A White Conservative Female Legislator and a Black Liberal Male Legislator Write an Article Together – And You Need to Read It

A Townhall column was recently co-authored by Democratic Ohio state Rep. Bill Patmon and Republican Rep. Christina Hagan…. and honestly, I wish everyone in the nation would read it.  It begins:

Have you noticed that people just don’t seem to like each other very much these days?

However, we’re two representatives with many significant differences.  One of us is black, the other is white; one is a man, the other is a woman, one is a Democrat, the other is a Republican. In light of all these differences, some might expect us to be political opponents.   But we’ve found a way to work together towards a common end that can unify Americans of every background, race, religion, and political persuasion.

Our secret can be found in the Constitution.

On September 17, America celebrates the anniversary of the day delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document they’d fashioned in 1787. You may not realize it, but within the Constitution is a little gem called Article V, which gives us, as state legislators, the power to call a Convention of States, to propose amendments to restrain the scope, power and jurisdiction of the federal government.  To top it off, we can do that without the permission of Congress or the President.

According to James Madison’s notes, the founders understood that our nation was stitched together of many loose and disparate parts.  They knew there were many different paths toward the “pursuit of happiness,” and people needed to be as free as possible to pursue those paths.  This, of necessity, meant the federal government needed to mostly stay out of the people’s business.  A one-size fits-all, extremely powerful central government would make almost no one happy.  In fact, it would make most very unhappy. Of all our elected officials, those we send to Washington are the most difficult for the average citizens to contact, meet with, or influence, so it makes sense that the founders would have strictly limited the number and type of functions performed by the central government.

Today, we often hear it said that we’re “divided,” but that’s old news. America has always been divided.

She’s right.  From the beginning our very passionate citizens have had deeply held beliefs…  And that’s not even mentioning the Civil War.  Hagan goes on the describe a solution to the incredible divisiveness.  Click over to read their common sense, yet Constitutional, bipartisan approach to fixing this nation here.

Hat Tip: Townhall

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