North Carolina’s Legislature Is Bypassing the Constitution in the Dead of Night

From Publius Huldah:

On May 5, the North Carolina House passed Mark Meckler’s application for an Article V Convention (HJR 233) and sent it to the Senate where it joins the US Term Limits’  application (HJR 172) which passed the House on March 17. 

First please express your outrage at the failure of the House to vet both applications asking Congress to call an Article V Convention.The public was given practically no notice before the hearings and floor votes on each application, so that they could express their opposition in a timely fashion. In addition, it appeared House Leadership waited for several legislators who would have voted “no” to be absent before suddenly bringing up Meckler’s application on the House floor for a vote.

But Meckler and US Term Limits were given ample advance notice to fly in their well-paid lobbyists and to fill the room with supporters. This gives legislators the impression that these are non-controversial issues with little opposition. In fact, a subject this dangerous should have in-depth hearings for a year and give the opposition experts adequate time to testify, instead of the 60 seconds that was given to the opposition at each hearing! Here are the applications asking Congress to call an Article V convention (A5C) in the North Carolina Senate:   

H233 (Meckler’s)—Pending in the Senate Rules & Operations Committee since May 5.   A hearing can be scheduled on short notice.

H172 (US Term Limits’)—Pending in the same committee as above since March 17. A hearing can be scheduled on short notice. 

You can select an argument off one of these links that follow:

Mark Meckler’s organization: the following articles & flyers cover the PR campaign he is waging. 

The ” Phony Petitions & Polls” flyer describes the petitions & polls used by the convention lobby to sway legislators, rather than measure true voter opinion. The polls ask misleading questions to convince legislators that their constituents are demanding a “convention of states.” This ARTICLE explains how Meckler’s organization uses “Newspeak” to manipulate people into believing that the convention provided for by Article V of our Constitution is a convention controlled by the States, instead of what it actually is: A federal convention called by the federal gov’t (Congress) to perform the federal function of addressing our federal constitution.  Pursuant to Art. I, Sec. 8, last clause, Congress has the power to make all laws necessary & proper to carry out its power to call the convention.  That includes selection of Delegates – Congress has the power to select the Delegates!   See “False & Reckless Assurances” attachment.

US Term Limits: the following articles & flyers pertain specifically to their misleading marketing:

  “ The Art. V Convention Lobby Shows Its True Colors” reveals that the proponents of an A5C don’t believe their own talking points—that 34 states must pass applications with the same or similar language to trigger a convention; and that the convention can’t veer from the subject of the applications. Pro-convention  strategists are well aware that there is no such thing as a “limited convention”; and they are expecting Congress to aggregate obsolete & unrelated applications in order to come up with the 34 States needed to call a convention.  

Flyer revised 5/1. USTL representatives continually showcase misleading statistics to convince legislators that their constituents are demanding a convention under Article V. The lead sponsor of the Senate Term Limits application has cited a national 2013 Gallup poll where 75% of respondents showed strong support for congressional term limits (not an Article V convention). Legislators need to know that the demand for a convention is an illusion. See Phony Polls flyer.   

And/or let North Carolina Senators know, in your own words, that we’re likely to lose our Constitution if Congress calls an A5C: The “ Declaration of Independence” flyer shows why Delegates to a convention have the power to throw off the Constitution we have and set up a new one with a new and easier mode of ratification.    The “ False and Reckless Assurances” flyer shows that Meckler’s organization’s “false” and “reckless in the extreme” assurances that State Legislatures will control the convention are contradicted by the Constitution and the Report of the Congressional Research Service. ” How to get a new Constitution under the pretext of proposing amendments” shows that the Framers understood that an A5C could be used to  replace our Constitution—and that’s how it’s being used today!   

The “ Brilliant Men” flyer shows that James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, four US Supreme Court Justices, and other jurists and scholars warn that Delegates to an A5C can’t be controlled.   For Democrats only: this series of articles from Common Cause conveys the dangers of an Article V convention from a different perspective.      Let’s educate the Senate, where we have a decent chance of being heard —go get ’em! 

Please write the following 50 North Carolina Senators, and ask them to  VOTE “No” onH233, H172, and any other applications asking Congress to call an Article V convention.
Copy the addresses below as a blockinto “BCC,”& copy your own address into the “To” box; andplace thebill # and description(i.e. Art. V convention), and perhaps something catchy on the subject line.

Senate Republicans (28) –

Dear Senator: 

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],  

Senate Democrats (22) -(22):

Dear Representative:

[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],

Thank you for defending our Constitution!