I’m writing to you today about an issue of grave concern to me . . . an issue that could be the biggest threat to liberty you and I face at this extremely volatile time.
An idea with the potential to destroy the very foundations of our Republic has taken root, and I am personally asking for your help to stop it before it’s too late.
In recent years, the idea of holding what supporters are calling an “Article V Convention of States” has caught fire, and many well-meaning individuals are supporting it.
These well-meaning individuals are rightly fed up with the federal government, and they have become convinced that amending the U.S. Constitution at a convention would force restraints on the feds and restore lost freedoms.
But the U.S. Constitution is not the problem, and an “Article V Convention” is not the solution.
As you and I both know from our years battling Big Government at all levels, there is no easy, “quick fix” to reining in the feds.
Like it or not, it will take faithful, long-term action to restore liberty, and once we’ve achieved victory, it will take persistent, continued action to maintain it.
I am personally asking for your help to stop this measure in Tennessee before it’s too late.
I’ve been told HJR 5, which applies for an Article V Convention and passed the TN House last year, passed committee and could be voted on by the full state Senate soon.
It is urgent you call and email your state senator without delay and tell them to vote NO on HJR 5.
Now is not the time for a convention.
Conventions are notoriously free-for-alls, rife with vote trading and arm twisting that always seems to benefit the politically powerful while drowning out the voices of We the People.
I remember clearly how establishment Republicans treated liberty delegates at the various 2012 state GOP conventions. . .
. . . they were muzzled, ignored, shouted down, made fun of, and worse.
In one of the worst displays I’ve witnessed in my lifetime, some of my delegates were waylaid on a bus, driven around the block outside of the GOP National Convention, and denied the chance to vote on an important rule change as a result.
This rule change further disenfranchised the grassroots and gave even greater power to Washington insiders.
You see, when the establishment feels threatened — whether from the political left or right — they play dirty and do all they can to change the rules and muzzle the grassroots.
Just look at what happened at the Democratic National Convention in 2016! The fix was in long before the delegates were even chosen!
And that is what happens at conventions, regardless of the reason it was convened.
It’s urgent you call and email your state senator without delay and tell them to vote NO on HJR 5.
Click here to find your legislator and contact information.
On November 2nd, 1788, James Madison, Father of the Constitution, warned against calling an Article V Convention.
“If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution . . . it would be courted by the most violent partisans on both sides . . . [It] would no doubt contain individuals of insidious views, who under the mask of seeking alterations popular in some parts but inadmissible in other parts of the Union might have a dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric.”
Madison was concerned that America’s freedom would be destroyed if the men of his time were able to rewrite the Constitution.
What would he say about turning loose modern politicians on the document that secures our freedom?
Make no mistake, the threat of losing our constitutionally protected rights at a convention — which will be attended by powerful, well-financed special interests and establishment insiders — is very real.
If any liberty delegates are chosen to attend at all, what tricks do you think the establishment will play to drown out those voices?
I personally shudder at the thought.
Many states have tried to pass bills establishing rules for convention delegates, and they’ve even passed bills about delegate selection.
But they aren’t planning to send liberty activists like you. . .
They’re planning to send career, statist politicians, many of whom serve in powerful leadership positions in their state legislatures.
You can bet there will be a majority of establishment politicians from both sides of the aisle at a convention.
Many — if not most — of these statist politicians ignore the Constitution we have now . . . why should they be trusted to revise it? And why would we believe they’d obey a new Constitution or amendment any more than they do now?
But that’s not the worst of it.
There have been many court rulings finding that states cannot tie convention delegates’ hands. . .
So contrary to what pro-convention groups claim, the rules and agenda will be set by the convention itself.
That means no issue will be off limits.
And just think about the issues being pushed in states across the country right now — many of which Campaign for Liberty state groups have had to fight tooth-and-nail to stop!
Dozens of states are trying to limit First Amendment rights to free political speech, others are passing bills to limit the Second Amendment and eliminate the electoral college, and still others are infringing on parents’ rights and giving greater control to the state!
And let’s not forget the 49 states — including “red” states — that forced the closure of private businesses, churches, and schools, arrested citizens for daring to leave their homes, and dictated all medical treatment options from on high.
There is much to be done to save our ailing Republic and restore liberty, but a convention in our current climate is not the answer.
I hope you’ll agree to call and email your state senator without delay and tell them to vote NO on HJR 5.
Click here to find your legislator and contact information.
For Liberty,
Ron Paul