In a new book set to hit bookshelves Tuesday, radio talk show host Mark Levin proposes 10 amendments to stymie the growing reach of the federal government.
According to Levin, the Constitution has not proved to be as an effective barrier against the growth of government. His new book, “The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic,” proposes ways to remedy that.
One of Levin’s primary aims with the book is to shift the current balance of power away from Washington, D.C. and back to state government and the individual. In order to achieve that goal, Levin proposes a repeal of Seventeenth Amendment, which would return to state legislators the power to appoint U.S. senators.
“The day after the Seventeenth Amendment became part of the Constitution, the balance of power that had existed between the states and the federal government since the Constitution’s ratification was dealt a critical blow,” Levin writes, in an advance copy of the book provided to The Daily Caller. “The states no longer had a legislative venue, or any venue, to influence directly the course of the federal government. This contributed significantly to the dismantlement of the state’s traditional and exclusive areas of governing responsibility.”
Levin proposes three other measures that would give states more leverage over the federal government. One would empower the states to amend the Constitution if two-thirds of state legislatures agreed. The other two would allow the states to override federal laws and majority opinions of the Supreme Court if the override was supported by three-fifths of state legislatures.
Levin also proposes 12-year term limits for members of Congress and Supreme Court justices, limits on taxing and spending, including making tax day the day before federal elections, limits on the growth of the federal bureaucracy, restrictions on the use of the so-called Commerce Clause and safeguards to restrict the federal government from taking private property.
Levin offers one other amendment that doesn’t fall under guise of reforming the Constitution. The conservative talker would like to see photo identification requirements for participation in federal elections and limits on early voting.
Levin, the former chief of staff for former Attorney General Edwin Meese, does admit implementing these measures won’t be easy. But he says he hopes his suggestions inspire others to come forward with more solutions to achieve the same objectives.
“I recognize the daunting task before us,” Levin writes. “But if there are better alternatives for effectively restoring the American Republic consistent with constitutional republicanism, not abstractions or novelties, they have hitherto not been presented. Perhaps, at a minimum, this project will kindle them. Let us hope so. There is no reason to be passive witness to societal dissolution at the command of governing masterminds in the federal government and their disciples.”
“The Liberty Amendments” is published by Threshold Editions, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Levin’s previous books, “Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America” and “Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto,” were New York Times bestsellers.
