to end. The “Con-Con” argument requires state legislators to believe that we should be afraid of state legislators who might abuse their power.
But what’s the alternative? These fear-based arguments leave us in the utterly precarious position of trusting Washington, D.C., to right itself.
No one should trust Washington, D.C., more than they trust state legislators. But, at the end of the day, the audience that matters most is state legislators. State legislators certainly trust themselves more than they trust Congress and the rest of the crowd in D.C.
And it’s exactly how the framers intended it to be. Obviously, state legislators are not infallible; look at California. We have no such illusions about the states as the detractors claim. But the clear fact is that you and our nation have a much better chance of survival by relying on the 7000-plus legislators all across the United States than we could ever have with 531 legislators and delegates mired in the power structure of Washington DC.
For one thing, you have access to your legislator. You might even know him or her personally. Most of them have to keep their day jobs in your community to afford to work at the capital during legislative sessions. You can talk to them. You must talk to them. This is, “What you can do.” This is how you can be a part of the solution without requiring huge campaign contributions. It only takes a few moments of your time, and you don’t have to travel across several states to some conference or meeting. Just pick up your phone and call your representative. It’s his or her job to listen to you.
A bit of housekeeping: These threads have not been exactly busy, so I worry about the commitment level. I need to know if you want me to continue them here at TheRightScoop. I had hoped this community was willing to see this great challenge to completion, and so I asked Scoop if TheRightScoop could be a nexus of activity on the issue. But response has been low, and I don’t want to impose on Scoop if the community isn’t behind the effort. Let me know.
Also, after asking the other day if people could please stop by the ArticleFiveProcess site and update their legislator’s info, I have noted only a few new records in the database (say wut?). If you have trouble using the site I really need to know about it. So your feedback is critical. (Many thanks to those who gave feedback in the comments. Also, many thanks to those updating the scores! Woo hoo!) I really think this scoreboard concept can be used to help convince legislators to get on board. (After all, if they see most of us want this, then it helps bring a little pressure for them to get on the right side of history.)
Many thanks to Senator Long and the attendees at the Mount Vernon Assembly. For those of you who wish to follow this in more depth, I’ll write an article at ArticleFiveProcess listing all of the attendees I can find, and info on how to track their efforts. It might arrive late this evening, so be sure to check after supper.
Previously:
Discussion #12: Cutting Back The Bureaucracy
Discussion #11: ArticleFiveProcess site news
Discussion #10: The Article Five process is how we go on offense
Discussion #9: the filthy habit of continuing resolutions
Discussion #8: Naysayers
Discussion #7: Tracking Our Progress
Discussion #6: Amendments on Spending and Taxes
Discussion #5: How much power do the states have?
Discussion #4: What If They Hijack the Convention?
Discussion #3: An Invitation to Our Friends on the Left
Discussion #2: Run Away!
Discussion #1: Zombie Doctrine, Tactics, and the Liberty Amendments