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PATRIOT COALITION
What We Will Cover Today
1. Identify the Root Problem
Problem Identification The first question should be: What is the problem?
Problem Identification
"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.
-Henry David Thoreau
Problem Identification
Before You Can Solve A Problem You Must Identify the Problem.
If we ask the wrong questions, the answers wont matter. If we dont properly identify the root problem, theres a good chance we wont choose the correct solution, and we will be hacking at the limbs.
Problem Identification
Besides amassing a huge debt, federal officeholders often have disregarded individual liberty and constitutional limits on their own power.
-Rob Natelson, ALEC Article V Handbook for State Legislators
politicians are not obeying it and judges are indulging in too much activism. -Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum, 2008 The federal government is spending this country into the ground, seizing power from the states and taking liberty from the people. Convention of States The Federal Government is broken. Citizens for Self-Governance
Problem Identification
Everyone agrees government is out of control. What causes that? Public servants dont follow the Constitution.
Problem Identification
The people that want to change the Constitution say that the root problem is public servants do not follow the Constitution. Is this the root problem?
Problem Identification
No. Thats just a symptom.
A doctor identifies symptoms, and traces them to the primary cause, which is the real problem.
Problem Identification
Out-of-control government is a symptom of public servants not following the Constitution. The next logical question in tracing the symptom back to the root problem is:
Problem Identification
Public servants do not follow the Constitution because We the People do not require them to.
Problem Identification
Unfortunately, many people are incorrectly identifying the problem. Their solution doesnt even solve the problem theyve identified, and it might kill the patient.
These folks suggest changing the Constitution will make public servants uphold it.
Michael Farris
Convention of States
No!
Changing the Constitution will not make public servants follow the Constitution.
Do supporters of changing the Constitution explain how that will solve the problem?
No!
If they arent talking about how changing the Constitution will solve the problem
They are only talking about potential amendments and the rules for controlling the convention.
Will the answers to any of these questions make it likely or more likely that our public servants will follow a newly-revised Constitution?
So, figuring out the rules for controlling the convention DOES NOT MATTER!
Mark Levins book goes into great detail about the workings of an Article V Convention.
He also proposes numerous amendments he would like to see a convention consider, such as a balanced budget amendment, term limits, and a repeal of the 17th Amendment.
If We the People wont hold our elected officials accountable for not upholding the Constitution now, by what stretch of the imagination do we think they will follow a new and improved Constitution?
The people made the Constitution, and the people can unmake it. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will.
Chief Justice John Marshall, Cohens v. Virginia 19 U.S. 264 (1821)
If We the People have lost our will to keep the Constitution alive, it will surely die. If we believe in the Liberty it was ordained to protect, we must take the necessary measures to restore it.
Changing the Constitution wont make public servants follow the Constitution.
Problem Identification
Remember what the root problem really is: We the People do not require public servants to follow the Constitution.
Problem Identification
Before You Can Solve A Problem You Must Identify the Problem.
If we ask the wrong questions, the answers wont matter. If we dont properly identify the problem, theres a good chance we wont choose the correct solution.
What have we learned about the folks wanting to change the Constitution?
1. They want a solution that doesnt solve the problem they identified. 2. They identified the wrong problem. 3. They are hacking at the limbs of evil.
CAN WE TRUST THESE PEOPLE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM WHEN THEY REFUSE TO ADMIT THE REAL PROBLEM?
Michael Farris
Convention of States
Pre-Constitutional Concepts 1. Sovereignty and its inherent authority. 2. The primary purpose of any legitimate government.
The Constitution 6. A constitutional convention cannot be controlled and should be avoided at all costs. (Article V.) 7. The extent and meaning of the Supremacy Clause (Article VI, Clause 2)
The Constitution 8. The extent and meaning of the "Oath Clause" of Article VI, Clause 3 9. Why States do not have the Constitutional power (or other authority) to nullify federal law.
A Dozen Concepts Every Patriot Should Know Principles of Federalism 10. State courts have concurrent jurisdiction with the "lower federal courts to decide and interpret federal laws and the Constitution within their territorial boundaries.
Principles of Federalism
Problem Identification
Analyzing the Con Con as a solution