Commentary
A handful of right-wing organizations have joined Soros-funded left-wing forces to prevent the states from addressing federal abuses in an amendments convention.
This is an odd alliance indeed, in which right-wing opponents employ arguments crafted for them by left-wing opponents.
Those arguments have little, if any, basis in fact. This essay documents their origins.
The Constitutional Background
The Constitution’s framers allowed the states to curb federal abuses by amending the Constitution without the consent of Congress.
Of course, any constitutional amendment must be ratified by three-fourths of the states (now 38 of 50). But to be ratified, an amendment first must be formally proposed. Proposal is either by Congress or by a state-run “convention for proposing amendments.” A convention for proposing amendments—a kind of “convention of the states”—meets when two-thirds of the state legislatures (34 of 50) demand one to address common topics.
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