Jim Crawford’s editorial titled “GOP Abducting the Constitution,” which was published on Feb. 26, did not provide readers with an accurate understanding of how the Article V convention process works.

It is not “abducting,” as Crawford wrote, for state legislatures to use a clause in the U.S. Constitution that the Founding Fathers provided to check the power of the national government. Washington, D.C. politicians have failed the American people numerous times. They have made promises election after election to fix our nation’s problems, but they continue to ignore the demands of the majority of Americans. State legislatures across the nation are now taking action to bring fiscal sanity back to the United States.A major reason why Congress still has an approval rating near 10 percent is because of its failure to enact legislation that has broad, bipartisan support. A 2013 poll conducted by Fox News shows 85 percent of Americans support a balanced budget requirement to the Constitution of the United States. Any amendment that has broad support of the American people ought to be the subject of an Article V convention.

Mr. Crawford should re-examine his thought process before issuing another op-ed on this issue.

 

Kyle Maichle

The Heartland Institute

Arlington Heights, Illinois