Overview
People are fed up with politics in this country and with good reason. Under our Constitution, we are supposed to be able to throw out elected officials who care more about contributors and lobbyists than the citizens they represent. Yet incumbents are able to raise so much campaign money it is almost impossible to defeat them.The American people appear to have nowhere to turn. The politicians who benefit from the system have the power to change it, but they will not do anything that makes elections more competitive and fair. Not surprisingly, people have become deeply cynical about politics and government. Many can't name their elected officials, don't understand the issues, and don't vote.
But the Constitution provides its own solution. A little-known section -- no more than a few words in Article V -- authorizes the calling of a constitutional convention. Americans must hold such a convention, the first since 1787, to change the Constitution.
In this compelling and thoroughly researched book, Professor Richard Labunski convincingly argues that a second convention is necessary and explains how to use the Internet to organize it.
Never before have so many people been able to communicate with so many others so quickly. By using Web sites, e-mail, chat rooms and newsgroups, citizens will be able to find others around the country who want to participate in this effort.
Among the most controversial sections of the book are the 10 amendments Labunski offers for a convention to consider. His proposals include a campaign finance reform amendment to reduce the influence of money on politics; an amendment to protect the rights of victims of crime; an equal rights amendment; congressional term limits; and direct election of the president. Labunski also explains why a convention should repeal the Second Amendment, which many people believe gives them the constitutional right to own guns.
Some will say the idea of a second convention is naive and dangerous. Even those who support reform may worry about what a convention might do. But Labunski answers those concerns by arguing that the Constitution belongs to the American people, and they are entitled to use the process that the Constitution provides to reclaim their government.
Editorials
Booklist
[Labunski's] call for a constitutional convention is based on current political woes...and on a belief that existing institutions...cannot make the kinds of changes needed to restore American democracy. Even readers turned off by the concept will find useful information in Labunski's defense of his radical proposal. [From Booklist, October 2000]Choice
Labunski, a professor at Kentucky's School of Journalism and Telecommunications, a holder of a JD degree, and the author of two previous books and many law review articles, is eminently qualified to provide this written call for a second constitutional convention. Pointing to the little-known Article V of the US Constitution, the author notes that the American people have the right to call for a new constitutional convention, and he argues compellingly that such a convention is necessary and easy to organize through use of the Internet. Among other things Labunski discusses ten possible constitutional amendments that he thinks the American people should consider, such as a campaign reform amendment intended to reduce the impact of big money on the electoral process and an amendment that would replace the Electoral College with direct election of the president. The book contains some of the same themes as Charles Lewis's The Buying of Congress (1998) and Ralph Nader and Wesley J. Smith's No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of Justice in America (CH, Mar'97). The book is well-written, easy to follow, and contains a useful index. Recommended for general readers and undergraduate students. R. A. Carp; University of Houston. [From Choice, January, 2001]Law and Politics Book Review
The Second Constitutional Convention mixes a quite good historical account of the writing of the U.S. Constitution, particularly Article V, and the role of courts in 'amending' the constitution through the years, with some breathtaking conclusions and extraordinarily idealistic proposals for changeMidwest Book Review
In The Second Constitutional Convention: How The American People Can Take Back Their Government, educator and political observer Richard Labunski shows how United States citizens can utilize a long neglected section of the American Constitution to organize a constitutional convention, the first such since the original 1787 convention in which the Constitution was first framed and presented to then fledgling nation. Labunski also shows why such a present-day convention would be desirable to effectively deal with today's rampant cynicism about politics and government, solve the out-of-control and corruptive campaign finance system, reverse the alarming and increasing voter turn declines, the dangers and potential benefits of the Internet for our democracy, and more. The Second Constitutional Convention is "must" reading for anyone who has ever turned away in disgust with the politics and politicians that dominate and control the American government today.—(October 2000)
William D. Bushnell
There is one thing to be said about government: it drains off a lot of people you wouldn't want to associate with anyway; unfortunately, we elected them. And now Richard Labunski's new non—fiction political treatise attacks the status quo and offers a simple and perfectly legal way for "the American people to take back their government".Labunski is a journalism professor with a PhD and a law degree, an expert on media law, the First Amendment, and constitutional law. He has written two previous books and numerous law review articles, but this book will have its widest appeal for its logic, simplicity, and common sense in an era where Congress is intractable and public distrust and cynicism of politicians is at an all-time high.
This is really a well-presented and thoughtful blueprint for political activism, offering to return the power of government to the people by using a little-known segment of Article V in the U.S. Constitution which allows the people to call for a constitutional convention to discuss, vote, and change existing laws as currently prescribed in our most sacred political document.
He outlines the steps needed to activate such a public-initiated convention (none has been held since the original one in 1787-8), and suggests some proposed amendments which would streamline government and provide greater empowerment to the voter. Tops on the proposed amendment list, and certainly most controversial, are amendments which radically change election campaign finance reform, and eliminate the Electoral College, allowing the President to be elected by direct, popular vote. Labunski also recommends repealing the Second Amendment which will surely raise howls of protest.
Labunski acknowledges his ideas will receive much criticism and vigorous resistance from members of Congress who have no interest in changing anything, especially changes which affect money, and which would make them more accountable to the American people. Still, this is a great civics lesson and provides provocative thought on how we can better govern ourselves.
—Independent Publisher Magazine