Starting a ConCon dialogue
April 21st, 2008 by David ShapiroA diverse group that includes former U.S. Rep. Ed Case, attorney and radio host Jay Fidell and tech wizards Peter Kay, Burt Lum and Ryan Ozawa have set up a slick new Web site they hope will serve as Con Con Central as Hawai'i debates whether to call its first Constitutional Convention in 30 years.
HawaiiConCon.org has a number of advanced features, including a wiki that allows participants to post factual information and forums where they can discuss the issues either generally or by groups devoted to specific issues such as education, taxes and environment.
There's not much content up yet except for some explanatory information by the always opinionated Kay and a piece about the pros and cons of holding a ConCon by Case, who has been nibbling around the edges of the issue for months, but hasn't yet taken a bite in terms of staking out a position.
The Constitution requires that voters be polled every 10 years on whether to comvene a ConCon and the question will be on the ballot this November.
There's a high bar for calling a ConCon with the Supreme Court's ruling a decade ago that blank ballots count as no votes. Also working against a convention is strong institutional opposition from special-interest organizations that have made the status quo work to their benefit.
It'll take an early start by ConCon supporters to win the votes, and if they succeed, a vigilant effort to make sure the convention isn't set up to be easily controlled by the special interests.
A clearinghouse for information and opinion is sorely needed, but the success of HawaiiConCon.org depends on getting a lot of varied content posted that inspires lively discussion.
Toward that end, I posted in the Forum section my notes for a few ConCon speeches I've been invited to give recently to community groups. Alas, my pet concern about government reform isn't among the issue groups on the Web site.
Tags: ConCon, Constitutional Convention
