A nationwide drive by mostly conservative states to throttle President Obama and Washington’s grab for more power and taxes is running into an odd left-right combo of opposition: Liberal financier George Soros and the conservative John Birch Society.
Documents provided to the Washington Examiner show that the Soros-backed Montana Budget and Policy Center recently urged the state’s lawmakers to reject the so-called “convention of states” pushed by advocates such as radio talk show host Mark Levin as a way to pass constitutional amendments limiting the power of the federal government and especially the Supreme Court.
In an email to lawmakers, the liberal group called on supportive Montana lawmakers to “direct your questions” to the John Birch Society, which believes a states convention, provided in Article V of the Constitution, won’t stop Washington from expanding its power and taxing authority. The opposition effort succeeded last month when the Montana House rejected a convention.
Already facing liberals who fear that a convention would trim spending on their causes, the proponent conservative group Convention of States is facing a second front in addressing concerns raised by the John Birch Society, which believes the answer to Washington is cutting spending and the bureaucracy.
“Until the massive bureaucracy that is part of the federal government is curtailed, downsized or eliminated, federal officials will find a way around the Constitution no matter what amendments are ratified,” the group said.
But their opposition is being forcefully rebutted by Michael Farris, director of the Convention of States project for Citizens for Self-Governance. In a 23-page memo, he argued that simply trying to choke Washington’s power by sending more conservatives to Congress won’t work.
“Trying harder with the same old tactics won’t work,” he wrote.
So far, 23 states have endorsed the convention but 38 are needed before one is called.
SUMMER SHUTDOWN FOR CAPITOL ROTUNDA
The Architect of the Capitol has put lawmakers on notice that the main feature of summer tours, the enormous and art-filled Capitol Rotunda, will be closed for about six weeks as the renovation of the dome moves inside.
Stephen T. Ayers said the shutdown will run from July 25 to Sept. 8 as protective floor covering and scaffolding are installed. Once up, lawmakers and tourists will be able to flow through the Rotunda. The “Apotheosis of Washington,” the famous painting on the inside top of the dome, will still be visible, his office told the Examiner.
Ayers said the outside dome rehab is going well but he warned that more money is needed to fix buildings throughout the complex. Besides stones falling off the Capitol and House and Senate offices, he drew attention to an especially dangerous situation in the House Rayburn Office Building garage.
He said that steel rebar holding together cement parking decks is rusting and corroding. Just imagine if one fell down to the next deck, he warned.
“Concrete slab failures create life-safety concerns,” Ayers said.
STUDY OF ARTICLES PROVES PRO-OBAMA BIAS IN 2012 ELECTION
A sweeping study of some 130,213 news articles on the 2012 presidential match between President Obama and Mitt Romney has proven anew that there was a strong pro-Democratic bias in the U.S. and international press.
The study, published in the authoritative journal Big Data & Society, also tested the campaign themes the media focused on and determined that Obama succeeded in stealing the economic issue from Republican Romney.
“The 2012 elections saw an ‘issue trespassing’ strategy with President Obama taking the initiative on the economy,” found the survey of stories produced by 719 U.S. and international outlets.
The survey used a technical language processing analysis to filter all the stories and found that Obama was portrayed as an attack dog and Romney on defense. Key was Obama’s ability to “own” the economic message despite Romney’s repeated assaults and the public’s general view that the GOP handles the economy better.
“Overall, media reporting contained more frequently positive statements about the Democrats than the Republicans. Overall, the Republicans were more frequently the object of negative statements,” wrote the study authors, Their conclusion: “The Republican Party is the most divisive subject in the campaign, and is portrayed in a more negative fashion than the Democrats.”
QUOTE
“Looking back, it would’ve been better for me to use two separate phones and two email accounts. I thought using one device would be simpler, and obviously, it hasn’t worked out that way.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former secretary of state, giving her side on the email scandal swirling around her.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
