A Con Con; Texas Lacks Effective Sovereign Leadership & Integrity

If Gov. Abbott wants Texas to participate in a con con as he has stated in his Texas Plan, let’s examine those Texans other than the governor, who would be a delegate to represent Texas at such a con con.

Rep. Phil King, chair of the House committee on State & Federal Power & Responsibility- Select, authored a bill in 2015 which proposed how Texas would select her con con delegates.  As is often times the case, it’s not so much what the bill says as it is what the bill doesn’t say in the obvious sense.

Right out of the chute, HB 1110 (King) grants Congress first whack at telling Texas who will be delegate(s) and how many delegates Texas may send to a con con. HB 1110 says…

As soon as possible following the calling of an Article V convention, the legislature shall appoint:
(1) the number of delegates allocated to Represent the state at the Article V convention and an equal number of alternate delegates; or
(2) three delegates and three alternate delegates if no allocation is made.[emphasis added]

“The number of delegates allocated”, “…if no allocation is made”

Allocated by whom?
ANSWER: Congress.

HB 1110 has many other flaws that are obvious to a constitutionalist.
1. The House & Senate COULD BE silent on Appointments
2. The Governor could appoint all Texas delegates / the Governor could be THE delegate
3. Texas Legislature may be left out of the filling of delegate vacancies
4. Recall of a “rogue” Texas delegate is not possible due to the outstanding 1899 Texas request for an un-limited con con, and several other factors, see HB 1110 (84-R) and the summary.
5. States cannot control delegates that have the sovereign power to make their own rules, and cast secret ballots. Delegates would have the power of the Declaration of Independence, just like the last con con of 1787, to alter or abolish the Constitution and disregard any limitation placed on them by state legislatures or Congress. This is what happened at the con con of 1787 which was called by the Continental Congress for the sole purpose of amending the Articles of Confederation. The result was a new Constitution with a weaker ratification requirement. There is nothing to prevent a repeat of 1787 at best, and at worst, those state officials who won’t follow today’s constitution will be the ones we are to trust to write a new constitution?
6. Delegates would be immune from arrest rendering their actions at a con con without oversight from the Texas Legislature (see 2014 CRS Report )

Remember, even in 1933 Texas had a state legislature that surrendered its sovereign jurisdiction over to Congress relating to our Ratifying Convention. Fast forward 83 years; what actions have the modern day Texas legislature taken on state sovereignty issues? Just a few issues listed here….

The 84th Texas Legislature (2015)…

• 10th Amendment bills – KILLED:
1. HB98 – Balance of Powers Act; creating a STATE JOINT LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON NULLIFICATION to review unconstitutional federal actions, with executive and legislative recommendations
2. HB 195 – the right to self-defense (open carry without government permission)
3. HB 165 – Nullification of certain portions of the 2012 and 2014 NDAA, with penalties
4. HB 413 – Making federal restrictions on 2A invalid in Texas
5. HB 421 Exempting intrastate mfg of arms & ammo from federal regulation
6. HB 422 Refusal to enforce certain federal restrictions on 2A in Texas, providing penalties
7. HJR 144 Rescinding the 1899 call for an unrestricted Article V Conv.
8. SB 1112 – Prohibiting Texas from participating in Obamacare
9. HB 1751 – Nullification of federal laws that violate the Bill of Rights and Texas Law
10. HB 3606 – Political subdivisions may not expense federal funds without state approval

• Ethics Reform – KILLED: The 84th Legislature (House) gutted the Senate’s ethics reform bill and instead wanted to make it a crime to video tape a legislator inside the capitol.

The Texas Governor on:
• Same Sex Marriage – Governor Abbott bends to mob rule of five un-elected lawyers in a district 10 square miles in the District of Columbia, over those he is tasked with protecting (Texans).  The SCOTUS lacks jurisdiction over marriage, period.  In Abbott’s refusal to stand up for Texans he has violated the Texas Constitution, the Texas Family Code, the U.S. Constitution, and the faith of Texans with traditional family values.  In 2005 the voters were told that in order to proactively guard against the same-sex marriage movement, that voters could amend our Texas constitution to define marriage as one man and one woman.  Gov. Abbott was out to lunch that year?  What’s the point of a Texas Constitution when 5 terrorists in black robes can shred it?
• Illegals & Refugees – Refuses to remove illegals and refugees residing in Texas.  Instead the governor and attorney general file legal briefs. If paper had any power, the 10th Amendment would have stopped the federal tyrant by now!

As for the Balanced Budget Amendment, the first 5 words of the U.S. Constitution say it best; “All legislative powers herein granted…” The states granted specific duties to the federal government, with taxing power only for those duties granted. Article I section 8 specifies what those duties are and all duties fall into 2 categories:

cl 1. The Congress shall have Power…to pay the debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare…[emphasis added]

Article I, section 8 proceeds to define what constitutes common defense and general welfare:…

COMMON DEFENSE POWERS

cl. 10- Define and punish Piracies and Felonies
cl. 11-Declare war
cl. 12-Raise and support Armies
cl. 13-Provide and maintain a Navy
cl. 14-Make rules for land and naval forces
cl. 15-Call for the Militia to execute laws, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions
cl. 16-Organize, arm and discipline the Militia

GENERAL WELFARE POWERS

cl. 2-Borrow money
cl. 3-Regulate Commerce
cl. 4-Establish rules of Naturalization and laws on Bankruptcies
cl. 5-Coin money
cl. 6-Punish counterfeiting
cl. 7-Establish Post Offices and Post Roads
cl. 8-Promote Science and useful Arts by protecting exclusive right
cl. 9-Constitute Tribunals inferior to Supreme Court
cl. 17-Control land for limited purposes

cl. 18- To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. [emphasis added]

The People of Texas are to Blame

The problem is not with the constitution.

The problem is with the voters who re-elect tyrants that steal their property (all 36 congressmen from Texas  – both D and R – won their primaries!)

The federal government cannot and will not police themselves. Expecting a piece of paper (the constitution) to hold government accountable is like giving your 16 year old your corvette keys on a Saturday night and telling him you will not be staying up to ensure he makes curfew.

Asking a bunch of lawyers to attend a convention of tyrants (con con) to rewrite the constitution will render a constitution requiring one or more briefcases to contain the constitution that currently fits in a shirt pocket with its 34 pages of Rules. Too few Texans know the current Rules. They will surely be ignorant with more paper to read.

An NFL referee can’t perform his job if he doesn’t know the rules in the 200 page NFL Rule Book. We the People can’t perform our job if we aren’t well acquainted with the 34 page Government Rule Book (U.S. Constitution).

If the People want an obedient and limited government, the People will have to act like adults and make sure government doesn’t wreck the corvette and violate curfew. Asking our current Texas officials to rewrite the constitution they already dislike and violate will not produce liberty for this Texan.

“God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.” – Daniel Webster

“Rights are like teeth – Floss only the teeth you want to keep, let the others go to waste” – Michael Badnarik

Is there critical mass of We the People with the fortitude to read and understand the U.S. Constitution, and enforce it?  If not, a new constitution won’t be enforced either.

What will America look like when the constitution is enforced by We the People?

Voting for the same Texas House Reps that keep Joe Straus in control is repeating the same act and expecting a different result.

Asking lawyers to add more words to the constitution won’t change the integrity of the American voter, and lawyers will not stop other lawyers from creating a larger government.