Analyst's note:  Some talk about a "Convention of States" as if it were somehow not associated with what others call a "Constitutional Convention."  Such is not the case.  We must understand it is a term without real distinction. The intent of a "Convention of States" is to trigger an "Article V Convention" or "Constitutional Convention."  To help explain the risks and dangers associated with the end result of a Constitutional Convention, I offer the following adapted from my speech delivered on May 27, 2014, at a Tea Party event in Altoona, PA.

Good evening & thank you for your confidence in affording me a few minutes to speak this evening regarding a most critical subject, that of a Constitutional Convention (Con-Con).  It was a phone call from a long-time friend of mine & fellow patriot living in Nebraska that ultimately placed me before you this evening to discuss this topic.  As you can tell by my bio, speaking on this specific topic is not what I do day by day.

I have spent much of my life keeping my oath at the “pointy end of the spear” working to protect this great nation from enemies both foreign & domestic. 

Now in my later years using that experience, I operate as a consultant & sr. advisor for matters of U.S. national security & associated strategic thinking.  In this capacity, in addition to providing open-source intelligence, I am afforded the time to study other forms of gov’ts … several of which I have seen “up close and personal”  over the years.  I am also afforded the time for analysis …. to contrast and compare their operations and results with that of our own United States of America’s operating manual that we know as our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

The primary purpose of our Constitution is to protect the people in their God-given, unalienable rights.  It establishes the boundaries within which our government may act. It is not a grant of unlimited power to act with unrestricted discretion.

 

 

Two significant challenges were necessarily left in our Constitution

1^st Challenge was Slavery:  In order to keep the southern States in the Union, our Founding Fathers agreed to the temporary condition of slavery & associated taxes. (Article 1. Section 2 & Section 9). 

The southern states saw slavery as an economic issue.  For seventy years our Constitutional Republic was held together through legislative compromise, but we remained a house divided.  We fought our SECOND CIVIL WAR (the war between the States) from 1861-65 to preserve our Constitutional Republic … the likes of which was unknown in all of human history.  This war was fought so that “government of the people, by the people and for the people would not perish from the earth.”  Ultimately, that freedom would be the legacy of ALL Americans regardless of color.

In 1865 we saw the new ratification of Amendments to our sacred U.S. Constitution.

·       Dec 6, 1865, Amendment XIII (13) was ratified abolishing slavery in the U.S.

·       July 9, 1868, Amendment XIV (14) granted citizenship to emancipated slaves & appropriately adjusted representation

·       February 3, 1870, Amendment XV (15) granted ALL citizens the right to vote

From the end of the Reconstruction to 1965 some states unconstitutionally circumvented the intent of these three amendments (known as “Jim Crow Laws”).  It took our nation nearly 100 years to ultimately correct these segregation injustices.  In the 60’s, I remember traveling with a fellow military man who was black.  We would sometimes have to change restaurants in order to eat together.

 

2^nd Challenge is Article V (Life Boat or Escape Pod): Like any “life boat,” this amendment was only intended to be used if our Constitution proved to be “structurally flawed” & in need of urgent repair … absolutely no other course of action is available to possibly save lives.

Unlike Mr. Obama & his fellow travelers, I believe the only “structural flaw” we face is NOT in our Constitution itself, but in failed families … the weakened communities, and everything around them and on up that is naturally unraveling as a result.

At this point in our discussion, we still need additional perspective, before I return the specific dangers with this amendment.  At this point, I will simply say that the fact that voters and public officials are NOT following the existing Constitution does NOT even suggest, let alone demand that we abandon ship and exercise the Constitutional Convention or “Con-Con” ... quite the contrary.

“We the People” became careless under Pres. Woodrow Wilson and ratified two time-bombs that remain in our ship of state:

Amendment XVI (16^th), Feb 13, 1913:  Prior to this amendment the gov’t was fundamentally blocked in any move toward Marxist Socialism.  The conversion of our nation to democracy and ultimately to a socialist state through any policies of redistribution of wealth had been blocked.  Once implemented, the 16^th Amendment gave the Federal gov’t the ability to DIRECTLY tax American citizens & thereby “plunder the property” of the people without restraint by the States.  This has allowed for an ever increasing deficit in spending which now reaches trillions upon trillions of dollars and beyond.

Amendment XVII (17^th), April 8, 1913:  Prior to this amendment, the several states had equal voice in the federal gov’t through their Senators elected by the State Legislatures to represent the States.  These Senators were thus responsible directly to the State Legislatures and the Governor. 

With this amendment, lost was the equal representation by the States, regardless of size or population … this BTW was one of the most contentiously fought and debated issues in the creation of our Constitutional Republic.  In addition to the destruction of the vertical separation of powers, this 17^th Amendment has also inflicted upon the States a myriad of “unfunded federal mandates.”

Together what I have described has opened the door to our nation’s move from a Constitutional Republic, which was created by our God through the Founding Fathers, to a Democracy with all its excesses leading toward socialism. 

 

The "progressive" Obama regime, well-schooled in the “Rules for Radicals” as defined by Saul Alinsky, is constantly breaking new ground in a head-long march to weaken this nation as they move toward socialism, if not communism.  This President has done more than any president in history to break America.

There are 8 levels of control that must be obtained before one is able to create a socialist state. It is important to note that the first item is the most important.

1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people

2) Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing everything for them to live.

3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.

4) Gun Control – Remove the ability for the people to defend themselves from the Government. That way you are able to create a police state.

5) Welfare – Take control of every aspect of their lives (Food, Housing, and Income)

6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take control of what children learn in school.

7) Religion – Remove the belief in the God from the Government and schools.

8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor. This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take (Tax) the wealthy with the support of the poor.

 

This move toward federalism has broken the link that once preserved the independence of “We the People” & the power of the States as guaranteed by Amendment X (10^th).  Thus we are losing understanding of the basic concept where “The powers not delegated to the Unites States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

The "progressive" Obama regime is constantly breaking new ground in their head-long march to weaken this nation as they move us toward socialism, if not communism

 

**** Move toward Democracy is Dangerous & Deadly ****

Democracy as understood by our Founding Fathers:   Studies confirm that “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of gov’t. It can only exist until a majority of the voters discover they can vote themselves largesse [gifts] from the public treasury.  A democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy [taxing & spending] & is always followed by a dictatorship.  Our Founding Fathers were determined to build into their system the freedom of a government “of the people” but avoid the pitfalls of a pure democracy.  They knew it was sufficient to have mass participation in the election of representatives, but after that they wanted the principles of a republic to prevail.

 

****NEW Constitutional Convention Could Well Destroy our United States****

With this setup, we can better appreciate the “treacherous seas” in which our nation is “sailing.”  I now review specific risks & dangers regarding the possible launch of an incredibly dangerous “life boat” known as a NEW Constitutional Convention or Con-Con.

·       Once launched, the Con-Con must go forward with unlimited powers.  They can in fact change the supreme law of this land from our Bill of Rights to the entire existing Constitution.  We could well see these great documents forever altered beyond recognition.  Such changes will likely be contrary to our national well being.

·       There is no guarantee that delegates are selected by “We the People.”  In fact Congress has a blank check in this matter of selecting delegates to a Con-Con.

·       The Con-Con faces a very real danger of falling under control of special interest.  States may not even have so much a one delegate.

·       The content of any amendments proposed belongs strictly to the Con-Con delegates … not to the States & not to Congress … remember the delegates once selected report to no one.  In fact any attempt to limit or enforce limitations is simply NOT enforceable.  The delegates can meet & adjourn without any amendments OR they can determine ANY amendment they want. Such views are expressed Inaccordance with the considered views of a long list of respected jurist and immenent legal scholars.

·       Once convened, it is too late to control what they do even if we don’t like the agenda.  Risk is very great for a “runaway convention” directed and operating with POLITICIANS, who characteristically have only EGOCENTRIC SELF-INTEREST!

 

·       We must absolutely be aware that all ALL citizens understand the dangers associated with inattentive, ignorant, or cynical manipulation by special interest.

·       There is no such thing as an UNAUTHORIZED amendment in a Con-Con.  Neither the States, Congress, the President, nor the Supreme Court has ANY power to limit the actions of the Con-Con.  We could well face constitutional confusion & confrontation at every turn, with no assurance of focus on any subject needing attention.

·       Why do we think an updated Constitution will be followed when the Congress, the President, and the Supreme Court Justices don’t follow the one they’ve taken an oath to uphold?

·       Where in the Constitution is there a granted power to force national healthcare on the people?  We can ask the same question about a Dept. of Education, a National Endowment for the Arts, etc. etc.

·       Progressives are pushing hard to nullify the First & Second Amendments.  History shows us what happens when such rights do NOT exist.

·       For any number of reasons, RATIFICATION by even the States is NOT a viable safety net any more than it was in the original runaway Constitutional Convention.  The end result of that one was good, but it was a definite runaway.

·       Why would we want to put our nation’s very survival in such treacherous peril?  We already have politicians at all levels who fail to follow the Constitution now in place. We lack statesmen who have only our nation’s best interest at heart.

·       If history is any teacher, no state will be allowed to rescind their votes, and we are only a handful of states away from a new Constitutional Convention being assembled.  The dangers I’ve just mentioned are very real and enormous as well as enumerated by the crushing weight of legal opinion opposing a Con-Con.

 

I say that the devil we know is better than the one we don’t know.  Our Constitution is NOT the main problem; it’s the people we elect to office and the people who elect them.  Hillsdale College on May 14, 2014 reported that 72% of Americans have not even read America’s Constitution.

Why do we think that anything will change with a new Constitution?  Too many of voting public doesn’t care anything about the Constitution.  They are now using the power of the State for their own benefit.

As I age, I become ever more keenly aware that the serious problems facing our country today are NOT purely political, or even mostly political.  I argue that what is ailing our nation is profoundly moral in nature and, as such necessitates a spiritual antidote.

Today in America we see an insidious relativism that teaches that concepts of right and wrong are old-fashioned, antiquated and even judgmental. Vices are elevated.  Virtues are mocked.  Faith is squeezed out of the public square. Our culture is coarsened as a result.

Perhaps more significant is the reality that the display of the Ten Commandments is hardly as significant as the truths they contain. In fact, recent studies indicate that in just the last three years, the percentage of people antagonistic to the Bible astonishingly grew by over 72 percent.  Even this very idea is far different from our early Americans.

George Washington himself famously said, “The Hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith and (is) more wicked, that has NOT gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”

Indeed, whether hailing from the Judeo-Christian tradition or some other tradition altogether, every American who enjoys the fruits of liberty ought to frequently contemplate the “Hand of Providence” in so richly blessing this unlikely venture in self-governance.  Such contemplation cannot result in anything but gratitude.

The globalists who currently control Washington, D.C. and Wall Street are, no doubt, salivating over the opportunity to officially dismantle America’s independence and national sovereignty, in their work to establish a globalist North American Union – in much the same way that globalists created the European Union.

I have personally met and had to deal with too many such people inside our Dept of Defense & other organizations.  A new Constitutional Convention is exactly the tool they need to cement their sinister schemes into law.

If America is to remain free … and we are now hanging by a thread … corrupt and criminal leadership must be voted out and removed from public service.  We need a CONSTITUTIONAL RESTORATION, not another Constitutional Convention.  Whatever the cost, we need a good ole fashion housecleaning … of tyranny and traitors. We must stand up for the right.

 

In order to secure the blessings of liberty and ensure the protection of our Constitution, we must follow four principles.

1^st First and foremost be righteous.  Our Constitution was made only for a moral and righteous people.

2^nd We must learn the principles of the Constitution in the tradition of our Founding Fathers.As Jefferson said, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free …it expects what never was and never will be.”

3^rd We must become involved in civic affairs to see we are properly represented.Those who represent us must be statesmen, not cunning politicians. I quote Mark Twain who said, "Politicians & diapers must be changed often, and for the same reasons."  On the other hand, these statemen of whom I speak will only be good, wise, and honest.  They will understand the great Americanist principles of individual, God-given rights, the purpose of gov’t regarding these rights, that power must be limited and enumerated as well as checked and balanced, and fully divided to prevent tyranny.

4^th We must make our influence felt by our vote, our letters, and our advice.It is our duty to concentrate all our influence to make popular that which is sound and good, and unpopular that which is unsound. If you have influence you must use it.

 

If our nation is to survive, it will be because of the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be because of men and women who understand and follow the principles of our inspired and sacred Constitution.

Our trouble is that few now “serving us” have a moral compass, accountability, or commitment to the rule of law and for the Constitution. It is NOT the Constitution itself is somehow wanting.  We do NOT need a new Congressional Convention.

As our way of life is being ‘fundamentally changed’ for the worse by the forces of the Progressives, the Socialists, the elites, the entrenched power brokers, the main stream media, and the supporters of our enemies. I cannot stand by idly nor should you.

We must take back our nation, re-establish the Republic and our way of life. We must re-double our efforts to ensure success on the long road back to the ideals our forefathers laid before us.

We are now witnessing the accelerating decline of America; the purposeful dismantling of our Constitution, and the destruction of the very fabric of our society.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my views on this most important topic.

******

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