Earlier in the week, Paul Goldman and I took a swing at the advocates of a “convention of the states,” basically saying that its biggest Virginia backers are peddling hokum. The real story behind the push for the General Assembly to sign on to the CoS this year isn’t to rescue the Republic, but to play politics:
Let’s be blunt: GOP leaders in the General Assembly consider tea party conservatives to be naive and a pain. But this is an election year in Virginia. A constitutional convention is a priority for tea party leaders. Handing them what looks like a great “win” is good politics: Tea party leaders look like they have clout; GOP lawmakers look as if they are listening to the tea party faithful, a big part of the GOP voting base. Even if the General Assembly fails to get the body to endorse a constitutional convention, GOP candidates get credit for trying.
That didn’t sit well with either Ken Cuccinelli or Mike Farris, who banded together to write a rebuttal piece that begins with a takedown of Paul and me:
It takes a fair amount of audacity for a pair of political bloggers to call a group of lawyers that includes professors from Princeton and Georgetown Law School, two former Supreme Court law clerks, a White House Counsel, a law school dean, an attorney with actual Article V litigation experience and a former attorney general of Virginia “a posse of supposed conservative constitutional scholars.”
What could merit this kind of sneering vilification from the local political bloggers? We merely contend that the states should use the explicit text of Article V of the Constitution to stop the abuse of power by the federal government.
I may have to frame that…because rarely does one get to see so many appeals to unnamed authority in one sentence.
Plus, it’s damned funny.
At the same time, it reinforces the hard truth behind their push for the CoS — they’ve got nothing else. No legislative agenda. No politicians to crush into the dust for opposing them…unless we believe this:
Farris said he is so frustrated with Black’s opposition to the measure that he is considering a primary challenge this year.
“I can’t stand by and let my own senator defeat the one thing I think has any chance of stopping the abuse of power by the federal government,” Farris said.
Black, a former Marine combat pilot, said he is undaunted: “I laid out in the sun in Vietnam unconscious for loss of blood, and the idea that somehow I’m going to fear a primary? Give me a break.”
Senator Black, for the win.
Though Mark Sickles makes a strong bid for the gold:
Democrats, meanwhile, are opposed to the convention but not above dreaming about bending the Constitution their way.
“I’m against it, but if we have one, I want to be a delegate,” said Del. Mark D. Sickles (D-Fairfax). “There’s a lot of problems with this Constitution. I’ll just get up to this convention and start whacking away.”
Yes, that’s a good one, Mr. Sickles. And not inconceivable, either.
Proponents of the CoS don’t have the votes to get their resolution passed in the House of Delegates. One of the resolutions Cuccinelli advocated for in his weekend email was stricken from the House calendar today. A Senate version was taken from the calendar as well.
