We propose that
the States repeal Obamacare by
amending the United States
Constitution using the process described in Article V.Article V empowers the states to propose
and then ratify amendments to the U.S. Constitution without the consent of
the federal government.Since the U.S.
Constitution is the primary source of law in the United States, such an
amendment would unassailably repeal Obamacare.

Thus the States have
the ability to repeal Obamacare by proposing then ratifying Amendment 28 to
the United States Constitution:

Amendment 28 – Repeal of Public Law
No. 111-148.

Public Law No. 111-148, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act, and any amendments thereto, are repealed.

On January 19, 2012,
the Colorado State House of Representatives passed a first-in-the-nation
Resolution applying to Congress under Article V to call a Convention for
proposing Amendments to propose the Obamacare-repealing amendment.See the Resolution here.The Resolution was unanimously supported by
Republicans (the lone Republican No vote was a mistake).Also, one Democrat supported
the Resolution. A video of the amazing
two-hour debate can be seen here (click on
archived video for Jan 19, 2012; the debate starts at about 26 minutes).

We are opening a
new front in the battle to repeal Obamacare.Congress, Obama, and the Supreme Court will be bypassed and Obamacare
will be repealed using the ultimate weapon available to the states: a
state-initiated and ratified amendment to the United States Constitution that
essentially declares, “Obamacare is repealed.”The amendment, as written above, is simple
to understand, effective, and constitutionally bulletproof.With polls consistently showing the
majority of voters want Obamacare repealed, now is the time for Republican
State Legislators across the country to join the effort and support the
direct constitutional repeal of Obamacare.

Read about the
effort to repeal Obamacare through a Constitutional amendment in the Washington Examiner.

The original 13 colonies enacted the basic framework of
today’s federal government through ratification of the U.S.
Constitution.However, recognizing the
potential for a centralized federal government to overreach, Article V of the
U.S. Constitution maintained a process through which the states could amend
the U.S. Constitution without the cooperation of the federal government.Since the U.S. Constitution is the supreme
law of the land, the state-led Article V process is essentially a safety
valve giving the states ultimate control of the entire federal government
including the courts, Congress and the executive branch.The safety valve has never been used,
although on occasion (the balanced budget amendment drive of the 1980’s and the drive to pass the 17th
amendment in the early 1900’s) the mere threat of
using it has spurred the federal government into action.

The passage of Obamacare (The Patient Protection and
Affordable Care Act) is an act by the Federal Government in direct opposition
to the will of the people.Never
before has such a fundamentally nation-changing law been enacted by a single
party (the Democratic party) against the will of the citizenry.This betrayal of trust must be undone.Thus, we are advocating for a State-led
effort to amend the U.S. Constitution to repeal Obamacare.

There has been a steady drumbeat from the right arguing
for the repeal of Obamacare.The
conventional wisdom is that full repeal may take place in January 2017, after
the next election presidential election, if the Republicans can keep
the Senate, keep the House and win the Presidency.Although we support such a course of
action, we also recognize that 2017 is a long way away and any number of
events could derail the effort to repeal Obamacare.And if a Democrat is reelected President,
he or she would most likely veto any repeal bill, and it is unlikely that
Republicans could muster the two-thirds majorities necessary to override such
a veto.Court challenges have utterly
failed, 10th amendment challenges and state law protests may eventually prove
to be somewhat effective, but these may also take years to settle; even then
they will not be in the form of a full repeal – only a patchwork of cancelled
provisions.Although these efforts
deserve our support, much more can be done now to repeal Obamacare.

This is why we should repeal Obamacare through a State-led
effort to amend the U.S. Constitution with the goal of repealing Obamacare by
Spring 2016.

The Amendment
would simply erase Obamacare, just as the 21st Amendment repealed the
prohibition of alcohol.As the supreme
law of the land, a constitutional amendment repealing Obamacare would be
equally unassailable.

Article V states
that upon “Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several
States, [The Congress] SHALL call a Convention for proposing
Amendments.”The use of “shall” means
that Congress has a constitutional duty to call the convention.It does not have the option to say no.

The “Convention
for proposing Amendments” can only propose amendments.Any proposed amendment would have to be
ratified by 38 states to go into effect.So myths and irrational fears of a “runaway convention” are completely
unfounded.The “Runaway
Convention” myth is dispelled
here.The opponents to a “Convention for
proposing Amendments” would have us believe that the Founders brilliantly
crafted the Constitution, and then put in a big red self-destruct button in
the form of Article V; such a position is utterly absurd.

Please join the
fight to repeal Obamacare and work toward introducing a resolution in your
state applying to Congress for a “Convention for proposing Amendments”
to propose an amendment directly repealing Obamacare.

The
Constitutional Basics

1.Article V of the U.S.
Constitution provides for a mechanism whereby the states may amend the U.S.
Constitution without the consent of Congress or the President.

2.The U.S. Constitution, as the supreme
law of the land, supersedes all State and Federal laws and
regulations.

3.Therefore the following amendment to
the U.S. Constitution, enacted by the states, would repeal Obamacare:

Amendment 28 – Repeal of Public Law No. 111-148.

Public
Law No. 111-148, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and any
amendments thereto, are repealed.

Feasibility of the Plan

Currently, 31 states have Republican-controlled
legislatures (if Nebraska’s non-partisan legislature is included).Three more states could join if all
Republicans and only a few Democratic legislators vote for the
resolution:Colorado and Iowa would each
need one Democratic legislator to agree, and New Mexico would only need four
Democratic legislators to switch.That
would meet the 34 state requirement of Article V.Alternatively, Kentucky would only need five
Democratic legislators to switch.

If all of the Republican-controlled states join the
effort, the pressure on the US Congress and on the states named above would
be tremendous.The specter of a
convention for proposing amendments would probably force Congress into action.The pressure on Obama would be
enormous.He would either capitulate
(unlikely) or go down in history as the only President to resist the will of
the people to the extent that a “Convention
for proposing Amendments” was convened by the states.

If Congress and the President do not act, the pressure
would be brought to bear on the four states named above to join the
effort.This could also be an issue in
the next state-level elections, pushing them toward Republican control.

Once the amendment is proposed, each state legislature
would effectively be giving Obamacare an up or down vote.Given Obamacare’s unpopularity, there is a
good chance at least the 38 states needed would vote for repeal by ratifying
the amendment.

Notable features
of The Plan:

Article V states that upon “Application of the
Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, [The Congress] SHALL
call a Convention for proposing Amendments.”The use of “shall” means that Congress
has a constitutional duty to call the convention.It does not have the option to say no.

The Convention to Propose an Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution would be a gathering of delegates determined by the State
Legislatures.The U.S. Congress
would not run or control the Convention to Propose an Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution.

The President is completely uninvolved.There is nothing the Executive branch
can do to stop the process beyond trying to persuade against the
amendment.

The Judiciary is completely uninvolved.Although they may have input in the
process, they have no input into the content of any amendments.In other words, they cannot declare
the Constitution unconstitutional.

A state-initiated constitutional amendment has
never been completed.States have
previously applied to the U.S. Congress for a Convention to propose
Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, but the two-thirds threshold has
never been met.

States are far more responsive to constituents than
the U.S. Congress.

There is nothing the Federal Government could do to
get around the repeal short of re-enacting Obamacare.However, this would be impossible
without a Democratic supermajority in the U.S. House and Senate.

The
21st Amendment, which repealed the 18th Amendment
(prohibiting alcohol), was ratified in only 288 days
after Congress proposed the amendment – and that was through the state
convention process.

Strategy Notes

The
amendment - Keep simple and focused.

Simple
means broad-based support.Any
amendments in an attempt to expand the amendment’s scope may erode
support.

Emphasize
that we are not necessarily against any federal involvement in
healthcare reform, just Obamacare, which does not enjoy popular support
and runs counter to the will of the people.

Any
federal actions should be limited, targeted and measured.

The
states, as incubators of innovation, should be free to control their
own healthcare systems.