This is Larry Lessig.
There is a scholar, an activist, a leader a former Labor Secretary,
a citizen and a friend, -- Robert Reich -- who has been trash-talking
the idea of a convention to propose amendments to our Constitution.
That fact really bothers me.
I don't think there is a single thing I've heard Reich say,
or a single sentence of his writing, at least the slice of it that I've read,
that I disagree with.
Indeed, his work is an inspiration, even the controversial work.
And so when I saw a video that he did, attacking the idea of a convention,
it gave me pause.
Maybe he was right?
He's been right for me at least every single time before.
So I decided to try to work out an argument for why I thought
Reich was not right.
Hard as it is for me to utter these words and arguments about
why Reich is wrong,
and that argument that might convince even Robert Reich,
I would start by writing it: if you're hearing these words,
it's because I've convinced myself
that I've got something that is both true and might work.
This isn't an argument that can be captured in a tweet,
or even a video, though this podcast is CC-licensed,
so please feel free to take it and render it however you see fit.
Instead this is an argument for slow democracy,
which means this is an argument for a podcast.
And so over the next five episodes of Season 2 of this podcast, Another Way,
I'm going to lay out the argument for why Reich is wrong
and why a convention of the States is right.
And whether it's enough for Robert Reich I hope it's enough to convince you,
because even if you're not the coolest former Secretary of Labor in America,
in a democracy, your views should count just as much as his.
I'm grateful to The Young Turks for making this podcast possible.
Season 1 of this podcast was sponsored by Equal Citizens,
but as Robert Reich is a board member of Equal Citizens,
I couldn't very well ask them to support this.
So while you can find both seasons available at tyt.com,
you can find only season 1 at equalcitizens.us .
So here goes: to Article 5 and beyond.
(Music)