Statewide Iowa — A group pushing for a Convention of the States that would propose changes to the U.S. Constitution is urging Iowa lawmakers to act.
Wisconsin’s legislature has just become the 16th state to endorse the movement. During a rally at the Iowa Capitol, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum indicated Nebraska lawmakers will do the same later this week.
A handful of Republican members of the Iowa legislature spoke in favor of the plan that calls for a Convention of the States to consider term limits for congress and other federal officials as well as spending limits on the federal government. Representative Shannon Lundgren of Peosta says it’s time to contain what has become a tyrannical federal government.
John Wills of Spirit Lake, the third-ranking Republican in the Iowa House, says Washington is worse than a swamp.
Another House Republican on the rally stage denounced tyrants with a common, but profane hand gesture that drew loud cheers from the audience. Republican Jesse Green of Boone was the only member of the Iowa Senate to speak. Green criticized fellow Republicans who held power in Washington for four years and kept adding to the federal debt.
Santorum, a featured speaker at the event, hasn’t always supported the Convention of the States, but Santorum told the crowd he’s been convinced it’s a way to end hyper partisanship.
Thirty-four states must pass resolutions calling for a Convention of the States before one would happen. Any amendments proposed to the U.S. Constitution at the gathering would then have to be ratified by 38 states. Santorum says congress has become so dysfunctional in the past decade that presidents both Democrats and Republicans have become like kings.
A small group protesting so-called “ag gag” laws briefly interrupted Santorum’s remarks, but the crowd at the Convention of the States rally chanted “USA” and an anti-President Biden slogan to drown them out.
