N&R columnist Susan Ladd doesn’t like the ‘Constitutional cleanup’ taking place in the General Assembly these days.
A couple of things jump out here. Ms. Ladd—radical liberal that she is— usually is quick to pounce on any issue that could be remotely interpreted as racist. Yet–in response to the bill that would repeal the state Constitution’s literacy requirement for voting—a holdover from the Jim Crow segregation era—she makes a lame attempt at humor, writing “if the legislature continues draining resources from public schools to fund far-less-accountable charter schools, this will be a necessity in order to have a voting population in 10 years.” Ha ha.
But Ms. Ladd saves her strongest warning for— gasp—-the Article V Convention of States (emphasis mine):
By far the most alarming business before the General Assembly are resolutions in the House and Senate calling for a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution. More than 38 states would have to sign on to such bills for a convention actually to take place, and many are considering similar resolutions. The right-leaning Convention of States favors amendments that would limit federal government spending and impose term limits on members of Congress.
But once convened, a convention could go much further. Senate Joint Resolution 40 calls for a “countermand amendment,” which would “authorize the states, upon a vote of three-fifths of the state legislatures, to nullify and repeal a federal statute, executive order, judicial decision, regulatory decision by a federal government agency, or government mandate.” In other words, the states could overturn federal law and Supreme Court rulings.
Limiting federal spending, Congressional term limits— the horror. I’ll add that the ability to overturn executive orders and judicial decisions works both ways, considering the outcry over over President Trump’s recent executive order and the continuing controversy over Citizens United decision.
Just more proof that liberals are never happy and never will be.