Author: Fritz Pettyjohn

When George Mason insisted that the states should share with Congress the power to propose amendments, he agreed that 2/3 of the states would be needed to call an Amendment Convention.  This corresponds to the 2/3 requirement that Congress must meet in order to propose amendments.

But since 1789 no such majority has been assembled.  Mason, I believe, would be astonished.  While Congress took more and more power from the states, the states were passive.  It’s proven too difficult for the states to agree, in advance, on a solution.

The solution seems obvious.  Allow a simple majority of states to call a convention, and require 2/3 of the states (34 of 50) to propose an amendment.

I think Mason realized that the power of amendment given to the states necessarily gives them the power of amending Article V.  So if the states wish to exercise their power, they must first amend the procedures of Article V itself.

Here Mason and Madison gave Congress a means of protection.  It can require the amendment be ratified in state conventions.  So if the states are overstepping themselves, the delegates to ratification conventions can restrain them.

But, subject to the approval of the people in convention, the states are free to make the changes necessary to bring Article V to life.

They are free to empower themselves, if they wish.  What are they afraid of?

Aside from my wedding day and the births of my children and grandchildren, today, April 1st, 2018, has been the best ever.  In the early morning I saw the setting of a blue moon, followed by Easter Sunday on April Fools, the first time they have coincided since 1956.  My daughter-in-law (daughter, really) is visiting with my two granddaughters, and I got my 95 year old mother out of her nursing home to come to the house and visit.  It’s a glorious spring day in Gold Country, with wildflowers coming into bloom, and the first fresh leaves of the year sprouting on the oaks.

And, after having thought about it for five years, I think I’ve come up with a way to get to 34 states next year.  I expect to be attending the next meeting of the National Conference of State Legislators, slated for July 30 in Los Angeles, to make some sort of presentation.  In the mean time, I’ll be discussing it with some people I respect.

I can’t wait for George Soros to hear the news.  He thinks he’s got us beat, and no one will ever get the 34 states needed to propose an amendment.  Soros’ problem is that he’s not an American, and he doesn’t understand the American people.  That’s why he’ll never win.  He doesn’t understand who he’s dealing with.

My mother remembered a song she sang as a child, “Christ is Risen”, and she sang it for her great granddaughters.  She told them to remember her, and her song, on Easter Sundays.

It is a jewel of a day, which I will treasure forever.  Happy Easter from the Pettyjohn family.

A lot of people think it will be term limits, but maybe not.  In small states political talent is pretty scarce.  So when they get really good legislators they don’t want to lose them.  But term limits forces out some dedicated and talented legislative leaders, like Speaker Mesnard in Arizona.  So it’s very difficult to get these states to vote for any kind of term limits.

I think the states should adopt an amendment which would call a Convention of States every ten years, or less.  The Convention would have the full power to propose constitutional amendments, subject to ratification of 3/4 of the states.

If you’re a state legislator, why wouldn’t you want the power to meet every ten years to propose constitutional amendments?

I guess we’ll have to call it the of State Convention Amendment.

In the WSJ, Kimberly Strassel urges Trump to use the Impoundment Act of 1974 to cut the recent $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill.  This act was used by Reagan, with total savings of $25 billion.  It’s a soft version of the line-item veto.

This is a fabulous idea.  The cuts achieved might be small, but they’re a demonstration  of the effectiveness of the LIV.

The items chosen for cuts should be the most outrageous examples of waste.  They can be used to show what a real line-item veto could accomplish.  You want to see how LIV would work?  Here it is.

Let’s hope someone in the White House  —  Larry Kudlow  –is paying attention.

 

Because no one can be certain what would emerge from a Balanced Budget Amendment Convention, it is impossible to give President Trump a firm guarantee that the proposed BBA would include a line-item veto.  But evidence can be produced which makes it highly likely.

22 state legislatures were represented at the 2017 Phoenix Convention of States, called for the purpose of planning for a BBA Amendment Convention.  19 delegations were jointly appointed to by both the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.  Three delegations, which were not given voting rights, were appointed by only one presiding officer.

I was appointed to represent the Alaska State Senate by Senate President Pete Kelly.  I was able to interact with many Commissioners in Phoenix, and my experience confirmed everything I had learned in the last five years of lobbying state legislators on the BBA.  I have no doubt that the vast majority would love to give the President the line-item veto.  In a heartbeat. 90% of them have governors with a LIV, and they know how effective it is at controlling spending.

In order to convince the President to help us, I think we have to show prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that any proposed Balanced Budget Amendment would include a line-item veto.  Based on my experience, and that of fellow BBA advocates, this evidence can be produced.  It will take time, but it can be done.

It needs to be done over the next few months, leading up to the budget battles of October, and the elections shortly thereafter.

When the elections are over, the Democrats may control the House.  But even if the Republicans maintain their majority, it will almost certainly be a diminished one, with even less ability to take tough votes.  At that point, President Trump will be looking at two years of gridlock leading up to his own reelection.  During his entire first term, he will have only one legislative accomplishment, the tax cut.  What can he credibly promise in his second?  What is Trump’s second term agenda?

How about a Balanced Budget Amendment with a line-item veto.  It may be possible, with Trump’s help, to pass BBA Resolutions in the six needed states in 2019.  But if we come up a state or two short, the BBA and the Line Item Veto can be the issue in the 2020 election, at both the state and federal levels.  Democrats opposed, and Republicans in favor.

80% of Americans, and 65% Democrats, are in favor of a BBA.  If that’s the issue, Trump wins.