It’s a terrible time for a convention

I am writing to you today about an issue of grave concern to me . . . an issue that could set the liberty movement and our country back decades or worse.

In the ten years since our r3VOLution was sparked, you and I have fought together to beat back Big Government forces and to advance liberty at all levels of government.

And while there is still much work to do, we’ve won some very important victories.

But now, an idea with the potential to destroy all we’ve worked for has taken root, and I am personally asking for your help to stop it before it’s too late.

In recent years, the idea of holding what supporters are calling an “Article V Convention” has caught fire, and many well-meaning individuals are supporting it.

These well-meaning individuals are rightly fed up with the federal government, and they have become convinced that amending the U.S. Constitution at a convention would force restraints on the feds and restore lost freedoms.

But the U.S. Constitution is not the problem, and an “Article V Convention” is not the solution.

As you and I both know from our years battling Big Government at all levels, there is no easy, “quick fix” to reining in the feds.

Like it or not, it will take faithful, long-term action to restore liberty, and once we’ve achieved victory, it will take persistent, continued action to maintain it.

Now is not the time for a convention.

I remember clearly how establishment Republicans treated liberty delegates at the 2012 GOP conventions. . .

. . . they were muzzled, ignored, shouted down, made fun of, and worse.

In one of the worst displays I’ve witnessed in my lifetime, some of my delegates were waylaid on a bus, driven around the block outside of the convention, and denied the chance to vote on an important rule change as a result.

This rule change further disenfranchised the grassroots and gave even greater power to Washington insiders.

You see, when the establishment feels threatened — whether from the political left or right — they play dirty and do all they can to change the rules and muzzle the grassroots.

Just look at what happened at the Democratic National Convention in 2016! The fix was in long before the delegates were even chosen!

And that is what happens at conventions.

Make no mistake, the threat of losing our constitutionally protected rights at a convention — which will be attended by powerful, well-financed special interests and establishment insiders — is very real.

If any liberty delegates are chosen to attend at all, what tricks do you think the establishment will play to drown out those voices?

I personally shudder at the thought.

Many states have tried to pass bills establishing rules for delegates to a convention, and they’ve even passed bills about delegate selection.

But they aren’t planning to send liberty activists like you. . .

They’re planning to send career politicians, many of whom serve in leadership positions in their legislatures — like Illinois’ Democratic House Speaker Mike Madigan who has ruled over the Illinois House with an iron fist for nearly THREE DECADES.

You can bet there will be many more establishment politicians from both sides of the aisle at a convention.

Many — if not most — of these career politicians ignore the Constitution we have now . . . why should they be trusted to revise it? And why would we believe they’d obey a new Constitution or amendment any more than they do now?

But that’s not the worst of it.

There have been many court rulings finding that states cannot tie convention delegates’ hands. . .

So contrary to what pro-convention groups claim, the rules and agenda will be set by the convention itself.

That means no issue will be off limits.

And just think about the issues being pushed in states across the country right now — many of which Campaign for Liberty state groups have had to fight tooth-and-nail to stop!

Dozens of states are trying to limit First Amendment rights to free political speech, others are passing bills to limit the Second Amendment, and still others are infringing on parents’ rights and giving greater control to the state!

There is much to be done to save our ailing Republic and restore liberty, but a convention in our current climate is not the answer.

I hope you’ll agree to contact your state representative at once, and tell them to oppose S. 36.

For Liberty,

Dr. Ron Paul