these guys want a Constitutional Convention? are they crazy, stupid, or trying to take over the country? Either way, imo, we ALL need to get this shut down. Remember, once a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION is called, there are NO CHEKCS on what they produce, to include scrapping the ENTIRE CONSTITUTION and putting something MUCH WORSE in place.
http//www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer/the_intelligencer_news_details/article/27/2010/march/07/a-call-for-spending-limits-1.html%3futm_source=twitterfeed%26utm_medium=twitter%26cHash=89bd125e066d91e24f0f91ae00ff03bf in case that link don't work, i will copy/paste teh story in it's entirety... A call for spending limits TEXT SIZE By: CHRIS ENGLISH The Intelligencer Steve Santarsiero and four other state representatives chose an appropriate place for proposing an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would place limits on campaign contributions and spending. Recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court have hurt the cause of reasonable limits on campaign contributions and spending, said state Rep. Steve Santarsiero, D-31. He and four of his colleagues would like to reclaim that lost ground, and during a news conference Friday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, they called for a federal convention to incorporate contribution and spending limits into the U.S. Constitution. Having those provisions actually in the constitution would prevent the Supreme Court from chipping away at them, Santarsiero said. He was joined Friday by fellow state representatives Matthew Bradford, D-70 (parts of Montgomery County); Josh Shapiro, D-153 (parts of Montgomery County); Babette Josephs, D-182 (South Philadelphia) and Brendan Boyle, D-170 (parts of Northeast Philadelphia and Montgomery County). The five lawmakers said they will introduce a resolution for a convention and try to get it passed by the state House and Senate sometime in the spring. Then, they will push to have two-thirds of all state legislatures in the country pass the resolution so it can be put before the U.S. Congress and a convention can be held to change the constitution. According to Santarsiero, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision giving corporations the same right to free speech as individuals has effectively nullified important sections of federal campaign finance laws. That may cause challenges to the progressive limits on contributions and expenses already imposed on the federal, state and local levels of government. "In January, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the Citizens United case," Santarsiero said at Friday's event. "In one stroke the court struck down key limitations in federal campaign finance law, opening the flood gates to a potential, or likely, deluge of corporate and union money and influence in the American political process." He continued: "We are not here today to debate the Supreme Court's analysis of the law or the question of whether the term 'person' should be defined so broadly so as to include corporations and unions. Instead, we are here to propose a new amendment to the United States Constitution and, in doing so, to ask our colleagues in the House and Senate and in every state legislature across the country, as well as the United States Congress, to take up this cause and make this proposal a reality." Advertisement A constitutional amendment is the surest way to lasting campaign finance reform, Santarsiero said. "The amendment we seek would give Congress and the states the power to limit not only campaign contributions, but spending as well," he said. "In so doing, it would allow them to enact needed reforms in the way our political system is financed without the fear that they would be invalidated later as violating the First Amendment's right to free speech." Santarsiero and the other four lawmakers favor incorporating Federal Election Commission campaign contribution limits into all levels of government. Those regulations limit individual contributions to $2,400 per person in each election and special interest political action committees to $5,000 per election. That's the same position taken by Republican Newtown Township Supervisor Rob Ciervo, the likely opponent for Santarsiero in the November election. Ciervo laid out his own views on campaign finance reform during a press conference in Harrisburg Thursday. The five state representatives at Friday's event in Philadelphia also want limits on how much each candidate can spend on an election, though specific numbers would have to be worked out, they said. Millionaire and billionaire political candidates should not be able to buy their way into office, they said. "It's a dangerous precedent the Supreme Court has set, and we must reverse it," Shapiro said. "If we allow corporate America to buy our elections, we will not be better off as a commonwealth or a nation. We have to get this done. Campaign finance is the critical reform of the decade." The newspaper was unsuccessful in its attempts Friday to reach Ciervo for comment. Santarsiero represents Lower Makefield, Yardley, Newtown, Newtown Township and a small part of Upper Makefield. Chris English can be reached at 215-949-4193 or [email protected]. March 07, 2010 03:16 AM _________________________________________________________________ Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469226/direct/01/ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
