analyzing the con con as a solution by richard fry

7/27/2019 Analyzing the Con Con as a Solution by Richard Fry

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Prob lem Iden t i f icat ionAnalyzing the Con Con as a Solut ion

October 17, 2013

Richard D. FryGeneral Counsel, Patriot [email protected]



P TRIOT CO LITION

What We Will Cover Today

1. Identify the Root Problem

2. Will changing the Constitution solve the problem?

3. Restoring Constitutional Governance



Problem Identification

The first question should be:

“ What is the problem?”



" There are a thousand hacking

at the branches o f evi lto one who is striking at the root.“

-Henry David Thoreau




Before You Can Solve A ProblemYou Must Identify the Problem.

If we ask the wrong questions,

the answers won’t matter.

If we don’t properly identify the root problem,

there’s a good chance we won’t choose the correct

solution, and we will be “hacking at the limbs.”





“Besides amassing a huge debt, federal officeholdersoften have d isregarded ind iv idual l iberty 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 intoo much activism.” -Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum, 2008

“The federal government is spending this country into the

ground, seizing power from the states and taking l iberty

from the people.” – Convention of States

“The Federal Government is broken.” Citizens for Self-Governance

http://patriotcoalition.com/docs/ALEC-Article-V-Handbook.pdf

http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2008/dec08/08-12-19.html

http://conventionofstates.com/welcome

http://selfgovern.com/




http://conventionofstates.com/welcome

http://www.eagleforum.org/column/2008/dec08/08-12-19.html

http://patriotcoalition.com/docs/ALEC-Article-V-Handbook.pdf




Everyone agrees government

is out of control.

What causes that?

Public servants don’t follow the

Constitution.




The people that want to change theConstitution say that the root problem

is “public servants do not follow the

Constitution.”

Is this the root problem?



No. That’s just a symptom.

A doctor identifies symptoms,and traces them to the primary cause,

which is the real problem.




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:

Why do public servantsnot follow the Constitution?




Public servants do not follow the

Constitution because We the People

do not require them to.

THAT IS THE “ROOT PROBLEM!”





Unfortunately, many people areincorrectly identifying the problem.

Their solution doesn’t even solvethe problem they’ve identified,

and it might kill the patient.



Identifying The Wrong Problem:

Public servants do not

follow the Constitution.

Leads to The Wrong Solution:

Change the Constitution.



The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem

Article V of the Constitutiontells us how to change it.

Some people wrongly think

we should change it with

an Article V convention.



These folks suggest changing the Constitution

will make public servants uphold it.

Michael Farris

Convention of States

CONSTITUTION

FOR THE

NEWSTATES

OF AMERICA



Their solution is to change

the Constitution.

Will their solution solve the problem?




No!

Changing the Constitutionwill not make public servants

follow the Constitution.




Do supporters

of changing the Constitution

explain “how”that will solve the problem?

No!




If they aren’t talking about how

changing the Constitution

will solve the problem…

What ARE they talking about?




They are only talking about potential

amendments and the rules for

controlling the convention.




What Rules for Controlling the Convention

Are They Discussing?

1. Who will control it? States, Congress or delegates? 2. Can it be limited to a single amendment? 3. Can it be limited to a single "subject?”

4. Can it be limited to a single "topic?“

5. Can the U.S. Supreme Court intervene? 6. Are the delegates representatives of the state

legislatures, or of the people?



Does Who Controls the Convention Matter?

Who will control it?

States, Congress or the delegates?

Will who controls the convention have any effecton whether our public servants follow a

newly-revised Constitution?



Will Answering These Questions Matter?

1. Can it be limited to a single amendment? 2. Can it be limited to a single "subject?” 3. Can it be limited to a single "topic?“

4. Can the U.S. Supreme Court intervene? 5. Are the delegates representatives of the state

legislatures, or of the people?

Will the answers to any of these questions make it likely

or more likely that our public servants will follow anewly-revised Constitution?



Their solution does not address the

problem they’ve identified.

So, figuring out the rules for

controlling the conventionDOES NOT MATTER!

What Rules for Controlling the Convention

Are They Discussing?



What Amendments are They Discussing?

1. Term Limits for Congress.

2. Term Limits for Supreme Court.3. Repeal the 17th Amendment.

4. Limit Federal Spending and Taxation.

5. Limit Federal Bureaucracy.

6. Promote Free Enterprise.7. Protect Private Property.

8. Grant States Direct Authority to Amend Constitution.

9. Grant States Authority to Check Congress.

10. Protect the Vote Amendment.

11. Parental Rights Amendment. (H.J. Res. 50)



Mark Levin’s book goes into great

detail about the workings of an Article

V Convention.

He also proposes numerousamendments 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 won’t 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 andimproved” Constitution?



The Answers to the Wrong Questions

DO NOT MATTER!

These questions would be important and warrant our giving duediligence to answering them if holding an Article V Convention

could address the root problem.

It is inconceivable that any amendment that could be adopted atan Article V Convention and sent to the states for ratification could

force public servants to follow the Constitution.

The Constitution cannot defend itself. It’s survival and the

preservation of our God-given Rights, for which it was ordained,

depend entirely on the WILL OF THE PEOPLE .



Changing the Constitution

won’t make public servants follow the Constitution.



Remember what the root problem really is:

We the People do not require public servants

to follow the Constitution.

THAT IS THE “ROOT PROBLEM!”




Before You Can Solve A ProblemYou Must Identify the Problem.

If we ask the wrong questions,

the answers won’t matter.

If we don’t properly identify the problem,

there’s a good chance we won’t choose the

correct solution.




What have we learned about the folks

wanting to change the Constitution?

1. They want a solution that doesn’t 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

CONSTITUTION

FOR THE

NEWSTATES

OF AMERICA



SS G OO O



1. Public servants are our employees.

2. We the People are the boss.

3. The Constitution is the “employee handbook.” 4. Learn the Constitution. We can’t be a good boss over our

public servants if we don’t know the Constitution.

5. Interview prospective employees (public servants.)

6. Only hire qualified public servants.7. Hold them accountable to their Oath to the Constitution.

8. FIRE and REPLACE incompetent or derelict public servants.

9. Be ever vigilant in defending our God-given inalienable

Rights, and we can restore Constitutional Governance, and

“Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”

ADDRESSING THE ROOT PROBLEM



A Dozen Concepts Every Patr iot Should Know

Pre-Constitutional Concepts

1. Sovereignty and its inherent authority.

2. The primary purpose of any legitimate

government.




The Constitution

3. The Purpose and scope of the Constitution.

4. The fact that the Constitution was written forthe “average voter” or the "average citizen.”

5. The only federal court that has the authority to

hear a case in which a state is a party is theU.S. Supreme Court. (Article III §2 cl. 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 Patr io t Shou ld Know

Principles of Federalism

11. The Federal government cannot:

require a state pass specific legislation,

participate in a particular federal program

("scheme")

or administrate a federal program ("scheme”)



Be ever vigilant in defending

our God-given inalienable Rights.

Restore Constitutional Governance!

Defending Life and Liberty

is

the Pursuit of Happiness!

analyzing the con con as a solution by richard fry

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