South Carolina rescinds its Con-Con Applications.(Insider Report)(Brief Article)

Effective July 16, South Carolina became the third state this year to erase its applications for a constitutional convention. (See "Virginia Withdraws Con-Con Application" in our April 5 issue and "Georgia Withdraws Con-Con Applications" in our May 3 issue.) A group of John Birch Society members, under the leadership of Dan Richardson, spent several years informing legislators of the dangers of calling a modern-day con-con. This year, the anti-con-con measure, sponsored by Rep. Mike Pitts and Sen. Larry Martin, passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.

The experience exemplifies the phenomenon that success is often built upon prior failures--and that persistence prevails. One of South Carolina's con-con applications was for the stated purpose of drafting a balanced budget amendment for the U.S. Constitution. By 1983, 32 states (of the required 34) had petitioned Congress to call a con-con for this purpose, but, with South Carolina's withdrawal, that number has ...