In a recent interview, Hillary Clinton charged conservatives behind the Convention of States Project with trying to restrict the First Amendment and gerrymander districts to their liking and call for a constitutional convention. That's not exactly what Citizens for Self Governance had in mind when they founded the project.
The COS Project seeks to urge and empower state legislators to call a convention of states. The delegates at such a convention would have the power to propose amendments to the Constitution that would curb the abuses of the federal government. Article V of the Constitution gives them this power; the COS Project will give them an avenue through which they can use it.
Mark Meckler, president of Citizens for Self Governance, tore apart Clinton’s criticisms piece by piece in an op-ed for The Hill over the weekend, starting with her first misleading assumption.
Hillary Clinton’s criticisms are misleading. Convention of States Project (COS Project) is not advocating for a constitutional convention. The COS Project advocates for an amending Convention of States by invoking Article V of the U.S. Constitution.
He simplified his argument in an interview with “Fox & Friends” Sunday.
The Convention of States is “using the Constitution to restore the Constitution,” Meckler explained. Their aim is not to restrain Americans’ rights, but to rein in the federal government.
Meckler says Clinton should know this, her being a lawyer and all. Her choice of words is only intended to instill fear in her supporters, he argued.
Over 2.2 million people now support the Convention of States, and 12 state legislatures have passed it. It takes 34 to get it done and Meckler believes they’ll get there.
“Washington doesn’t, and won’t want it.”