From Scrip to Constitutional Rewrite

Twenty years ago, or even fifteen, I wouldn't have entertained the notion of a new constitutional convention for our founding national document. The risks of mischief seemed to far outweigh the benefits. And other paths to reform seemed, if not exactly open, at least available in principle. But it's becoming ever more clear that our national level government cannot control itself, no more than it can accurately reflect the popular will through constructive, progressive policies. Reform at the margins seems, frankly, a hopeless proposition. Reality has boiled the options down for us. Either (a) a strong national leader emerges who's willing to destroy the entrenched interests, or (b) we have some sort of revolution, or (c) things fall apart with sections of the country going their own way after prolonged crisis.

While (a) could happen in the process of the country becoming a dictatorship it's important to note that it could also happen in a benign way if, for example, both parties split in a national election and the progressive wing of the Democratic party won a narrow victory in a four-way race. Something like that happened when Lincoln won the presidency, though hopefully we would avoid having a second civil war. I reckon odds are maybe as good as one in six. (So Palin, in spite of herself, might turn out to be a force for good.) And admittedly (c) is just a vague range of possibilities. It's (b) that's the ringer.

Violent revolution isn't an option. Nor is a non-violent revolution qua revolution for its own sake. But the extant Constitution somewhat seditiously provides a recipe for revolution in Article Five: ..."on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof..."

Nobody really knows how likely a new U.S. constitutional convention might be, because nobody's worked to translate general public dissatisfaction with the fundamental status quo into an organization. Not in any serious way that I'm aware of. But it's a possibility and I think it just could be done.