This November, voters will be asked: "Shall there be a Constitutional Convention to amend or revise the Constitution of the state?"
Holding a convention in
Hartford isn’t change, it’s politics as usual. State legislators decide who goes to the convention, not the taxpayers. It will be a convention of lobbyists, politicians and special interests.
The public has no say on what the lobbyists propose to do to the constitution. The political group pushing for the convention will use it to ban marriage for gay people, outlaw abortion and take away people’s rights. Big businesses will use it to give themselves special tax breaks, overturn environmental laws and take away workers’ rights and benefits.
So vote no on the Lobbyist Convention – and vote for leaders who will bring us real change.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal calls convention risky, unneccessary
"Our State Constitution is the bedrock of our civil rights and liberties. The convention proposal is a risky and costly process. The State Constitution is not a document to be rewritten carelessly," State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.
The League of Women Voters of Connecticut agrees with him. Will those special interest groups — pressing voters to approve a constitutional convention — present balanced views of their hot-button issues? Will they tell Connecticut voters what the long-term financial consequences of initiative and referendum could be? We doubt it.
"...Wesley Horton, who specializes in constitutional law and has written a book on Connecticut's constitution, said in a statement Wednesday, 'The purpose of a constitution, as opposed to a body of statutes, is to set forth the general framework and those fundamental principles for how a government should be run.'
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Vote No! on Question 1: TV Spot #2
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Why Voters Shouldn’t Pass Laws
Robert Satter: “Why Voters Shouldn’t Pass Laws. Initiatives Serve Special Interests and Undermine Responsible Governance”, Hartford Courant, Opinion Editorial, June 29, 2008
“And how is the campaign over initiative proposals waged? It is waged by slogans, by bumper stickers, 10-second sound bites and by TV ads as if selling toothpaste. The vote is yes or no, up or down. There is not the careful deliberation and accommodation of the [current] legislative process in which bills are carefully scrutinized by committees of cognizance, subjected to a public hearing, debated in both chambers and ultimately signed by the governor. In that process, all sides of the issue are explored, its relationship to other matters of public policy considered, negotiations between opposing sides conducted, and compromises and changes of wording made.”
John K. Currie: "Tyranny Masked As Populism" Hartford Courant, Letter to the Editor, July 3, 2008
"There is a move afoot in Connecticut to seek a constitutional convention. Your first gut reaction might be to support this move. Considered reflection, however, calls for a no vote in November.
Judge Robert Satter [Commentary, June 29, "Why Voters Shouldn't Pass Laws"] was correct. The ballot initiative process is not a method to empower regular citizens. It is, rather, a system used by the traditionally powerful, the wealthy, to exert their dominance in the guise of a populist device. During the 1998 election cycle there was more than a quarter-billion dollars spent on initiatives and counter initiatives!"
"Our State Constitution is the bedrock of our civil rights and
liberties. The convention proposal is a risky and costly process. The
State Constitution is not a document to be rewritten carelessly."— Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
