DeMint takes on new mission
Convention of the States Project aims to yank back control from federal hands
Former South Carolina senator Jim DeMint, ousted last month as head of the Heritage Foundation think tank, joined a fast-growing conservative movement pushing states to seek a constitutional convention to rein in federal spending and power.
DeMint, a prominent figure among Tea Party activists who helped Republicans seize control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010, will serve as a senior adviser to the Convention of the States Project, providing a jolt to its efforts to marshal grass-roots support for a state-led movement to amend the U.S. Constitution.
News of DeMint’s role was provided first to USA TODAY, and a formal announcement is likely Monday.
Under Article V of the Constitution, there are two avenues to propose amendments: Two-thirds of each house of Congress can vote to do so or two-thirds of the states — 34 in total — can request the convention.
In either case, three-fourths of the states — or 38 states — must ratify any amendment proposed by convention delegates.
The USA has not held a constitutional convention since the first one in 1787, but proponents of a state-led conclave see growing momentum for their cause. Twelve states have adopted the group’s call, and its leaders hope to add 10 to 15 next year. A separate effort demanding a convention to con-
amendment has the support of 27 states.
“The Tea Party needs a new mission,” DeMint told USA TODAY. “They realize that all the work they did in 2010 has not resulted in all the things they hoped for. Many of them are turning to Article V.”
DeMint and other proponents of a state-led convention said the timing is right. Populist anger with Washington helped sweep Donald Trump into the presidency. At the state level, Republicans dominate, controlling both legislative chambers in 32 states and governors’ mansions in 33. “This is a perfect time for us,” DeMint said. “People are disgusted with Washington. They are ready to move power back closer to home.”
The movement DeMint joined asks for a convention covering three sweeping topics: imposing “fiscal restraint” on Washington, reducing the federal government’s authority over states and imposing term limits on federal officials.
The group said the convention that results from the state applications could propose a range of amendments from one requiring the federal government to balance the budget to one ending lifetime appointments for federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.
Dramatic action is needed, advocates said, because Congress will not act on its own to curb what they view as runaway spending and the federal government’s overreach “You can’t drain the swamp,” said former Oklahoma senator Tom Coburn, who joined the group after leaving Congress in 2014 and wrote a book, Smashing the DC Mono
lopy, about the effort. “You have to muzzle the alligators.”
At the center of the effort: Mark Meckler, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, and his non-profit Citizens for Self- Governance. Meckler teamed up with other conservative groups, including the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), to advance the plan at the state level.
DeMint, a conservative firebrand, made his political mark as an early backer of upstarts such as Utah’s Mike Lee and Texas’ Ted Cruz, helping to elect them to the Senate and pull the chamber further to the right. He left the Senate in 2012 to run Heritage.
Last month, Heritage’s board of directors voted to remove DeMint, citing “worsening management issues.” DeMint called his abrupt firing “perplexing.”
“Heritage has never been more effective or influential, but clearly the board decided to take a different direction,” he said. “Frankly, I am fine with that.”
This month, DeMint will hit the road for the group and travel to North Carolina, where the state’s Senate passed a resolution in April for a convention of the states. Advocates press the North Carolina House to do the same. This summer, DeMint will travel to Denver to address conservative state legislators at ALEC’s annual gathering. ALEC, whose members include Republican lawmakers and business interests, writes model legislation, allowing conservative lawmakers to quickly replicate bills across the country. It adopted the Article V language advanced by Meckler’s group.
The effort faces big hurdles. The country has never called together all 50 states for an amendment-writing convention.
Some legal experts questioned whether organizers could limit the topics. “When there’s a constitutional convention, in a sense, all bets are off,” said Michael Gerhardt, an expert on the Constitution and a law professor at the University of North Carolina.
As the under-the-radar movement gains steam, some liberal groups and Democratic legislators scramble to block proponents from reaching the two-thirds threshold. This year, New Mexico, Maryland and Nevada rescinded their applications for a convention, some of them on the books for decades. Delaware did so last year.
“When there’s a constitutional convention, in a sense, all bets are off.” Michael Gerhardt, an expert on the Constitution and a law professor at the University of North Carolina