By Paul S. Gardiner

The recent partisan impeachment vote against President Donald J. Trump (with threats of additional impeachments should he be reelected) adds to the concerns many Americans have about the likelihood of a future federal government substantially controlled by leftist, socialist politicians. Some observers believe such control could occur as early as the November 2024 national elections due to, among other things, millions of Millennials voting for socialist, far-left candidates coupled with widespread voter fraud in a few key electoral states.

Given the above, this article argues for a very important “legacy action” that state legislators, supported and funded by highly energized, patriotic citizens, need to accomplish as soon as possible. This action will help ensure that socialism and radical, far-left actions, policies, and regulations never dominate the everyday lives of freedom-loving Americans. People and organizations who enable and provide financial support for this action undoubtedly will receive the enduring gratitude and thanks not only of their peers but also millions of future Americans who cherish freedom and individual liberty. Before describing the proposed legacy action, however, some background information is useful.

On Dec. 18, 2019, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives voted (without a single Republican vote) to impeach President Trump without evidence of an actual crime being committed. The political environment is such that, according to Reps. Al Green (D-TX) and Karen Bass (D-CA), We the People may have to endure one or more additional impeachments of President Trump if he is reelected in 2020 (see below). Some observers argue that the real driving force behind the vote is the long-held dislike (hatred?) of the president by various individuals and factions.

Rep. Al Green exemplifies the above attitude when he said in a Dec. 5, 2019, C-SPAN interview: “A president can be impeached more than once — and when the president has committed additional offenses, and my suspicion is that he will, we can take those before the Senate. There is no limit on the number of times the House can impeach a president.”

In an interview with TMZ founder Harvey Levin on Dec. 10, Rep. Karen Bass agreed that additional impeachments of the president are possible and “might not be the same articles of impeachment because the odds are we would have a ton more information, and then the odds of that, sadly enough, is that, you know, he probably has other examples of criminal behavior.”

As previously stated, there is the possibility that in November 2024, the federal government substantially could fall under the control of politicians like Green and Bass along with scores of leftist, socialist politicians such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). It is well known that Ocasio-Cortez actively advocates for free medical care and free college education for illegal aliens, sanctuary cities (and states) that protect illegal aliens, open borders, destroying free-market capitalism, taking away private health insurance, elimination of the Electoral College, degrading people of faith, and other socialist objectives. Such beliefs do not support in any way America’s constitutional republic, much less individual freedom and liberty.

The legacy action proposed herein will help ensure that the ultimate governing power and control over people’s lives firmly resides with We the People living in the various states (as America’s Founders intended) instead of bureaucrats and politicians living in Washington, DC, running an all-too-often dysfunctional and overbearing federal government. Briefly, the legacy action is as follows:

• A new amendment to the United States Constitution needs to be proposed by and ratified by state legislatures prior to November 2024. The amendment would allow state legislatures collectively to overrule egregious actions like frivolous House impeachment votes as well as other egregious and unacceptable actions or regulations promulgated by a leftist, socialist federal government. The amendment could state, for example, that a vote by a super majority of at least 30 state legislatures to overrule a particular federal action, regulation, or policy will render invalid that action, regulation, or policy.

In order for the above to happen, state legislators (delegates) from at least 34 states must gather together to propose the amendment. The authority for state legislatures to act in this manner rests in Article V of the Constitution, and the meeting of legislators is formally termed a convention of states. The Constitution requires that a proposed amendment must be ratified by at least three-fourths of the state legislatures (38) to become part of the Constitution and law of the land.

For several years, various groups of concerned citizens have attempted to coordinate with legislators in nearly all 50 states, trying to unify them and arrive at the required minimum of 34 state legislatures to hold a convention of states. Applications from each state for this convention must be made to Congress, which has no choice, per Article V, but to call for the convention once the threshold of 34 applications is met. To date, all efforts to hold this convention to propose amendments have been unsuccessful for a variety of reasons.

What is needed today is a new strategy for working with and helping state legislators unite in at least 34 states to propose the legacy amendment described above. A suggested strategy is to aggregate at least 30 existing, qualifying applications previously submitted to Congress with at least four additional new applications to call for a convention. At the convention, it just might be that other worthy amendments concurrently could be proposed such as term limits (total years served) for members of Congress and perhaps other officials of the federal government. Adequate, multi-year funding extending through ratification efforts needs to be made available to organizations undertaking this new strategy such as the American Constitution Foundation and Acts 2 Reform Inc.

Finally, the above actions need to be accomplished as soon as possible but certainly prior to the 2024 national elections. Needless to say, there is much to do and, thus, the time to “move out” and secure this truly valuable legacy for freedom-loving Americans is NOW.

Paul S. Gardiner is a retired Army officer, Vietnam veteran, and avid lover of America. He previously served as Georgia Coalitions Director and National Veterans Coalitions Director for the Convention of States Project. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Alabama, and the United States Army War College.