We all agree there are serious problems in our country: skyrocketing national debt, the breakdown of law and order in our biggest cities, and an economy built on hope and bubbles\u2014it\u2019s enough to drive anyone to despair. But I\u2019m not despairing, and I hope you\u2019re not either. We believe these problems can be solved when good people who value faith, family, and freedom work together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One solution you hear a lot about today is a constitutional convention. You might hear it called an Article V Convention, a Convention of States, or simply a ConCon. The idea is that if enough state legislatures pass resolutions calling for a convention to propose amendments to the Constitution, we could bypass Congress and pass measures like a balanced budget amendment or term limits for federal officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are, however, significant problems with this plan. The first\u2014and perhaps most obvious\u2014is that there\u2019s no telling what such a convention might propose. Supporters of an Article V Convention claim state legislatures can limit their delegates to certain subjects, but that\u2019s wishful thinking. Article V of the Constitution makes clear that any convention called by the states would be managed by Congress, which could set its own rules. And nothing would stop the delegates from changing the rules on the fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another problem is determining who would represent each state. Would each state get one vote, or would votes be allocated by population? Idaho has four electoral votes, California has 54. Would California have thirteen times our voice at a convention? No one knows. And there are no rules on who selects the delegates\u2014would it be the state legislature, the governor, Congress? Again, nobody knows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In my view, this is the biggest danger. Proponents of an Article V Convention\u2014including Mark Meckler, Rick Santorum, Ron DeSantis, and even our own Larry Craig\u2014sell the idea on hope. They tell you not to worry, that everything will work out exactly as they intend. When critics raise serious concerns, they dismiss us as fearmongers and even question our conservatism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s a law everyone seems to forget, one that\u2019s not in the Constitution or was passed by Congress: the law of unintended consequences. We share the goals of Article V supporters\u2014reining in the federal government, balancing the budget, restoring constitutional governance\u2014but we don\u2019t believe this is the right path. A Convention of States opens a Pandora\u2019s Box we might never be able to close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Idaho GOP passed a strong resolution opposing an Article V Convention at our 2025 Summer Meeting, and the RNC has maintained a standing resolution in opposition since 2012. Right now, we have a Republican Congress and a strong fighter in the White House. We can keep working to make America great again without risking everything on a radical, unprecedented roll of the dice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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