Only those happily trampling on the last vestiges of freedom will deny
that our federal government as a constitutional republic has ceased to
function. The president can no longer control (nor does this one want to
control) the enormous and ever-expanding bureaucracy functioning as a
government by fiat. The legislative branch, so corrupted, so drunk by
the allure of power, so disdainful of its constituents, is unable to
stop its bankrupting ways. The judiciary is perhaps the worst. The
Supreme Court is openly rejecting the authority of the Constitution
itself.
If the federal government refuses to adhere to the enumerated powers of
the Constitution, what can the citizenry do about it? The events of the
past five years (more, actually) prove this. It has become virtually
impossible to stop the agenda of a radical Chief Executive who brazenly
uses the federal government as his personal political machine. It is
almost impossible to defeat an incumbent member of Congress with all the
advantages it has awarded itself. For all intents it is impossible to
replace a member of the Supreme Court.
The left is content with this terrible turn of events. By
“transformation” they meant the transfer of power to the state.
Conservatives are loath to declare American exceptionalism dead, yet are
powerless to stop the statist steamroller. With every cycle the
situation worsens. At some point the unthinkable -- tyranny -- is upon
us. We are running out of time. Only radical surgery will save the
patient now.
Enter
Mark Levin, M.D., with his new book, "The Liberty Amendments: Restoring
the American Republic." Levin is a Constitutional scholar -- and he
shines. He argues passionately that the federal government can be
brought under control only if new limitations are thrust upon it by its
citizenry. He proposes a Constitutional convention, not one called by
Congress but one impaneled by two-thirds of state legislatures, and
which would require a three-fourths margin to pass any new amendments.
It is the lesser known of the two options provided by Article V of the
Constitution.
What should a Constitutional convention tackle? Levin offers eleven
amendments for consideration, with appropriate subdivisions, each
carefully researched and each designed to reduce the power of the state.
Term limits for Congress is the first liberty amendment Levin offers.
It is my view also the most important. Only when there are limits (12
years of service) will Congress be populated by men and women driven
only by the call to service, not the siren song of power. The millions
delivered by special interests for the re-election of incumbents who, in
turn, reward said interests with billions in grants, contracts, tax
shelters and the like -- will cease.
Levin calls for other limitations on Congress. He proposes an amendment
to limit federal spending and another to limit taxation, the
combination which will restore fiscal sanity while devolving power from
the state. He offers an amendment to repeal the Seventeenth Amendment,
returning to the Article 1 mandate that Senators be chosen by their
state legislators.
What about the Supreme Court? “[S]hould five individuals be making
political and public policy decisions and imposing them on every corner
of the nation...as they pursue even newer and more novel paths around
the Constitution in exercising judicial review?” Levin points to the
obvious: Sometimes mistakes are made (Roberts, anyone?) and America
shouldn’t be punished for the rest of that jurist’s life. He proposes
12-year term limits for them as well.
What can be done to control, even reduce the size and scope of the
bureaucracy? All federal departments and agencies must be re-authorized
by Congress every three years or be terminated -- that’s what.
There’s a liberty amendment to protect and promote free enterprise, now
under vicious assault. One to protect private property given the ability
of the federal government suddenly to steal it. Amendments to increase
the power of the States, and finally, an amendment to protect the voting
process.
Who would have thought any such amendments would ever be needed? And that’s the point. Such is the nature of the crisis.
Levin quotes Tocqueville reflecting on the Constitutional Convention of
1776: “[I]t is new in history of society to see a great people turn a
calm and scrutinizing eye upon itself when apprised by the legislature
that the wheels of its government are stopped...”
It is time for our legislatures once more to issue the clarion call.
Levin hopes “The Liberty Amendments” will launch a national discussion,
and it will. Levin is a consequential man, and this is a consequential
book. Some critics will dismiss the concept out of hand. It is they who
should be dismissed -- unless they have bold new alternatives to
propose. Nothing else is working, and nothing else will do. We have
reached the tipping point.