In another woefully under reported story, Florida Governor DeSantis has been quietly and successfully organizing a convention of states to vote on a balanced budget amendment to rein in the federal government. Before you’d even heard about it, he’d already gotten 28 states signed up, with only six more to go. NPR-Boise ran the story, quietly headlined, “Gov. De Santis in Idaho to promote constitutional amendment to balance federal budget.”

CLIP: DeSantis announces Idaho will join the Convention of States to rein in federal government (2:27).

Here’s the most important thing to know: DeSantis didn’t just suddenly get a wild hair this year. He’s been working on this project for a long time. Consider this headline from the Idaho Capital Sun, last March:

In other words: DeSantis isn’t giving up.

In recent remarks, the Sunshine State’s governor made a keen observation. He pointed out that previous conventions of states rarely succeeded— but only because when Congress saw the train headed down the tracks, they got out in front of it by proposing their own amendment for states to ratify. So we won’t need all 38 states to join up. At some point, Congress is likely to act first, to preclude a runaway amendment over which it has no control.

The convention, if called, would propose any final amendment wording. But here’s a sample of what’s been circulating so far:

1. Section 1. Total outlays for any fiscal year shall not exceed total receipts for that fiscal year, unless (three-fifths/two-thirds) of each House of Congress provides by law for a specific excess of outlays over receipts.
2. Section 2. The Congress (and/or the President) may provide by law for specific outlays in excess of receipts in cases of declared war or national emergency.
3. Section 3. Prior to each fiscal year, the President shall transmit to Congress a proposed budget in which total outlays do not exceed total receipts.
4. Section 4. The Congress shall enforce and implement this article by appropriate legislation.

I like it, but given recent events, they might want to define “national emergency” a little more carefully.

🔥 It’s also timely. Last night, Congress approved a budget with almost $500 billion more in spending than President Trump requested. It has plenty of good stuff, but also plenty of more pork for revolting programs. Worst, an amendment failed to pass that would have stopped Biden’s law requiring cars to include remote disabling features— thanks to 57 Republican votes along with all the Democrats.

A balanced-budget amendment would keep them better focused.

The Republican squishes in Congress are infuriating. We should react, and react strongly. But —and I keep saying this— this is still no reason to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Nobody expected, or should have expected, all of our party’s problems to be solved by President Trump in a year.

Democrats will gleefully use these kinds of wedge issues to depress midterm voting by Republicans. They want control of Congress, and if they get it, everything good stops.

These pro-kill switch, pro-pork Republicans might be squishes, but they are our squishes. Let’s keep our disagreements private and out of the hands of our adversaries, who aim to destroy Western Civilization while we argue about kill switches. How about we publicly celebrate all our many other wins and then privately try, try again to defeat the kill switch law, thereby depriving Democrats of their most effective weapon— us?