Urge Your State Representatives to Support an Article V Convention

By Mike Westrich

Do you believe Washington, D.C., is broken? Do you believe those in D.C. are willing or capable of curbing their own power? Are you looking for a solution to reduce the size, scope and jurisdiction of the federal government, impose fiscal restraints and place term limits on federal officials?

A package of constitutional amendments — proposed by an Article V convention of the states and designed to curb the abuses of the federal government — would go a long way toward restoring the rightful power of state and local governments.

According to a recent Pew survey, only 23 percent of Americans trust the federal government to do the right thing “at least most of the time.” A higher percentage of Americans trust their state and local governments — 33 percent trust their state government and 41.5 percent trust their local government to do the right thing all or most of the time.

State and local governments are closer to the people they serve and, thus, more accountable. The individuals in a state or city can more easily contact or visit their representatives and officials to voice their concerns or grievances. Unfortunately, D.C. has gradually stripped these governments of their rightful power, turning them into nothing more than regional agencies.

It’s time for a change in the status quo.

We should continue to elect virtuous people who vow to defend the Constitution; however, we’ve been trying that for decades. And the federal government has gotten larger and more abusive. According to State Budget Solutions, in 2013, North Carolina received 32.5 percent of its revenue from the federal government. At what point will the state legislators we elect be irrelevant? When will they become simply wards of the federal government?

There is a federal leviathan apparatus in Washington, D.C., that is hard to overcome.

Imagine a castle as the federal government. Its walls have gotten bigger and bigger over the last 100 years, almost impenetrable. We keep trying the same battering rams to knock down these walls without success, hoping for a different result. And then we look, and there’s a door open for us to walk through. The Founders in their wisdom knew we needed a method for the states to bypass Congress and provided one in the Constitution’s Article V. HB 321 (= SB 398) are currently under consideration in the General Assembly.

I ask that you urge your state representatives to support a Convention of States. Please call or e-mail your state representative and senator asking for their support. For more information, please visit conventionofstates.com.


Hat tip: BadBlue News.