Palm Beach County GOP calls for Term Limits Convention!

When the history is written of the successful effort to achieve Congressional term limits via an Article V convention, recall that it started right here.

At their Oct. 14 meeting, the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee made a resounding call for an Article V convention limited to the issue of Congressional term limits. The resolution was approved 79-1. 

Chairman Michael Barnett (photo, left) presided over the vote. Two weeks earlier, the board approved the resolution for a floor vote by a vote of 12-0.

In taking this action, the Palm Beach County Republicans are speaking for the 83 percent of Republicans nationwide that told Gallup pollsters in 2013 that they want to see the terms of Congress limited by a Constitutional amendment.  Ironically, they are also standing up for the 65 percent of Democrats that share their view.

For Florida to make an official call -- or 'application' -- for an Article V convention, a bill to do so must pass each of Florida's legislative chambers, both currently dominated by Republicans. The bill has just emerged from drafting and is starting its journey through the legislative maze. Hence, this resolution by one of Florida's largest and most respected county RECs is both timely and powerful.

Here is the text of the resolution in its entirety:

WHEREAS, legislative term limits improve citizen access to office, broaden the range of experience in a political body, improve incentives faced by lawmakers, and mandate competitive elections at regular intervals;

WHEREAS, recent national polling (Gallup 2013) indicates 75% of voters of all parties continue to support term limits, including 83% of Republicans and 65% of Democrats;

WHEREAS, Florida voters imposed term limits on their Congressional delegation in 1992 with 77% of the vote, and more recent polling (Quinnipiac, 2009) shows that 82% of Floridians continue to support term limits on public officials;

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court of the United States (U.S. Term Limits v Thornton, 1995) declared that term limits could only be imposed by a constitutional amendment;

WHEREAS, the U.S. Congress has steadfastly refused to send a Congressional term limits amendment to the states for ratification in spite of broad popular support;

WHEREAS, Article V of the U.S. Constitution provides an alternate means of proposing constitutional amendments via a convention of the states that does not require a Congressional vote;

WHEREAS, upon receiving official calls from two-thirds of the states, Congress must call a convention for the purpose of proposing amendments;

THE REPUBLICAN PARTY OF PALM BEACH COUNTY HEREBY RESOLVES that the Florida legislature make an official Article V call to convene an amendment convention for the specific purpose of limiting the terms of the U.S. Congress.

This resolution will be even more effective if amplified by the resolutions of other RECs across the state. If you are a member of a local REC, please take this resolution to your board and ask for a vote.

For more info on the Florida Term Limits Convention campaign, go here.

Will Florida be the first state to make THE CALL?

Each election cycle, a hundred or two Congressional challengers (and even an incumbent or two) sign the U.S. Term Limits Congressional Pledge to sponsor and vote for a term limits amendment to the U.S. Constitution. And each national election day, a dozen or two new signatories are elected to Congress. We believe we are headed toward a critical mass that will one day secure a floor vote on this popular reform. 

But skeptics (including many term limits activists!) tell us Congress will never, ever vote out a term limits amendment. OK, maybe, but what if there were a way to pass a Constitutional amendment without the consent of Congress?

There is.

Article V of the Constitution provides two ways to amend the document. The first is the traditional route through the Congress and then to the states for ratification. But the founders knew there would be times when Congress would refuse to act against its own interests even when an overwhelming majority of Americans demand it. Hence, they provided a way to bypass Congress.

If two-thirds (34) of the states call for a convention of states for the purpose or proposing an amendment on a specific subject, the amendment convention 'shall' be called. The amendment it produces would go back to the states -- not the Congress -- for ratification. 

It is now clear that the best and fastest way to impose term limits on Congress is through a term limits convention as authorized by Article V of the U.S. Constitution.

Hence, U.S. Term Limits is launching a massive nationwide campaign to convene it. And it is starting right here in Florida. 

A single-amendment convention committed to specifically and exclusively imposing term limits will get bipartisan support. It will bypass the career politicians in Washington. It will allow average people like you and me to clean up corruption and careerism on Capitol Hill and reintroduce the regular rotation and competitive elections that the founders intended.

Convening an Article V convention will not be easy, however.  We’ll have to lobby the various states to support this historic idea. This will be a tough and costly fight. Sign the online petition here. Make a financial contribution here. When the bill is introduced for the upcoming session, U.S. Term Limits will alert you with the bill info and how you can help get it passed. 

Let's hit the restart button on Congress and make history!

(You can follow the progress of the campaign on the Florida Term Limits page on Facebook, Twitter and/or right here on this blog. To get involved see the U.S. Term Limits Florida action page here.)