Editing Common Cause (section)

===Constitutional conventions===
Common Cause opposes and actively lobbies against modern-day efforts to call an [[Article Five of the United States Constitution|Article V]] convention to propose [[amendments to the United States Constitution]] by both [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] and conservative groups, such as that by the progressive [[political action committee]] [[Wolf PAC]] to limit large monetary donations to political candidates parties and groups,<ref name=":1" /> and by the conservative advocacy group [[Citizens for Self-Governance]]'s "Convention of the States" initiative,<ref name="BigMoneyCC">[http://www.commoncause.org/issues/more-democracy-reforms/constitutional-convention/dangerous-path-report.pdf The Dangerous Path: Big Money's Plan to Shred the Constitution], Common Cause (May 2016).</ref> which is backed by some Republican politicians.<ref name="Moritz">John C. Moritz, [https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/texas/state-bureau/2016/12/06/abbott-renews-his-call-convention-states/95032860/ Abbott renews his call for 'convention of the states'], ''USA Today'' Network (December 6, 2016).</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://tpr.org/post/texas-matters-gov-abbott-backs-convention-states-rewrite-us-constitution#stream/0|title=Texas Matters: Gov. Abbott Backs Convention Of States To Rewrite U.S. Constitution|last=Davies|first=David Martin|access-date=2017-02-16}}</ref> 

In a May 2016 report entitled ''The Dangerous Path: Big Money's Plan to Shred the Constitution'', Common Cause wrote that "There is nothing to prevent the convention, once convened, from proposing additional changes that could limit or eliminate fundamental rights or upend our entire system of government."<ref name="Moritz" /><ref name="BigMoneyCC" /><ref>{{Cite press release|url=http://www.commoncause.org/press/press-releases/on-the-brink-of-a-constitutional-crisis.html|title=On the Brink of a Constitutional Crisis|publisher=Common Cause|date=December 2, 2015}}</ref> While a constitutional convention could conceivably overturn the controversial [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] decision in ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]'' and limit the role of money in politics (as advocated by groups such as [[Wolf PAC]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHT4J7b3TCQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/YHT4J7b3TCQ |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=How ''Common Cause'' Turned on Americans Fighting Against Corruption|website=[[YouTube]]|date=6 April 2017 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> Common Cause suggests that the risk of a [[Constituent assembly#Legislative restrictions surpassed|runaway convention]] is too great<ref name=":1">{{cite press release|title=Young Turks Attack on Common Cause Ignores Danger of New Constitutional Convention: Statement by Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn|url=http://www.commoncause.org/press/press-releases/young-turks-attack-on-common.html|access-date=10 April 2017}}</ref> because "state legislatures, the majority of which are controlled by Republicans, would likely control the agenda at a constitutional convention" and as a result it is extremely unlikely "that a convention controlled by those legislatures would really do anything productive on money in politics, on voting rights, on democracy in general".<ref>{{cite news|first=Peter|last=Hirschfeld|title=Vt. Senate Rescinds Effort To Repeal Citizens United Through A Constitutional Convention|url=http://digital.vpr.net/post/vt-senate-rescinds-effort-repeal-citizens-united-through-constitutional-convention#stream/0|publisher=Vermont Public Radio|date=April 4, 2017}}</ref> Any amendments would need to be ratified by three-quarters of the states.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wines|first=Michael|date=2016-08-22|title=Inside the Conservative Push for States to Amend the Constitution|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/23/us/inside-the-conservative-push-for-states-to-amend-the-constitution.html|access-date=2022-01-11|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>