Balloting, campaigning, debating and media coverage, in connection with federal elections and issues, to include elections and issues in connection with constitutional proposing and ratifying conventions and in connection with the consideration of this amendment by state conventions or legislatures, shall be funded in their entirety by public funds appropriated for these purposes. The contribution, solicitation or use of private funds for these purposes shall be a felony. An office of investigation and prosecution shall be funded and established in the FEC toward the enforcement of this provision.
A federal proposing convention shall be called and delegates elected and trained within twelve months of the date of this provision. Subsequent proposing conventions shall be called no less frequently than once each 20 years. The state legislatures will collectively issue guidelines, criteria and procedures for calling proposing and ratifying conventions, for electing and training delegates to these conventions, for establishing rules of order for these conventions and for establishing the scope of all conventions with the exception of the periodic conventions, which shall be open.
Such language would be consistent with the tenor of the 1791 Constitution in that it would remove Congress from any substantive role in altering the Constitution. It would also eliminate many other present difficulties. For example, it would reduce fears (1) that a convention would be vulnerable to "big money," (2) that it might "run away," and (3) that it might be dominated by one of the parties.
It would also reduce the difficulty the two political parties might experience in agreeing on a proposing convention: the guidelines established by the states could provide for non-periodic conventions to be limited to mutually acceptable issues. Madison said, on Sept. 15, 1787, that "difficulties might arise as to the forum, the quorum, etc. which, in constitutional regulations ought to be as much as possible avoided." An amendment such as the above, by providing that the state legislatures issue guidelines, could now avoid the difficulties that the 1787 Convention lacked the time to resolve.
While an amendment to this effect would, in itself, have extremely beneficial results, its principal purpose would be to remove the major obstacles that stand in the way of calling proposing conventions.
CONCLUSION
Madison's "first step" amendment would go far toward solving our most pressing problem: money in politics. It would, however, leave some other serious issues untouched. For example, it would neither establish strict term limits for Congress nor strengthen our useless impeachment provisions. Nevertheless, it would make proposing conventions both possible and feasible -- thus laying the groundwork for comprehensive reform.
[1] Just as Congress establishes guidelines for the interpretation and administration of its statutes, so would the state legislatures, when acting as a people's legislative body, be responsible for issuing guidelines for altering the Constitution.
[2] See Madison's notes of debates in the Federal Convention for Sept. 15, 1787.
[3] The actual amendment language would, of course, be written by state legislators and agreed to by two thirds of the state legislatures. This language is provided only as a starting point.
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