Welp, I’m planted in front of the teevee watching democracy melt. It ain’t pretty.
The proposed House rules for the 118th Congress gives the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee the power to review calls for a constitutional convention and/or propose amendments to the Constitution.
This is to give conservatives the power to actually call a constitutional convention to, you know, do away with democracy as we know it. First they will kill it and then they will eat it at Jim Jordan’s backyard barbeque and corporate power auction.
Over at the New York Times, they outline a plan hatched up by some goofy Texas congressfool and Rick Santorum. (There is no explanation of why Newt Gingrich and Tom DeLay weren’t involved in this scheme. My bet is that their wives have them chained to a wall somewhere and I am deeply appreciative of that.)
Santorum was pushing for Pennsylvania to become the 20th state to formally call for a convention in recent years, out of the 34 states required. But it is not clear exactly how many states have weighed in, since not all have adopted the same language and some petitions were submitted decades or longer ago and may even have been rescinded.
Texas congressidgit Jodey Arrington believes that when pending petitions are fully tallied, the 34-state goal might already have been exceeded. His legislation would require the archivist to “authenticate, count and publish” applications by the states, forcing Congress to act.
Keep a side eye on this one. It’ll be worth your trouble.