We recently embarked on a deep dive into the possibilities, the opportunities and the dangers of what a successful vote to hold a constitutional convention next year in 2022 could look like.
For conservatives, like me, it seems an endlessly frustrating exercise played out the same way, for years and years and years, to listen to politicians while they campaign outside of Juneau only to watch them cowtow to lobby pressures and, by what they claim is the hallmark of good politicking, namely compromise, their principles.
To the credit of Mike Dunleavy, I believe he was elected for very specific claims and promises of a certain kind of leadership and the things he would stand tall to see done. Even if some of those promises were outside his specific ability to guarantee, a man with conviction and courage is easiest to admire and support. A man of principle. Out of the gate, true to his campaign words, came the budget cleaver and the massive percentage of Alaska that lives off some form of the government teat woek up with a start and realized we have to shut. this. down. Now… Unless our election systems are totally compromised, and that can be debated, I personally believe had he stood tall and fought his recall effort with courage and not a little faith, more and more would have rallied to his side because a fearless leader is a privilege to see and follow… for they are so very rare. But… the lifetime bureaucrats and Grima Wormtongues Dunleavy chose to surround himself by whispered in his ear convinced him he just might lose and so he backed down, and has mostly backed down ever since. For this, he can be forgiven by most, but no longer admired by most, as he once was.
“to even mention an external standard of rightness and wrongness, is cultural heresy.”
Many of the problems with the choices made, and backlashed faced, by the Dunleavy administration, will be very similar to the problems faced by Alaska if we embark upon a constitutional convention. After all the same people behind his recall effort will be just as motivated to remake the Alaska constitution in whatever graven image floats around in their minds.
It’s a nebulous idea, rewriting and amending parts of our constitution that we INDIVIDUALLY find ineffective at best, and abhorrent at worst. It plays upon the same surface leve, meme level, thinking that catapulted the Obama administration to its first and second win. Change. Yes we can. Well… Sunburn is a kind of change. Cancer is a kind of change. Death is a kind of change. But without a common standard against which to measure these changes we would make to the constitution, without an agreed upon standard of right and wrong to compare, like judges, we face the very real chance that each man or woman might do as they see fit in their own eyes.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Look around you in your daily life at the aggregate average level of honor, the level of honesty, the independence from government contracts or hand-outs or assistance, the thoughtful intelligence and problem solving ability of your typical neighbor. How many of them would you trust to make the changes YOU want in your stead? I don’t say that to cast aspersions on Alaskans, I say this to remind you that we ALREADY live in a time when each man, and woman, does as they see fit in their own eyes and to even mention an external standard of rightness and wrongness, is cultural heresy.
It’s YOUR truth. You do you. If it feels good do it. If that’s what YOU want. Say Yes to your desires.
Our society has been largely reformed beneath our feet by generations of people embracing and indoctrinating others into this kind of feel-good, meme-level sophistry that appeals only to the heart, which the bible reminds us is deceitfully wicked above all else. Are we free enough from outside moneys that will surely flood Alaska if we move forward, are we collectively wise enough to make not change, but actual improvement?
One thing is for certain, a constitutional convention is both an golden opportunity and a potential house of horrors. IF, as a state, we go down the road of a constitutional convention expecting everything or even most things we individually find wrong will be fixed by the collective, we may be in for a great sigh of relief or a pearl-clutching what have we done.
Just make sure you explore this possibility with us moving forward, and do so with your eyes wide open.
7 Comments
Your last paragraph say it all! If we do or don’t have a con-con we better do some serious research and know exactly what we want to come from it. If we don’t it will be a long long 10 years before we can fix it again. Look at the whole picture not just the bottom right corner everyone always looks at.
It is my understanding that the topics and the wording of the amendments must be presented before the constitutional convention convenes. Then the constitutional convention is simply representatives who vote to adopt, or to discard such amendments. It is not a free for all where everyone gets to propose their own amendments. Everyone can propose their ideas a head of time, but the proposed amendments must be accepted for consideration by the people, perhaps with a certain percentage of votes or signatures, before the convention begins. If a topic does not get the required number of signatures, or the required percent of voter approval, then it is tossed out before the convention even begins. A second question on the November ballot could ask the voter to choose which amendments (carefully worded and written up) they would want the convention to vote on. The representatives for the convention should not be anyone who has formerly been, nor anyone who currently is a governmental position. It should be made up of common citizens/voters. Perhaps as follows:
A. 3 owners/supervisors of a non-unionized company employing 500 or more people, from each borough
B. 3 owners/supervisors of a unionized company with 500 or more employees, from each borough
C. 3 owners/supervisors of non-unionized company with less than 500 employees from each borough
D. 3 owners/supervisors of a unionized company with less than 500 employees. From each borough
E. 3 sole proprietors from each borough
F. 3 owners of farms from each borough
G. Etc. People from all walks of life who are citizens registered to vote in the state of Alaska. Until 100 people are chosen.
I would propose the following amendments:
1) The PFD will without fail be paid according to the original formula set forth in statute, to each person. Any governor who signs into law a change to this amendment, shall be fined an amount equal to pay every eligible person a $500 loss of revenue fee, payable to every person who would have received a regular PFD if the governor had not changed the law by usurping authority over the law.
2). The governor will be able to nominate the justices that he chooses and not just the justices forced upon him by the judicial council.
3). Any decision by any justice or any court of the state, including the State Supreme Court, which would affect the citizens of the entire state, must go be before the Senate and a straight up or down vote must be given by all senators before midnight of the third day. A vote of 80 senators will decide whether to overturn the justices decision. Failure to get 80 votes, would mean that the justice’s decision will stand.
4). Any news media must report before each news broadcast where they receive their funding from, and what percent of the funding comes from each source. If more than 50% of their funding comes from foreign countries, corporations, or super pacs then they must state the following: “Because more than 50% of our funding come from foreign countries then we are considered to be a foreign run news source by the people of the state of Alaska.” Or “Since more than 50% of our funding comes from (corporations/super pac) we are considered to be a corporation/super pac influenced news source by the people of Alaska.
5) There shall be term limits of 8 years for anyone serving in governmental positions in Alaska, to include city, municipality, borough, and state officials. To also include Senators, Representatives, anyone in any elected position, anyone in any appointed position, and anyone in any hired position working for the government.
Much of what we are trying to do is deering a national era of entropy and everything is falling down leaving the democrats fishing for their marbles to restack them. Marbles don’t stack. Have faith in the Lord please. It’s all we can do.
Ask Dean Young about what role that Congress plays that he is aware of. A Constitutional Convention is a re-creation of the statehood act and supporting Constitution which had to be approved to be in the group of united state corporations forming the nation. If states have rights the freemen with political rights have no right to delegate their sovereignty nor their children’s sovereign rights EVER to judiciary’s and federal and state agencies. Never. Anyone who tells you otherwise needs to support these Constitutions. The timing for this convention nationally speaking is not perfect in such upheaval. I suggest the public elected servants follow the State of Alaska Corporation bylaw relating to the distribution of PFD. We will not be amending our state’s Constitution; we would be adding Articles. Our state Constitution is permanent just like the US Constitution and our current republic which remains in tact.
Yes I know
The colonies predated the corporation(s). The colonies predated nationhood. The declaration of unalienable rights from God predated the US Constitution so those remain no matter what.
There is a process for that which is due.
How can this even be done when there is dominion voting machines in our state? How can we know when an amendment is brought before us – we the people- that our votes will even be counted or just railroaded by fraudulent machines?