February 12, 2026
Protecting Freedom for Future Generations
We are five weeks into the Idaho Legislative session, and some very important issues are moving through the Legislature.
I have closely watched the Convention of States movement. Back in 2018, while serving on the Idaho House of Representatives’ State Affairs Committee, I realized that the Constitution is not broken.
The Problem Isn’t the Constitution—It’s That We’re Not Following It
I’ve spent years in the trenches of the Idaho Legislature and continue the fight to preserve our God-given freedoms, always guided by one simple truth: our Founders gave us a document of genius and restraint. The U.S. Constitution isn’t broken. It’s being deliberately ignored, twisted, and circumvented by those who swore oaths to defend it.
I hear ongoing calls for a “Convention of States” under Article V—pushing for term limits, balanced budgets, or curbs on federal power. The intentions sound noble: rein in Washington, restore balance, protect our liberties. But let me be clear, a convention of states poses a risk far greater to our freedom than any potential reward.
Article V gives no detailed rules—no enforceable limits on scope once delegates assemble, no guaranteed safeguards against runaway proposals. History shows interstate conventions can exceed their mandates (look at the original 1787 convention, called only to amend the Articles of Confederation, which instead scrapped them entirely).
In today’s polarized climate, with deep divisions across the nation, opening that door invites wholesale revision at exactly the wrong moment.
The Constitution we have is not the problem.
The problem is that those in power—elected and unelected—routinely violate it:
- Federal agencies issue rules with the force of law, bypassing Congress and ignoring the separation of powers.
- Spending spirals out of control, saddling our children and grandchildren with debt that mocks any notion of fiscal restraint.
- Rights enumerated and reserved to the people and the states are eroded under stretched interpretations of the Commerce Clause or “general welfare.”
- Executive actions and emergency declarations sideline legislatures and courts alike.
These aren’t failures of the document. They are failures of enforcement, accountability, and fidelity to oaths. If Congress truly wanted to balance the budget, for example, it could do so right now under the existing Constitution—yet it chooses not to. Proponents of a convention offer no real answer for what happens if delegates gather on that very issue.
We don’t need a convention to rewrite the rules—we need courage to enforce the rules already written.
Idahoans know this instinctively. We value our Constitution because it protects individual liberty, state sovereignty, and limited government. We’ve taken oaths to support and defend it—not to gamble on an untested process that could undermine it. I believe the power of the people lies in the power of the vote, not in convening a risky assembly that could hand our enemies (foreign or domestic) an opening to reshape the foundational law of the land.
Instead, let’s recommit to what works:
- Electing representatives who actually read and respect the Constitution.
- Holding federal officials accountable through elections, oversight, and legal challenges.
- Defending our state’s rights and pushing back against overreach, as Idaho has done time and again.
- Teaching the next generation why this document matters and why we must guard it jealously.
The Constitution isn’t perfect in the sense that men are imperfect, but it is the finest framework for self-government ever devised. Let’s not risk shortcuts. Let’s demand enforcement.
This is how we protect freedom for future generations—not by convening, but by conserving what the Founders entrusted to us.
God bless,
Senator Christy Zito
District 8
