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Rick Santorum calls for convention of states to limit federal power

['Katie Akin', 'More From Author', '- January']

Date: 2022-01-25 00:00:00


Former Sen. Rick Santorum rallied with over 100 Iowans at the State Capitol on Tuesday, calling for a convention of states to limit the power of the federal government.

“Washington is not gonna fix Washington,” Santorum said. “Iowa is gonna fix Washington.”

Santorum said both parties in the U.S. had become too comfortable in power, and he raised concerns with the overuse of executive orders. He criticized federal politicians for trying to make every state “like New York and California.”

“If you know it’s only going to get worse, what’s the risk?,” Santorum asked. “What’s the risk of having people from all 50 states come together and try to find some common ground to take the power away from Washington?”

Convention of States Action organized Tuesday’s event. The group is advocating nationwide to convene a constitutional convention to amend the U.S. Constitution and rein in the federal government. Sixteen states have passed resolutions to convene a convention, including Wisconsin, which passed a resolution on Tuesday. The Constitution requires 34 states to call a constitutional convention.

If enough states pass a resolution, the convention would be asked to consider three priorities: term limits, spending restraints, and limits to the federal government’s power. However, once convened, a constitutional convention potentially could consider other issues.

Santorum was hopeful that Republicans could take control of more state legislatures in 2022, potentially clearing the way for more states to pass a resolution.

“I believe we have an opportunity now,” Santorum said. “Not ten years from now. Now.”

The Iowa House has twice passed a resolution to call a convention of states. Rep. John Wills spoke at the event Tuesday, calling Washington D.C. “worse than a swamp… it’s a cesspool.”

“We have to take back our country… But we need to do that as a whole, as a group, unified together,” Wills, R-Spirit Lake, said.

The Senate has never passed the resolution, but Wills said he believes there is momentum around the proposal this year. Only one senator spoke at the event: Sen. Jesse Green, a Republican from Boone.

“There are people in Washington D.C. … who think that you’re stupid, and you’re simple, and that you can’t be trusted with your own lives,” said Convention of States Action President Mark Meckler.

“They can’t tell you what to do, unless you let them,” Meckler said. “Unless we let them.”

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