Lebanon man looks for a shot across the bow of overreaching federal government

Lebanon resident Steven Wanager signals for a salute on a recent Memorial Day. (Lebanon Voice file photo

Editor's note: Below the story is a Convention of States application and an image of the petition asking for Lebanon signatures on Election Day.

LEBANON - If you live in Lebanon you're used to seeing Steven Wanager, often in colonial-era military attire, fire his Civil War cannon during Memorial Day services, but on Election Day he'll be looking to deliver a louder shot heard round the nation, collecting signatures calling for a Convention of States that would seek to rein in a federal government he says has become far more powerful and intrusive than the Founding Fathers ever intended.
"Washington's not about government anymore. It's all about money and lobbyists," Wanager said on Tuesday.
And so Wanager will be at the Lebanon polls all day long on Nov. 8 collecting signatures that will call for such a convention that could have enough teeth to actually effect changes on issues like education, taxation and term limits.
The signed petitions will be sent to state legislators in Maine, New Hampshire and others around the country asking them to take steps to making a Convention of States happen.
Article 5 of the Constituion outlines the procedure to enact changes to our founding document, including by a Convention of States, which can only be called if at least two-thirds of the state legislatures agree.
Once its called, the proposals are debated and voted on, with a minimum of three-fourths of those states participating necessary to make the change stick.
A mock Convention of States was held in Williamsburg, Va., last month and went very smoothly, Wanager said.
Wanager said much of the impetus for the movement is due to the overreach seen by many in the Obama White House, but he says it's really got nothing to do with which political party you identify with.
"It's not about Republicans and Democrats," Wanager said. "It's about the people putting power back to the people and the states."
Wanager said there are people working toward this in every district in Maine and every state in the nation and added that the movement expects to move forward no matter who wins the presidency on Nov. 8.
Wanager, who describes himself as a Constitutionalist, said much of the impetus for a call for a Convention of States stems from the overreach of the Supreme Court, which he says is now basically legislating from the bench and making Congress irrelevant.