Progress in Maryland and across the Nation

June 23, 2014 - California passed AJR 1 and becomes the 2nd state in the union to call for a convention for the 28th Amendment for Free and Fair Elections.

May 2, 2014 - Vermont is the first state to issue a call for a convention for the 28th Amendment!  Read JRS 27.   More here.

Maryland Progress as of April 2014:  

• Resolution SJ 6 was reported on favorably in the Senate EHE Cmte on April 7 by a vote of 9-2.
• HJ 7 was heard in the House Rules Cmte on Mar 3.  Our witnesses pushed on thru snow and ice and the hearing was quite successful.  View here ( 40 min.; starts at 17:45).
• Watch  one of our members testify despite a broken jaw!
• SJ 6 was heard in the Senate EHE Cmte on Feb 27.  The reception was very positive.  Listen here (1 hour) or view excerpt.
• Respected Senator Jamie Raskin (photo on right) and and 10 co-sponsors have introduced resolution SJ 6, calling for an Article V Convention of the States. Track progress of SJ 6 here.
• Ways and Means Chair Sheila Hixson (photo on right) and 25 co-sponsors have introduced the companion Resolution HJ 7 in the House of Delegates.  Track progress of HJ 7 here.
• We had a very successful Rally for the 28th Amendment on February 11 and visited every legislative office.
• Baltimore Sun featured our issue in this op-ed
• Thanks to Wolf PAC, a similar resolution has passed the House (Assembly) in California, the respective senates in Illinois and Vermont, and had favorable committee reports have come out in New Hampshire and Vermont.
• 449 new supporters in GMOM database since the summer of 2013.  
• 24 organizations supporting, including extraordinary action from Common Cause, Progressive Maryland, NAACP 
• 1500 (est.) action letters to specific delegates and senators completed by email and facebook request
• Two dozen volunteer phonebankers got commitments from almost 500 constituents in key districts to contact their own state legislators.

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Another way to amend the Constitution

GMOM (Get Money Out – Maryland) is working to get the Maryland legislature to pass a joint resolution formally calling for a Convention of the States (or "Article V Convention"), as a means to propose an amendment to the U.S. constitution for free and fair elections and overturning ‘Citizen's United,’  When two thirds of the states do likewise, the convention must be convened.  'Citizens United' is the disastrous 2010 Supreme Court decision which ruled that corporations cannot be limited in the amount they spend on elections, because of their "constitutional right" of "free speech," as if they were people.  States calling for a convention (for the purpose of proposing amendments) is the key, as spelled out in Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

We feel this is more fruitful than trying to get Congress to propose such an amendment in the traditio

nal manner.  A dozen or more states have already passed this type of resolution which merely say that Congress should propose an amendment, without calling for a convention.  Congress is free to ignore that type of resolution and that is exactly what it has done: ignored them. It is hard to imagine that an institutionally corrupt Congress could ever propose an amendment for fundamental reform of political corruption itself. All federal legislators won their seats by raising extraordinary sums from special interests in a corrupt system. Sadly, we have already lost our democracy on the federal level. But state legislatures are still responsive to the democratic process.  At this point, only states can get us this kind of amendment, by calling for a convention, which then must be convened, bypassing Congress.  The convention is key.  

Momentum: 

The first state resolution calling for an Article V Convention was introduced less than two years ago, in 2011 in Texas.  Now, a dozen state legislatures have pending resolutions, and almost all 50 states have active movements, calling for a convention to propose amendments.   The people, through their state legislatures, have the power to amend the constitution by calling for a convention, thus bypassing Congress. 

The groups www.Wolf-Pac.com, led by internet newscaster Cenk Uygur, and www.Rootstrikers.org, founded by Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig, are leading this effort nationally.

Watch this short video of Cenk Uygur explaining this approach.   Cenk is the founder of www.Wolf-Pac.com, and host of www.TheYoungTurks.com, the most popular news show on the internet.   


(An amendment to the U. S. constitution is needed since any legislative means of limiting corporate election spending is now considered to be unconstitutional).                                                                                                                                                                    

Two ways to propose an amendment:


There are only two ways to propose a constitutional amendment. One is an amendment proposed by Congress. But Congress is funded by special interests, is universally recognized as institutionally corrupt, has a 7% approval rating, and was not able to pass something as basic as the Disclose Act, which essentially says "Please just tell us who's bribing you."  

The other way is through state legislatures, which are much closer to the people, and have the power to fix our democracy by calling for an Article V Convention. 



Article V of the U.S. Constitution:


The framers took special care to ensure that no branch of government could ever attain unchecked power. They anticipated and prepared for the possibility that Congress might go off course and need correction by the people themselves. For that, they gave us Article V, which gives the people the right, through their state legislatures, to call for an Article V Convention (or, "Convention of the states") to propose amendments to the constitution. Article V is a core component of the constitution, meant to be used when our federal legislators no longer represent us, and that time is now.

The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress....

Who does the constitution belong to? Congress, or the people?


The selling point that made ratification of our constitution possible in 1791 was the promise that States would have ultimate authority over Congress in proposing and ratifying amendments. This principle appeals to conservatives, tea partiers, libertarians, independents and progressives. Only by working across the political spectrum can We the People hope to win against entrenched special interests and enormously powerful corporations. 



Not to worry about a “Runaway Convention”



Some worry about a so-called “runaway convention” that might propose a wild, irresponsible amendment. First, an Article V Convention would have no more power to propose amendments than Congress already has.  The need for ratification by three fourths of the states would clearly prevent any “runaway” amendments from being proposed or ratified. This has never been a problem in the hundreds of state constitutional conventions, to develop state constitutions, that have already been held in the U.S.  It is possible to limit the convention to the issue of Citizens United and corporate personhood.  It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "Constitutional Convention," but actually it is an “Article V Convention”  or "Convention of the states" who’s purpose is limited to proposing amendments on a specific topic  (as specified by the states).   



The Article V Convention process has been used many times 



Just the threat of an Article V Convention may be the most effective way to motivate Congress to directly propose meaningful amendments. Four times in history, Congress has proposed amendments (which were later ratified) only after state legislatures voted for an Article V Convention for each of these issues. In order to forestall a Convention, Congress then proposed these amendments directly. We won the 17th Amendment (for direct election of Senators) in 1913 when we were within one state of the two thirds needed to call for a Convention. Also, Congress proposed the 21st amendment (repeal of prohibition), 22nd amendment (term limits for the President), and 25th amendment (clarifies Presidential succession), only after many state legislatures had called for an Article V Convention for each of these issues.
 

Click:  Sign the Petition: 

  “I support a constitutional amendment saying that corporations are not people and they do not have the right to spend money to buy our politicians.”     (www.Wolf-Pac.com)     

Get involved with fellow Marylanders: 


Maryland has a lot of supportive state legislators, and we are optimistic that the resolution for an Article V Convention will pass during the 2014 General Assembly Session.  We are poised to become one of the first states to formally call for an Article V Convention – for free and fair elections. 
 Call Get Money Out - Maryland at 410-849-0670.   Also, please visit the Google Group for Maryland and just say 'Hi' so we know you're out there.  Or e-mail us at admin@GetMoneyOutMD.org.