Texas Governor Greg Abbot has called for a Constitutional Convention of the States to bring Washington politicians back in line with the rule of law, and the spirit of the Constitution.

If you are unfamiliar with what a Constitutional Convention is, it’s pretty simple. Article V of the Constitution makes it clear that Congress has the power to amend the Constitution by adding Amendments. Most people understand that it is Congress, and not the president, no matter how mighty his pen or phone may be, that writes the laws.

In addition, however, Article V also gives the same power to amend the Constitution to the states. The states can convene, propose an amendment, and as long as there is a 3/4 agreement from the states, that amendment shall be ratified.

The reason why this power of the states, was added into the Constitution, although it has yet to be used, was to prevent an out of control national government.

Many of the Founding Fathers recognized the power that a centralized government could grant itself, if left unchecked, and so provided an outlet for the states to decrease that power. Governor Abbot said,

“The increasingly frequent departures from Constitutional principles are destroying the Rule of Law foundation on which this country was built.”

He explained that the only cure to bring Washington back in line with the Constitutional, was to utilize the powers granted in Article V.

“We are succumbing to the caprice of man that our Founders fought to escape. The cure to these problems will not come from Washington D.C. Instead, the states must lead the way. To do that I am adding another item to the agenda next session. I want legislation authorizing Texas to join other states in calling for a Convention of States to fix the cracks in our Constitution.”

According to a press release, Governor Abbott is proposing 9 additional amendments to the Constitution:

Prohibit Congress from regulating activity that occurs wholly within one State. Require Congress to balance its budget. Prohibit administrative agencies—and the unelected bureaucrats that staff them—from creating federal law. Prohibit administrative agencies—and the unelected bureaucrats that staff them—from preempting state law. Allow a two-thirds majority of the States to override a U.S. Supreme Court decision. Require a seven-justice super-majority vote for U.S. Supreme Court decisions that invalidate a democratically enacted law. Restore the balance of power between the federal and state governments by limiting the former to the powers expressly delegated to it in the Constitution. Give state officials the power to sue in federal court when federal officials overstep their bounds. Allow a two-thirds majority of the States to override a federal law or regulation.

There’s little doubt that power, if left too long in one place, will always corrupt whoever wields it.

Many of the Founding Fathers were wise men who could predict a day in which the federal government could become too powerful, but they enacted the Checks and Balance system to prevent this.

The idea was that each of the three branches of government, the Legislative, the Judicial, and the Executive, would be fiercely protective of the powers and rights that are afforded to their branch, and would stand firmly against any branch that tried to expand.

Washington was designed to get nothing done, and gridlock was actually a good thing. The dangers come when politicians find out ways to get the other two branches to rubber-stamp their actions, as in the case of Obamacare.

During the Obama-era, the Executive Branch was permitted to expand and increase in power, emboldened when Republican leaders announced that impeachment was off the table as a response to Obama’s “mighty pen and phone” executive actions. On more than a dozen occasions, Obama himself said that his executive amnesty would violate the Constitution, yet without fear of impeachment, he went ahead with it anyway.

A Constitutional Convention is an action taken by the states that is not widely known by the American people, but it was written into the Constitution to keep the federal government’s powers in check.

Share this if you support Texas’ efforts to reign in an out of control federal government.

H/T Right Wing News

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