The Teabaggers want a Constitutional Convention

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Your presence is requested. For those of you who have signed up for a legislative account to submit testimony online, now's your chance.

There's more GOP batshit crazy on Tuesday when the Teabaggers meet in the ironically named House Federalism, and Fiscal Responsibility Committee, Agenda (.pdf), in Room HHR 1 at 2:00 p.m.

Yowsa! The Teabaggers want a Constitutional Convention so they can discard the U.S. Constitution and start all over, because that is what happened the last time we did this in 1787 to rewrite the Articles of Confederation. I always find it amusing that the very people who like to call themselves "constitutional conservatives" are so hellbent on wanting to rewrite the U.S. Constitution (many of them much prefer the Articles of Confederation -- states rights!)

HCR 2017 (.pdf) is an "application for an Article V Convention to propose amendments to the United States (U.S.) Constitution." And what is it that the Teabaggers want?

• Impose fiscal restraints on the federal government;
• Limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and
• Limit the terms of office for officials of the federal government.

HCR 2017 (.pdf) calls for a balanced budget amendment, one of the most ignorant proposals of all time. It would mean (a) eliminating almost all government programs, even curtailing national defense and (b) everyone paying higher taxes. God forbid we have a national emergency like a major natural disaster or a war.

And do you trust Teabaggers not to eliminate your social security and Medicare benefits that you paid into during your working years, something the GOP has been wanting to do since these programs were first enacted? I didn't think so.

HB 2305 (.pdf) would establish a compact among the several States for the purpose of proposing a balanced budget amendment to the United States (U.S.) Constitution. Another term for this is a Confederacy. The "compact governs each member state with respect to their constitutions, superseding and repealing any conflicting or contrary law." Un other words, we would surrender our state sovereignty to a "compact" devised by some right-wing think tank.

A "member state agrees to perform and comply strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions of the compact." Additionally, the compact contractually binds each member state upon "at least one other state has become a member state by enacting substantively identical legislation adopting and agreeing to be bound by the compact."

This smells of model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, the "Tenther and Nullification Movement."

These Teabaggers are simply too ignorant and dangerous to be serving in the Arizona legislature. This has to end.