Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/293409
Greg Stevens, Publisher Chip Thompson, Editor Editorial Board How to have your say: Letters must be signed and provide the writer's home street address and home phone number. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and no more than two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section will be published. Email: editor@red bluffdailynews.com Phone: 530-527- 2151 ext. 112 Mail to: P.O. Box 220, 545 Diamond Ave., Red Bluff, CA 96080 Facebook: Leave comments at FaCEbook.CoM/ rbdailynEwS Twitter: Follow and send tweets to @rEdbluFFnEwS The Compact for America is the innova- tion of the Goldwater Institute's Nick Dra- nias, who proposes a constitutional conven- tion carefully called under Article V to en- act a balanced-bud- get amendment written precisely enough to preclude evasion by the political class. This class has powerful and permanent incentives for defi - cit spending, which delivers im- mediate benefits to constituents while deferring a significant portion of the benefits' costs. Here's what the compact's amendment would stipulate: Total federal government outlays shall not exceed re - ceipts unless the excess of out- lays is financed exclusively by debt which initially shall be authorized to be 105 percent of outstanding debt on the date the amendment is rati - fied. Congress may increase the authorized debt only if a majority of state legislatures approve an unconditional, sin - gle-subject measure propos- ing the amount of such in- crease. Whenever outstand- ing debt exceeds 98 percent of the set limit, the president shall designate for impound- ment specific expenditures sufficient to keep debt below the authorized level. The im- poundment shall occur in 30 days unless Congress desig- nates an alternative impound- ment of the same or greater amount. Any bill for a new or increased general revenue tax shall require a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress — except for a bill that re - duces or eliminates an exist- ing tax exemption, deduction or credit, or that "provides for a new end user sales tax which would completely replace ev - ery existing income tax levied by" the U.S. government. Now, leave aside ques- tions about this tax policy, or about the wisdom of constitu- tionalizing any tax policy. Do you believe a balanced-bud- get amendment is a required response to the nature of to- day's politics and governance, now that courts neglect to do their duty in enforcing Con- gress' adherence to the Con- stitution's enumeration of its powers? If so, the compact's amendment is remark- ably resistant to eva- sion. Congress, which rel- ishes deficit spending, would not, unilater- ally and unpressured, send this amendment to the states for ratifi- cation. Hence the Gold- water Institute's recourse to Article V. It provides, in the same sen- tence, two amendment proce- dures, one of which has never been used — the calling of a convention by two-thirds of the state legislatures. Many pru - dent people — remembering that the 1787 Constitutional Convention's original purpose was merely to "remedy defects" of the Articles of Confedera- tion — recoil from the possibil- ity of a runaway convention and the certainty that James Madi- son would not be there to make it turn out well. The compact, however, would closely confine a convention: State legislatures can form a compact — a coop - erative agreement — to call a convention for the codified, one- item agenda of ratifying the balanced-budget amendment precisely stipulated in advance. The Constitution's Article I, Section 10 says: "No state shall, without the consent of Con - gress ... enter into any agree- ment or compact with another state." But court precedent makes clear that states do not need congressional consent for compacts that exercise state power without displacing fed - eral power, such as the consti- tutionally stipulated power to apply for an Article V conven- tion. States can join the Gold- water Institute's compact with- out waiting for Congress' ap- proval. Article V says Congress has no discretion — it "shall" call a convention "on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states." A conven - tion called in accordance with the institute's compact would adopt its limited agenda with the force of federal and state law, any deviation from which would render the convention — which is limited to a 24-hour session — void. The compact designates as the sole delegates to the convention the governors of participating states, officials who will not run the political risk of wrecking the convention by ignoring the law. In the 85th and final of the Federalist Papers written to persuade Americans wary of centralized power to ratify the Constitution, Alexander Ham - ilton said: "We may safely rely on the disposition of the state legislatures to erect barriers against the encroachments of the national authority." States would be the prime movers of, and would be substantially empowered by, the institute's amendment-by-compact plan. Members of this nascent move - ment to use Article V have a name: Fivers. George Will's email address is georgewill@washpost.com. A recourse to budgetary inaction Cartoonist's take DAVID FITZSIMMONS Republicans used to be the bul- lies, but now they can't stop whin- ing about how everyone's pick- ing on them. They've volunteered for the losing side on every single civil rights fight facing America and seem happy to whine about their woeful circumstances. When did the Republicans decide playing the victim was a good idea? Th is w ee k t hr ee ex -p re si - dents are joining Barack Obama in Austin at the LBJ presiden- tial library to mark the 50th an- niversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Beyond focusing on the struggle for racial equal- ity, the Civil Rights Summit fea- tured panels on immigration, gay rights, social justice, and femi- nism. On all of these issues, Re- publicans find themselves cast as the bad guys in the ongo- ing American struggle to form a more perfect union. "How could they not?," asked former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who spoke in favor of immigration reform at the Civil Rights Summit. "The media's al - ready said, decided and said, if this [immigration reform] doesn't pass it'll be the Republicans' fault. Most Republicans would not take that point of view, but they think, well, the media wants to blame it on us. What's new?" Being on the wrong side of his - tory has created a strange sense of aggrieved victimhood among Republican candidates and rank- and-file voters. The Republican platform has become a symphony of dog whistles, but Republicans think the real problem is the an - gry snarling of the attack dogs. In his much-discussed New York Magazine cover story, Jonathan Chait wrote, "This is the only con - text in which they [Republicans] appear able to understand rac- ism." Republicans' vision is so clouded that they can only iden- tify their heroes after they've been martyred. Conservatives didn't make Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson their poster boy un - til A&E suspended his show when he made anti-gay remarks in GQ. Republican politicians didn't bring bags of Chick-fil-A to photo ops until liberals boycotted the restaurant, again over anti-gay remarks. Not long ago, conservatives we re n ot j us t o ffe ns iv e b ut o n the offensive. In 1988, Lee Atwa - ter's Willie Horton's ad was less a dog whistle than an air raid si- ren warning white voters that Mi- chael Dukakis was letting black rapists out of prison. In 2004, 11 states passed constitutional amendments banning gay mar - riage. And as recently as 2011, Al- abama passed the toughest anti- immigration bill in the country, cracking down on unauthorized immigrants in schools, the work - place, and in rental housing. But now conservatives are playing defense. It took years to turn the tide for blacks, women, and Hispanics, but attitudes about gays and lesbians flipped in an instant. In 2010, Congress repealed Don't Ask, Don't Tell. A y ea r a go J un e, t he S up re me Court overturned the Defense of Marriage Act, and now same- sex couples can get married in 17 states. America got religion on gay rights in a hurry, making it unique among the civil rights struggles. "One of the things that is dif - ferent is how fast we have moved and how far we have moved so quickly," said marriage equality attorney David Boies at the Civil Rights Summit, who noted it took a decade after Brown v. Board of Education to pass the Civil Rights Act. At wa te r ap olo gi zed o n hi s deathbed in 1991 for using racial prejudice to inflame voters, but present-day conservatives make a virtue of finding themselves on the wrong side of history. They flaunt their victimhood to rally their troops to yet another lost cause. These conservatives would sooner cast themselves as heroic victims than apologize for resort - ing to bigotry. Republicans believe so deeply in their own victimhood that the world only makes sense in the re - flection of a fun house mirror. When Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed anti-gay legislation, Rush Limbaugh said she was "being bullied by the homosexual lobby in Arizona and elsewhere." When you're afraid of gay bullies, you've already lost. Wh en L BJ s ig ne d t he C iv il Rights Act, he said that the South was lost to Republicans. The Democrats may have lost the South, but by seeing themselves as the victims of every single civil rights battle the country—and not the last defense of discrim - ination—the Republican Party has lost its mind. But even bullies need a hug every now and then. Jason Stanford is a Democratic consultant who writes columns for the Austin American-Statesman and MSNBC. He can be reached at stanford@oppresearch.com and on Twitter @JasStanford. Jason Stanford Why are Republicans playing the victim on civil rights? do you believe a balanced-budget amendment is a required response to the nature of today's politics and governance, now that courts neglect to do their duty in enforcing Congress' adherence to the Constitution's enumeration of its powers? Sounding off A look at what readers are saying in comments on our website and on social media. My daughter likes him. He sang at our church few times Lora Jean Carcione: Comment on local Chad Bushnell performing during Round-Up events Time for a change. i vote larry olsen for da. Dave Baker: Comment on article about Tehama County District Attorney race Red Bluff street repairs Editor: I would like to add the drive- way and parking lot of the Red Bluff Daily News to the list of street repairs needed. I realize that this is private property, but one load of sand and gravel would do wonders. The big pothole, as one drives in, is tough on my little Toyota. Vickie Linnet, Corning Jefferson State vs. SoCal tunnel vision Editor: Yes tunnel vision regard- ing the North State. Obviously, Southern California believes it should have a major say in Te- hama County and that we need a nanny regarding environmental and other North State issues. The environment and natu - ral resources are important of course. But it's the North State that always pays the price of the Sierra Club and crews agendas and causes. They have overpow - ering financial and legal might. The spotted owl issue. How many thousands of jobs did that cost the North State? More re - cently, the elimination of the pal- try 10 weeks of high river wa- ter during summer months. That cost the city of Red Bluff's busi- ness owners a bundle, and in some cases, their businesses. Does anyone believe those lit- igants, sitting in their offices in the bay, care about Tehama County's financial well being and our quality of life? Swine may grow wings one day, but I doubt it. In my opinion, the local sen - ators refuse to act (or even re- spond) on the river issue. This is a controversial issue that they don't really want to become in- volved with because of the heat it would generate from Feinstein and others. I believe the Jeffersonians are on the right track. I wish them luck. Terry Van Dyke, Red Bluff letters George Will From the Goldwater Institute, the fertile frontal lobe of the conservative move- ment's brain, comes an innovative idea that is gaining traction in Alaska, Arizona and Georgia, and its advocates may bring it to at least 35 other states' legislatures. It would use the Constitution's Article V to move the nation back toward the limit- ed government the Constitution's Framers thought their document guaranteed. George Will OPINION » redbluffdailynews.com thursday, april 10, 2014 » MORE AT FaCEbook.CoM/rbdailynEwS AND TwiTTEr.CoM/rEdbluFFnEwS a6