Saving Article V from Natelson: A "Convention of States" Requires States
Recap and Overview Mr. Natelson has attacked the Compact approach to Article V because he denies that the Tenth Amendment guarantees a role for state sovereignty in enforcing and filling the gaps of Article V. As explained in our second and third articles in this series, he has arrived at this position by misinterpreting cases as ruling state sovereignty has no role in Article V when, in fact, those cases only say that states cannot claim sovereign power to contradict the mod
Saving Article V from Natelson: Rinse and Repeat
Recap The second article in the “Saving Article V from Natelson” series revealed that not a single case supports Mr. Natelson’s attack on the Compact approach to Article V. Not one. Contrary to Natelson, courts have never precluded the states from autonomously exercising their sovereignty to supplement the text of Article V where doing so was consistent with its text and purpose. This expose of Mr. Natelson’s meritless legal analysis followed our first article in which we rev
Where's the Beef, Mr. Natelson?
Retired law professor Robert Natelson's latest blog claims that the Supreme Court case of Hawke v. Smith, 253 U.S. 221 (1920), stands against the constitutionality of the Compact approach to Article V. As per usual, Mr. Natelson's interpretation of case law is wrong. The holding of Hawke is simply that a popular referendum cannot overturn the ratification of an amendment by a state legislature when Congress chooses ratification by state legislature. Although Mr. Natelson pref
Saving Article V from Natelson: Fictional Case Analysis Exposed and Corrected
Recap & Overview The first article in the Saving Article V from Natelson series highlighted the fundamental incoherence of Mr. Natelson’s theory of Article V. Specifically, we observed that it is patently illogical for Mr. Natelson to claim, on the one hand, that state legislatures exercise Article V power to the exclusion of any sovereign power enjoyed by the states under the Tenth Amendment, while claiming, on the other hand, that pre-constitutional interstate convention pr
Saving Article V from Natelson: The First in a Series
Over a month ago, retired law professor Rob Natelson came out of the closet and published a report attacking the constitutionality of the Compact for America approach to Article V. In fact, for quite some time, Mr. Natelson had been privately sniping at the constitutionality of the Compact approach and undermining its acceptance among policy makers, academics, analysts, activists and donors. The sniping occurred despite the adoption of the Compact for America approach to Arti
Who Put the Constitution Back into Article V? Compact for America Did.
Did you know Stephen Moore, Lawrence Reed, Grover Norquist, Judge Napolitano, Allen West and George Will are confident about the policy merits and constitutionality of the Compact for America approach to amending the Constitution? Here's what they have said: Stephen Moore: "Congress WON'T act without leadership from the states. We need a new fiscal constitution to force action. The Balanced Budget Compact is one of the most realistic ways of achieving this goal. It follows th
Great Questions Answered!
We recently received a number of excellent questions to address. We suspect these questions are more commonly entertained than many folks have the courage to mention. That's why we've made them the focus of this blog. Judge for yourself whether the strength of our answers carry the burden that has been rightfully placed! Inquiring minds are welcome at Compact for America. Question 1. How does one address the runaway convention idea and idea of using a compact for an Article V
What did Texas and Indiana Know About Article V that We've Forgotten?
What if two-thirds of the states had the power to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution as easily as two-thirds of each House of Congress? Well, that's what the Founders told us! Not once. Not twice. Not thrice. But at least six times the Founders told us that two-thirds of the states could apply for the proposal of any desired amendment using their power to organize a convention for proposing amendments under Article V of the U.S. Constitution. The Founders never said
What's the Price Tag of Article V?
Everything government does has a price tag. Organizing a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution is no different. Shouldn't taxpayers and policy makers know what that price tag is? We think so. That's why we just published Compact for America Educational Foundation Policy Brief No. 6, "Estimating the Cost of an Article V Convention." After an exhaustive study of fifteen state constitutional conventions held during the 1960s and 70s, we have concluded tha
A Friend Made a Mistake
Sometimes friends make mistakes. We all do. So here we are with our friends at the Heartland Institute. It is hard to offer any public criticism of the Institute because it has proved time and time again to be a powerful and leading ally in the Article V movement. Nevertheless, here is a partial list of the ways in which a recent Heartland Institute Article V policy brief authored by Georgia attorney David Guldenschuh strikes us as deficient in its analysis: The article uses
