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Prob lem Iden t i f icat ionAnalyzing the Con Con as a Solut ion
October 17, 2013
Richard D. FryGeneral Counsel, Patriot CoalitionRichard@patriotcoalition.com
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P TRIOT CO LITION
What We Will Cover Today
1. Identify the Root Problem
2. Will changing the Constitution solve the problem?
3. Restoring Constitutional Governance
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Problem Identification
The first question should be:
“ What is the problem?”
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" There are a thousand hacking
at the branches o f evi lto one who is striking at the root.“
-Henry David Thoreau
Problem Identification
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Before You Can Solve A ProblemYou Must Identify the Problem.
If we ask the wrong questions,
the answers won’t matter.
If we don’t properly identify the root problem,
there’s a good chance we won’t choose the correct
solution, and we will be “hacking at the limbs.”
Problem Identification
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Problem Identification
“Besides amassing a huge debt, federal officeholdersoften have d isregarded ind iv idual l iberty and
constitutional limits on their own power.” -Rob Natelson, ALEC Article V Handbook for State Legislators
“…politicians are not obeying it and judges are indulging intoo much activism.” -Phyllis Schlafly, Eagle Forum, 2008
“The federal government is spending this country into the
ground, seizing power from the states and taking l iberty
from the people.” – Convention of States
“The Federal Government is broken.” Citizens for Self-Governance
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Problem Identification
Everyone agrees government
is out of control.
What causes that?
Public servants don’t follow the
Constitution.
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Problem Identification
The people that want to change theConstitution say that the root problem
is “public servants do not follow the
Constitution.”
Is this the root problem?
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No. That’s just a symptom.
A doctor identifies symptoms,and traces them to the primary cause,
which is the real problem.
Problem Identification
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Out-of-control government is a “symptom”of public servants not following the
Constitution.
The next logical question in tracing the
symptom back to the root problem is:
Why do public servantsnot follow the Constitution?
Problem Identification
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Public servants do not follow the
Constitution because We the People
do not require them to.
THAT IS THE “ROOT PROBLEM!”
Problem Identification
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Problem Identification
Unfortunately, many people areincorrectly identifying the problem.
Their solution doesn’t even solvethe problem they’ve identified,
and it might kill the patient.
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Identifying The Wrong Problem:
Public servants do not
follow the Constitution.
Leads to The Wrong Solution:
Change the Constitution.
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The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
Article V of the Constitutiontells us how to change it.
Some people wrongly think
we should change it with
an Article V convention.
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These folks suggest changing the Constitution
will make public servants uphold it.
Michael Farris
Convention of States
CONSTITUTION
FOR THE
NEWSTATES
OF AMERICA
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Their solution is to change
the Constitution.
Will their solution solve the problem?
The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
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No!
Changing the Constitutionwill not make public servants
follow the Constitution.
The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
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Do supporters
of changing the Constitution
explain “how”that will solve the problem?
No!
The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
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If they aren’t talking about how
changing the Constitution
will solve the problem…
What ARE they talking about?
The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
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They are only talking about potential
amendments and the rules for
controlling the convention.
The Wrong Solution to the Wrong Problem
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What Rules for Controlling the Convention
Are They Discussing?
1. Who will control it? States, Congress or delegates? 2. Can it be limited to a single amendment? 3. Can it be limited to a single "subject?”
4. Can it be limited to a single "topic?“
5. Can the U.S. Supreme Court intervene? 6. Are the delegates representatives of the state
legislatures, or of the people?
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Does Who Controls the Convention Matter?
Who will control it?
States, Congress or the delegates?
Will who controls the convention have any effecton whether our public servants follow a
newly-revised Constitution?
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Will Answering These Questions Matter?
1. Can it be limited to a single amendment? 2. Can it be limited to a single "subject?” 3. Can it be limited to a single "topic?“
4. Can the U.S. Supreme Court intervene? 5. Are the delegates representatives of the state
legislatures, or of the people?
Will the answers to any of these questions make it likely
or more likely that our public servants will follow anewly-revised Constitution?
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Their solution does not address the
problem they’ve identified.
So, figuring out the rules for
controlling the conventionDOES NOT MATTER!
What Rules for Controlling the Convention
Are They Discussing?
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What Amendments are They Discussing?
1. Term Limits for Congress.
2. Term Limits for Supreme Court.3. Repeal the 17th Amendment.
4. Limit Federal Spending and Taxation.
5. Limit Federal Bureaucracy.
6. Promote Free Enterprise.7. Protect Private Property.
8. Grant States Direct Authority to Amend Constitution.
9. Grant States Authority to Check Congress.
10. Protect the Vote Amendment.
11. Parental Rights Amendment. (H.J. Res. 50)
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Mark Levin’s book goes into great
detail about the workings of an Article
V Convention.
He also proposes numerousamendments he would like to see a
convention consider, such as a
balanced budget amendment, term
limits, and a repeal of the 17th
Amendment.
If We the People won’t hold our
elected officials accountable for not
upholding the Constitution now, by
what stretch of the imagination do we
think they will follow a “new andimproved” Constitution?
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The Answers to the Wrong Questions
DO NOT MATTER!
These questions would be important and warrant our giving duediligence to answering them if holding an Article V Convention
could address the root problem.
It is inconceivable that any amendment that could be adopted atan Article V Convention and sent to the states for ratification could
force public servants to follow the Constitution.
The Constitution cannot defend itself. It’s survival and the
preservation of our God-given Rights, for which it was ordained,
depend entirely on the WILL OF THE PEOPLE .
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Changing the Constitution
won’t make public servants follow the Constitution.
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Remember what the root problem really is:
We the People do not require public servants
to follow the Constitution.
THAT IS THE “ROOT PROBLEM!”
Problem Identification
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Before You Can Solve A ProblemYou Must Identify the Problem.
If we ask the wrong questions,
the answers won’t matter.
If we don’t properly identify the problem,
there’s a good chance we won’t choose the
correct solution.
Problem Identification
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What have we learned about the folks
wanting to change the Constitution?
1. They want a solution that doesn’t solve
the problem they identified.
2. They identified the wrong problem.
3. They are “hacking at the limbs of evil.”
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CAN WE TRUST THESE PEOPLE TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
WHEN THEY REFUSE TO ADMIT THE REAL PROBLEM?
Michael Farris
Convention of States
CONSTITUTION
FOR THE
NEWSTATES
OF AMERICA
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SS G OO O
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1. Public servants are our employees.
2. We the People are the boss.
3. The Constitution is the “employee handbook.” 4. Learn the Constitution. We can’t be a good boss over our
public servants if we don’t know the Constitution.
5. Interview prospective employees (public servants.)
6. Only hire qualified public servants.7. Hold them accountable to their Oath to the Constitution.
8. FIRE and REPLACE incompetent or derelict public servants.
9. Be ever vigilant in defending our God-given inalienable
Rights, and we can restore Constitutional Governance, and
“Secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.”
ADDRESSING THE ROOT PROBLEM
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A Dozen Concepts Every Patr iot Should Know
Pre-Constitutional Concepts
1. Sovereignty and its inherent authority.
2. The primary purpose of any legitimate
government.
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A Dozen Concepts Every Patr iot Should Know
The Constitution
3. The Purpose and scope of the Constitution.
4. The fact that the Constitution was written forthe “average voter” or the "average citizen.”
5. The only federal court that has the authority to
hear a case in which a state is a party is theU.S. Supreme Court. (Article III §2 cl. 2)
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A Dozen Concepts Every Patr iot Should Know
The Constitution
8. The extent and meaning of the "Oath Clause" of
Article VI, Clause 3
9. Why States do not have the Constitutional power
(or other authority) to “nullify” “federal law.”
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A Dozen Concepts Every Patr io t Shou ld Know
Principles of Federalism
11. The Federal government cannot:
require a state pass specific legislation,
participate in a particular federal program
("scheme")
or administrate a federal program ("scheme”)
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Be ever vigilant in defending
our God-given inalienable Rights.
Restore Constitutional Governance!
Defending Life and Liberty
is
the Pursuit of Happiness!
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