Constitutional change is no time for politics

The rallying cry Tuesday at a Capitol auditorium in Austin was for calling the federal government to heel.

Gov. Greg Abbott is leading the call for a convention of states under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to fundamentally change our nation’s founding document.

The Constitution has been changed only 27 times in 229 years, and never like this.

State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, and state Rep. Rick Miller, R-Sugar Land, have filed resolutions that if approved by the Legislature next year would sign Texas up for the convention.

Article V requires 34 states to support a convention; eight have done so. Any proposed constitutional changes would then have to be ratified by the legislatures or separate conventions in 38 states.

The Texas resolutions call for amendments “to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government, and to limit the terms of office of federal officials and members of Congress.”

Nothing in our government is more revered than the Constitution. Presuming the wisdom to change it is staggeringly serious business. Legislators should approach with extreme caution.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Constitutional change is no time for politics."