OPINION: A convention of the states is a dangerous proposition

Dave Heckman’s Sept. 15 Sunday Journal column, “A convention of the states could return power to the people” would have you believe that a convention of the states would restore power to the people in the face of federal elites.

Not so. Here are the problems.

Under Article V of the U.S. Constitution, Congress is required to hold a constitutional convention if two-thirds of state legislatures — 34 states — call for one.

However, unlike the regular process for amending the Constitution, passage by two-thirds of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of states, there are no rules for an Article V Convention outlined in the Constitution.

That means the group of unelected people convening to rewrite our Constitution could be totally unaccountable. There is nothing that would limit the convention to a single issue like term limits or a balanced budget, so the delegates could write amendments that revoke any of our most cherished rights – like our right to peaceful protest, our freedom of religion, or our right to privacy. And there are also no rules preventing corporations from pouring money into the convention to ensure they get their way.

This back-door effort to get state legislatures to back such a convention is underwritten by extreme groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council, a corporate circle of special interests that work legislatures to pass model bills to protect alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical interests, among others. Its founder is Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, and its board includes Scott Walker, Rick Santorum, Jim DeMint and Tom Colburn, all from the far-right.

Funders include the Koch Brothers Donors Trust and the Mercer family, well-known donors to former President Donald Trump and other Republicans. This group is working around the clock to convince their allies in statehouses to make it happen. Currently, 19 states have ratified the call. New Mexico is not in the group.

Citing the risks of a runaway convention, the New Mexico Legislature rescinded its earlier call for an Article V convention, which was originally passed in 1976. Former Speaker Brian Egolf and Sen. Majority Leader Peter Wirth were the sponsors. A broad citizens’ coalition including Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, NM Voices for Children, the ACLU of New Mexico, AFSME, NEA-NM, Somos un Pueblo Unido, AFT New Mexico, and the NM Federation of Labor supported the rescission.

Proponents of this constitutional convention like Mr. Heckman say that it is alarmism to think that a convention could runaway to curtail civil rights or reorganize the federal government. But in 2016, the Convention of the States held a mock convention which included 120 state legislators from around the country. A report from Common Cause revealed the true intent. The convention proposed basic alterations to the federal government and put civil rights and needed programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid at risk.

Mark Meckler, the group’s founder, told Fox News that the Convention of State’s goal is to “reverse 115 years of progressivism.”

At a time when extreme gerrymandering has created unprecedented polarization and big money buys access and influence for a few very wealthy special interests, we think a new constitutional convention would lead to chaos and endless legal challenges.

We already have the means to amend the Constitution without putting our constitutional rights and civil liberties at risk.

Viki Harrison is the director of constitutional convention and protecting dissent programs for Common Cause. She served as executive director of Common Cause New Mexico from 2012 to 2021.