The Key to the Cage
The arguments for and against an Article V Convention
In the sweltering heat of the summer of 1787, inside the Pennsylvania Statehouse, George Mason stood before his fellow delegates with a dire warning. If the founders did not provide a way for the states to amend the new Constitution directly, they would be “building a cage without a key.”
Mason’s insistence on a state-led process became the second amendment pathway of Article V. It was designed as a vital safety valve—a check against a federal government that refused to check itself. Yet, in the nearly 250 years of American history since that summer, this mechanism has never been used. In the years beyond America’s semiquincentennial, that might change.
In our second episode of the radio program and podcast America at 250: Due Diligence, my co-host, Bill Bernardoni, and I delve into one of this consequential—and little understood—provision in our founding document and questions our guests about whether it’s time to call America’s first-ever Article V Convention.
Right now, this unused constitutional mechanism is at the center of a political movement. The Convention of States project, which New York magazine contends is funded by millions of dollars of right-wing dark money, says it has already successfully organized 20 states behind a push to convene a convention. Its goal? To bypass Washington and impose fiscal restraints, term limits and jurisdictional boundaries on the federal government.
Supporters argue this is exactly the moment George Mason foresaw. Critics, including some conservatives, warn that an Article V convention is a legal “pig in a poke”—an unpredictable process with no established rules for who attends, what they can change or how it could be stopped once the doors close.
To unpack the history, the strategy and what’s at stake, we have included a trio of distinct, authoritative voices who answer our questions about whether we are looking at a brilliantly designed constitutional safeguard or a loophole so dangerous it has remained untouched for two and a half centuries:
David A. Super, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law and Economics at Georgetown University Law Center, who details the deep legal uncertainties surrounding a convention’s scope and ratification process.
Mark Meckler, co-founder and president of Convention of States Action, who is leading the nationwide, grassroots campaign to trigger the convention.
Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and co-author of The Constitution in Jeopardy, who lays out why he believes this effort poses an unprecedented danger to our fundamental law.
You can listen to “The Key To The Cage: Is It Time For An Article V Convention?“ right now on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRadio, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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As America turns 250, do you think Article V’s convention clause is a safeguard the founders got right, a loophole too dangerous to use or something that needs to be reformed before anyone calls a convention? Join the conversation and send us your thoughts via RadioFreeAmerica.media.
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We’re back next week with Episode 3 of America at 250: Due Diligence, titled “State of Control.”
Good one, Steve.
Very thought provoking. Let’s continue the discussion!