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States have same power as Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution

February 3, 2011 By 6 Comments

by Nick Dranias
Goldwater Institute
 
Arizona and five other states are considering use of their power under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to initiate an amendments convention. With the federal debt exceeding $14 trillion, I believe nothing short of state-initiated constitutional reform will stop the impending fiscal train wreck.
 
Critics of an Article V amendments convention claim the states could unleash a runaway “constitutional convention” by exercising their Article V powers. But the states do not have authority under Article V to call a “constitutional convention.” Indeed, the words “constitutional convention” appear nowhere in the Constitution.

The power of the states to call an amendments convention is no greater than the power of Congress to propose amendments. Both amendment powers operate within the existing limitations of the Constitution. Any proposed constitutional amendment, whether arising from Congress or from an amendments convention, must still be ratified by 38 states.

Opposition to states using their Article V power boils down to a belief that Congress is more trustworthy than the states when it comes to proposing constitutional amendments. I disagree. Congress is driving our nation toward a financial cliff. The states must take the wheel.

Nick Dranias holds the Clarence J. and Katherine P. Duncan Chair for Constitutional Government and is director of the Joseph and Dorothy Donnelly Moller Center for Constitutional Government at the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: Amending the Constitution by Convention: A Complete View of the Founders’ Plan

Goldwater Institute: 10 Facts to Rebut the Mythology of a Runaway Convention

RestoringFreedom.org: The National Debt Relief Amendment

Filed Under: Constitutional Law, Government Reform, Spending, States Rights

Riflestock 2011

February 3, 2011 By 4 Comments

The One Event of 2011, You Do Not Want To Miss!

It is time for us to show what we are made of. But, how can we do that?

Suppose several thousand patriots, and their families, showed up near the Mexican border, somewhere in Arizona, for a weekend of Fun, Music, Games, Shooting, Hiking, Camping and, good old fashioned Comradery.

Would this event be newsworthy? Perhaps approaching that of Woodstock, back in 1969?

Would it send a message to the government that, ”If you won’t protect our borders, then, we will”?

Riflestock is not intended to be a border operation, itself, though the ability to see the damage done, take pictures of illegal critters, and, perhaps, scare the hell out of some of them, by our sheer numbers, and to actually visit the site of America’s ongoing war with illegal border crossings, is in the offering.

The event is intended to run from Friday, March 18, through Sunday, March 20, with a pig roast on Saturday afternoon.

This is a Spring Break Activity !!!

Facilities will include dry trailer parking; dry tent camping facilities, no toilet facilities (bring a shovel, if you are tent camping).

If this sounds like your ideal for a spring break vacation, then please register your party for the event and get your tickets now.

We need to know just how many will attend and what form of camping (trailer or tent), and, we’re sure that you, too, would like to know that you are not alone in seeing this as the vacation of your dreams, and an Opportunity of a Lifetime.

Register Now

Filed Under: 2nd Amendment, Freedom of Speech, National Security, Special Event

“Tweet Master” Kirk Adams using Twitter to get his message out

February 2, 2011 By 1 Comment

Speaker of the Arizona House, Kirk Adams, uses Twitter to get his message out. The same can be said about Democrat Senator Kyrsten Sinema who probably uses her tweets more than any other legislator at the State Capitol.

Here is a recent brief news clip from TV-15 showing each legislator in action.

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If you are an avid “Tweeter,” I recommend you follow these state lawmakers to stay up to date on what’s happening – sometime before it even breaks on local news!

Kirk Adams
Kyrsten Sinema

And don’t forget to use appropriate hashtags such as #AZTCOT and #AZPolitics to get your message picked up and read!

Filed Under: Elected Officials, Media, State Government Tagged With: ,

ICYMI: Sheriff Paul Babeu on NRA News

February 2, 2011 By 4 Comments

Sheriff Paul Babeu joins Ginny Simone live in the NRA News studio to discuss the real problems he sees and dangers he experiences at the Mexican border, and the intense need to secure it – He was recently rewarded the 2011 Ferris E. Lucas Award for Sheriff of the Year by the National Sheriffs’ Association – NRA News – January 31, 2011

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Filed Under: 2nd Amendment, County Government, Crime and Punishment, Elected Officials, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Immigration, National Security, Personalities Tagged With:

Research shows states don’t stimulate job growth with taxpayer handouts

February 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

by Stephen Slivinski
Goldwater Institute

Imagine you’ve got some money to invest. Would you rather invest it yourself, or ask a friend with a spotty track record of financial success who is always chasing the newest, potentially short-lived fad?

That’s the implicit question for policymakers as they consider Governor Jan Brewer’s proposed “deal-closing” fund. The state would use $25 million to provide taxpayer handouts to firms seeking to relocate to Arizona. But are state governments better than private individuals and businesses at picking winning investments in a competitive global economy?

Government is the equivalent of your friend with the spotty investment record. One of the most comprehensive surveys of the research on state-based economic development projects appeared in the Journal of the American Planning Association in 2004. The authors concluded that, “The most fundamental problem is that many public officials appear to believe that they can influence the course of their state and local economies through incentives and subsidies to a degree far beyond anything supported by even the most optimistic evidence.”

Showering taxpayer money from a $25 million ribbon-cutting fund on a few politically favored companies or industries won’t do much for Arizona’s long-term job growth. On the other hand, creating an attractive investment climate by lowering the tax burden of all businesses – not just for a fashionable few – is a much better approach because investment decisions would be left to the private sector.

Stephen Slivinski is senior economist at the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: The path to jobs is not through the red ribbon

Goldwater Institute: Corporate Tax Reform: How to Woo Business Without Spending a Dime

Mackinac Center: Literature Review and Analysis

Filed Under: Economic Development, Spending, State Budget, State Economy, State Government

Florida health care ruling focuses squarely on defending the Constitution

February 1, 2011 By 9 Comments

by Clint Bolick
Goldwater Institute

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson of Florida was the second judge to determine that forcing every American to buy government-controlled health insurance violates the U.S Constitution. But he is the first to decide the entire law must fall because the individual insurance mandate can’t be separated from the other provisions.

Ruling Monday in a lawsuit brought by 26 states including Arizona, Judge Vinson found the law is about more than health care—it is “principally about our federalist system, and raises important issues regarding the Constitutional role of the federal government.”

“Never before has Congress required everyone buy a product from a private company (essentially for life) just for being alive and residing in the United States,” the judge declared, adding that it “would be a major departure from existing case law to hold that Congress can regulate inactivity under the Commerce Clause.”

He quoted President Obama, who quipped during his 2008 campaign that “if a mandate was the solution, we can try to solve homelessness by mandating everybody to buy a house.”

Judge Vinson cited the Health Care Freedom Act, which the Goldwater Institute helped to draft and has been adopted by Arizona and five other states, as a reason for those states to have proper standing to challenge the individual mandate.

A federal judge in Virginia also found the insurance mandate to be unconstitutional, while two other courts have upheld it. The cases now go to different courts of appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court could resolve the issue by next year.

Meanwhile, the Goldwater Institute’s legal challenge, which targets a number of vulnerabilities in the law, is proceeding in federal district court in Phoenix.

But we already can chalk one up for liberty in this titanic struggle pitting federal regulation versus state autonomy and individual freedom.

Clint Bolick is director of the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Learn More:

Goldwater Institute: Coons v. Geithner

Goldwater Institute: Congress won’t rein in new federal agency with unconstitutional powers over health care

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson: Summary judgment in Florida v. Sebelius

Filed Under: Constitutional Law, Health Care, Judicial, Legislation, States Rights
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