There are those who aspire to protect the United States Constitution who at the same time deny the use of one of its most powerful features. The American ideal is unique among governments in that it is one of self-government. The Framers of the U S Constitution were granted enough wisdom to include in it a method for the states to amend the Constitution when necessary.
Article 5 is the anchor that holds the power of government to the states and to the people against the relentless pull of central government. The force of centralized government that incrementally strips rights and freedom from the citizens has been given sway as the states let out more and more rope. Thankfully, Article 5 allows for the citizens to pull that rope back in by way of a convention of states.
The Constitution has been sidestepped or utterly disregarded by those who have sworn to protect and defend it. It is only a piece of paper with words on it if it is not followed and enforced. There are many examples of unconstitutional actions taken by presidents and congressmen over many years, and they have not been held accountable.
Most, if not all, of the unlawful behavior is enabled by unsanctioned expenditures such as foreign aid, domestic aid, and federal agencies. As is usually the case, unchecked misbehavior leads to increased misbehavior.
Of late, examples of unconstitutional authority have manifested as forced acceptance of immorality, forced funding of the killing of babies, aiding and abetting illegal aliens, and the suspension of the right to peaceful assembly. By holding an Article 5 convention, the people of the states will take a powerful step to enforce the Constitution and put America back on the correct course.
For the most part, our congressmen control whether the Constitution is followed because they control the spending of our tax dollars. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution authorizes Congress to have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. It also gives Congress authority to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution its enumerated powers. Since government activities must be funded, unconstitutional actions are easily stopped by Congress acting upon its responsibility to remove the funding.
Along with the power of the purse, Congress has the power of policing. Article 2, Section 4 of the U S Constitution states that the president, vice president, and all civil officers of the United States shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.
In Article 5, the Founders provided a peaceful means of limiting the power of central government, why should we fear using it? The fear should lie in the runaway federal government that we currently have, not in attempts to put it back in its place.
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