We come here today in the midst of two important anniversaries.

231 years ago this week, 56 brave souls gathered in this Commonwealth to pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor in pursuit of self-government. Our state constitution is a direct descendant of the efforts of those freedom fighters.

Although Pennsylvania's original constitution - in comparison to those of other revolutionary era states - was considered to be the epitome of self-government, an assault on those liberties began almost immediately. That assault reached its high water mark, we pray, two years ago this week when lawmakers in this Capitol twisted self-government into an instrument of self-service.

The people - echoing the true spirit of those who signed the Declaration of Independence twelve generations ago - rose up, put their proverbial foot down and said, "No More."

While things may have changed here in Harrisburg - even to the point where some observers consider those changes to be massive, relative to the institutions where they've occurred - from the viewpoint of self-government, the shift has been miniscule and evasive at best.

Even today, we stand witness to elected officials who refuse to adhere to the simplest portion of the ultimate will of the people - the constitutional mandate to adopt a fiscal plan by a fixed date on the calendar. If they cannot abide by this very elementary provision, how on earth can we expect them to uphold some of the more complex mandates of our most fundamental law?

The utter failure of the legislative, executive and judicial branches to carry out the provisions of our Constitution are major reasons why this Commonwealth is in desperate need of a constitutional convention, but they are not the only reasons.

Pennsylvanians are now realizing that a carefully crafted convention could also go far in addressing our broken public education system, eliminating wasteful and overlapping local governmental fiefdoms and repairing our inherently unfair electoral system.

There are currently two bills to initiate a convention - HB649 and SB291 - sitting in committee waiting for action. Both are seriously flawed and in need of major amendment, but they are there nonetheless. Another bill - HB1179 - calls for an appointed commission to study constitutional change. This bill is equally flawed in that it puts elected officials in charge of the process.

The only path back to self-government is to convene a delegation of citizens - without ties to the current establishment - to review and propose changes to our Constitution and submit them to the electorate for ratification. Anything less is simply unacceptable.

For an acceptable starting point, we recommend the "Citizens' Constitutional Convention Act of 2007" [now upated for 2009] as posted at www.pacleansweep.com. Taking this path to change would not only lead us back to self- government, but would also remove the black cloud which has been hanging over state government for the last two years.

At PACleanSweep, we will be attempting to educate elected officials of the dire need for a convention in the coming months. Perhaps they will listen; perhaps they won't. If they don't listen now, maybe the impetus for action will come from their political opponents in 2008. Only time will tell.

Elected officials who refuse to move in the direction of a constitutional convention of the people do so at their own peril. Article I, Section II states in no uncertain terms that the people "have at all times an inalienable and indefeasible right to alter, reform or abolish their government in such manner as they may think proper."

We are not bound to do so with the consent or agreement of any elected official, but we do think it proper to pursue consensus at this time. If we do not achieve consensus between the people and elected officials, the divide between the two will only become greater and the cloud over this building will only grow darker.

The time is proper for a constitutional convention, and a more opportune time may not come again for generations.

If the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence could see what has become of Pennsylvania over the course of 231 years, they would certainly be appalled. We owe it to them to prove that their sacrifices were not in vain - and that we have not lost sight of their gift of self-government - by holding a convention of the people at the earliest possible opportunity.