Yes, they actually falsified Thomas Jefferson’s advice on controlling a federal government that abuses its powers! Convention of States are using fear to scare legislators into wheeling the Constitution into the operating room to be carved up.
What would you do if you learned that a group funded by billionaires told people they need to change our Constitution to make government follow it and they weren’t telling the truth? Would you be even more upset to learn that these folks had falsified the words of our Founders to accomplish their goal of wheeling our Constitution into the operating room?
Recently Citizens for Self-Governance (CSG) held what they called a “simulated” convention to fool America. Rita Dunaway, Special Counsel to CSG and Utah Representative Ken Ivory, chairman of the “convention” sent an email to the “actors” after the filming ended. Ms. Dunaway wrote the email, embedding a note from Rep. Ivory that reads in part, “As Thomas Jefferson counseled this ‘must be done by the states themselves, erecting such barriers at the constitutional line as cannot be surmounted’….”
The accurate message can be found in a letter from Thomas Jefferson To Archibald Stuart written December 23, 1791, which reads in part, “Then it is important to strengthen the state governments: and as this cannot be done by any change in the federal constitution, (for the preservation of that is all we need contend for,) it must be done by the states themselves, erecting such barriers at the constitutional line as cannot be surmounted either by themselves or by the general government. The only barrier in their power is a wise government….” [emphasis added.]
Rep. Ivory reversed Jefferson’s message to mean that an Article V convention was what he meant as such a barrier. This is not true. Jefferson clearly meant that strengthening state governments can not be done by amending the Constitution, but rather by the states maintaining a wise and able government.
Rep. Ivory is a state legislator and Ms. Dunaway is a licensed attorney in Virginia. This quote also appeared in a press release issued by Tamara Colbert, CSG’s Public Relations. Did a state legislator, and an attorney, and a public relations professional actually falsify Thomas Jefferson’s message? If not the only answer can be that they are incapable of understanding the full message or neglected to perform due diligence. Whatever happened, this is one of several examples of deceptive or incompetent (in my opinion) prosecution of a movement to cause changes to our last firewall of Liberty, the Constitution.
Mark Meckler, President, CSG was seen on video at the close of fantasy convention broadcast explaining a mantra he insists on: “be nice.” Does Mr. Meckler consider falsification of wisdom of the Founding Fathers as “being nice?” Does Mr. Meckler think failing to show for a debate and not telling the truth why is being nice? Does he think manipulating debates or not telling the full truth about their fund raising when asked is nice? I wonder if he thinks a CSG lobbyist suing me to silence me is being nice?
As a honorably-retired Veteran of Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, I don’t appreciate anything about CSG’s deceptive (in my opinion) movement. Nearly 1.4 million of my brothers and sisters in arms gave their lives to found America and keep her free. Many volunteers for CSG are genuine American patriots that rightly see our Constitution being ignored and our great nation far off her proper path. Sadly, the leaders of CSG are deceiving their volunteers, including many Veterans. I refuse to allow them to corrupt the wisdom of our Founders in pursuit of their deception.
Our Constitution is an incredible gift. Those 1.4 million troops paid the price which mandates she be treated with respect and integrity. Article V of our Constitution was not created to control the government, nor can it. Follow along as we work to post articles diving into credible research and highlight distortions of Article V.
When our political climate is chaotic as it is now and we run towards twenty trillion in debt, the Constitution stands firm, ready for We The People to get off the couch and insist she be respected. Like an airplane with an engine on fire, we must use the emergency checklist accurately and completely; you don’t re-write it during the fire. A constitution is designed to be fireproof in times of chaos.
These various Article V movements are sucking the oxygen out of the room with their millions of dollars from billionaires. They are blocking out the sun and preventing We The People from doing our duty and checking our government. Follow along with our mission informed by the true words of Jefferson to “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”
In Liberty,
Shawn Meehan, Founder
Guard The Constitution
www.GuardTheConstitution.com
NOTES:
- For those which might have an issue with the title of this article, I guide you to this definition: “falsify: verb 1. alter (information or evidence) so as to mislead.”
- Yes, I use “in my opinion” since I have experience that CSG volunteers will sue you if they don’t like what you reveal about them