Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick stands shoulder-to-shoulder with far-right figures such as Steve Bannon, Rick Santorum, and Mark Levin as part of a growing conservative movement to rewrite the U.S. Constitution.
He just doesn’t want Pennsylvania First District voters to know about it.
Fitzpatrick lied to his constituents at last week’s debate when Democratic challenger Ashley Ehasz questioned him for co-sponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 101 (H. Con. Res. 101). He denied the resolution calls for a constitutional convention and tried to pass it off as a balanced budget amendment (another bad idea). Here’s what the resolution actually calls for:
“An Article V Convention for proposing amendments to the Constitution of the United States and stipulating the ratification of such amendments by State conventions, a vote of We the People, and for other purposes.”
Why would he lie? Besides a lack of integrity, it shatters his manufactured “moderate” brand given that this is a far-right political project. Unless of course he didn’t read the bill put forth by QAnon-defending Texas Congressman Jodey Arrington that he put his name on. But here’s the bottom line: this could happen.
“I would not put it past a future [Republican-controlled] Congress to pass the legislation to call a Convention. And if Congress were to do so, we are in uncharted and extremely dangerous waters for our democracy,” American Constitution Society President Russ Feingold told the Bucks County Beacon.
The former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin is so concerned about the prospect of an Article V convention that he co-authored a book with Peter Prindiville to raise the alarm about it, entitled “The Constitution in Jeopardy: An Unprecedented Effort to Rewrite Our Fundamental Law and What We Can Do About It.”
In order for a constitutional convention to be convened, two-thirds of state legislatures need to call for one – 19 GOP-controlled legislatures already have. One major problem with this never before used provision is that there are no rules about how it would be run, which would result in a runaway convention that potentially puts everything on the table.
“Those factions of the Right trying to convene an Article V Convention have put forward radical goals for a convention, including substantially limiting the power of the federal government, particularly when it comes to providing for national welfare. They essentially want to return the country to a pre-New Deal scenario, eliminating most federal agencies that provide for national defense and welfare, and making it challenging for Congress to pass modern legislation,” stated Feingold. “A convention could also be an opportunity for the Right to achieve a ‘check-mate’ on certain issues, such as banning abortion or enshrining a radical interpretation of the Second Amendment.”
What makes matters worse is that local media, intentionally or not, has failed to cover this issue – an issue voters obviously should know about before heading to the polls.
“Democracy dies in darkness.”
