Spring 2017 Newsletter

Attachment: 156/Spring_2017_Donor_Newsletter_3.0_A.pdf

A quarterly newsletter from

www.cosaction.com Issue #4 Spring 2017

WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN.

O

ur volunteer army realized

amazing successes this year, es-
pecially in Arizona, Texas, North
Dakota, and Missouri, where the
state legislatures officially passed
the Convention of States resolu-
tion. To help tell the story from
each state, we asked members of
each state team to recount from
their perspective how the battle
was won.

Texas

By Tamara Colbert, Texas Co-
State Director

In a massive show of force against
the growing federal administra-
tive state, the Texas legislature and
the COS Texas grassroots demon-
strated the power of the possible
when citizens and legislators work
together.

The passing of the Convention of
States resolution (SJR 2) was not a
slam-dunk. The 125,000 COS Texas
activists worked for more than three
years to conduct over 400 meetings
around the state in an effort to edu-
cate citizens and legislators about
the Article V process. Their goal
was to communicate the awesome
power Article V gives to the “united
states” to stand up to an overreach-
ing federal government.

After a “contingency” clause, re-
ferred to as a “poison pill,” was
added by the House Committee
in April, grassroots activists kept
up the pressure on legislators to
“#AMEND&RESTORE” SJR2 to the
original version passed by the Sen-
ate on February 28th.

House sponsor, Rep. Miller, along
with over 80 co-authors, orches-
trated an amendment to restore the
resolution, which was passed by a 2
to 1 margin, enabling the final floor
vote on the clean version of the res-
olution. Hundreds of COS activists,
representing 81 Texas House Dis-
tricts, watched from the gallery dur-
ing the final vote.

2 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 3

the states. It is with these acts that
we secure one of our most sacred
rights - individual liberty for all.

MISSOURI

By Keith Carmichael,
Missouri State Director

For the last three years, grassroots
volunteers in The Show-Me State
have worked with legislators in
both the Missouri House and Sen-
ate to pass Missouri’s Convention of
States resolution.

The resolution passed in both cham-
bers but never in the same year—
until now.

This year, Missouri passed the COS
resolution in both chambers dur-
ing the same session, becoming
the 12th state to call for an Article V
convention with an application that
is in full agreement with the previ-
ous eleven states.

Missouri volunteers came to their
state capitol over and over to devel-
op relationships with and to educate
their legislators. They kept up the
pressure and the House leadership
remained true to their word – even
though they waited until the last
hour of the last day of the session.

The grassroots volunteers from ev-
ery corner of the state made all the
difference. Their hard work will help
ensure a bright future for genera-
tions to come and allow the states
to fulfill their obligation to ‘oversee’
the federal government using the
Founders’ tool to preserve liberty in
our great nation.

The grassroots are

alive and well!

Supporters know the federal gov-
ernment will never limit its power—
the lack of will to fully repeal Obam-
acare demonstrates this fact. The
solutions for fixing the nation must
come from the States, not inside the
beltway.

ARIZONA

By Michael J. Alexander,
Arizona State Information
Analyst

The Convention of States resolu-
tion in Arizona flew through its first
House committee and passed the
House floor with a 31-27 vote.

The difficulty began in the Senate,
where our resolution initially failed
13-17. Fortunately, prime sponsor
Kavanagh strategically cast the last
“Nay” vote to allow for a “motion to
reconsider.”

This is when the grassroots kicked
their efforts into high gear. District
Captains from Arizona joined forc-
es with the national Convention of
States legislative strategy team to
target the three hostile GOP sena-
tors with phone calls, emails, and
social media appeals from AZ resi-
dents. The AZ team hoped to flip
at least two of the Senate votes to
reach the necessary 16 to win back
a majority vote.

Coincidentally, the Texas State Sen-
ate was debating their resolution
during this same time frame, and
a number of video clips were pro-
vided to our team, specifically of the
robust and eloquent defense of the
Texas resolution, SJR2, offered by
their Senator Birdwell.

It was felt at the time that if these
clips of the Texas Senate debate
were shared with our own reluctant
Arizona senators and framed as a
message “from one senator to an-

other,” that watching and listening
to a colleague soundly refute the
very arguments that they were rely-
ing upon to justify their resistance
might soften their resolve.

The strategy worked. Three weeks
after the losing vote, the Senate
passed the Convention of States
resolution 16-14, making Arizona
the 9th state to call for an Article V
Convention of States.

NORTH

DAKOTA

By Jeremy Neuharth,
North Dakota State Information
Analyst

North Dakota was all-in from the get
go. Passing the Convention of States
resolution took a great deal of work
from thousands of dedicated vol-
unteers, but we also enjoyed great
support from state senators and
representatives.

We started in the House, where Rep.
Jim Kasper was our primary spon-
sor. We sailed through the Govern-
ment and Veterans Affairs Commit-
tee, and the full House passed the
resolution with an overwhelmingly
positive 69-18 vote.

The Senate was even more excited
about our resolution. We passed our
committee with a unanimous 6-0
vote, and the full Senate didn’t even
bother to tally up the votes – we
passed on a voice vote.

I’m proud to be a North Dakotan,
and I’m proud to stand with so many
amazing volunteers and legislators.
We are part of the solution.

Our legislature took the bold step,
using the tools provided by the
Founders in the Constitution, to re-
store the balance of power back to

2 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 3

by a federal agency. While his col-
leagues in Congress were working to
get reelected, DeMint faithfully fought
to uphold his pledge to defend the
Constitution.

“I’ve spent my career fighting against
the same radical statist coalition that
has aligned itself against the Conven-
tion of States Project,” DeMint said.
“I’m excited to get outside the belt-
way and work with the grassroots to
continue that fight. Through Article V,
the people and the states have more
power than I ever did in D.C. I can’t
wait to come alongside the COS state
teams, offer my support, and watch
what these citizen activists can accom-
plish.”

To those few sincere Americans who
still fear the Article V process, DeMint
had this to say:

“I understand there are those who be-
lieve electing more ‘good’ leaders to
D.C. will solve our nation’s problems.
Take it from me: it won’t. The few who
fight for the people will always be
overwhelmed by the deep state bu-
reaucrats, the statist congressmen,
and the activist judges.”

“Only a Convention of States can truly
limit the power and jurisdiction of the
federal government, and I’m thrilled
to be a small part of this historic move-
ment.”

F

or nearly two decades, Jim DeMint

made a name for himself in Wash-
ington fighting for freedom, limited
government, and fiscal responsibil-
ity. Like former Senator Tom Coburn,
DeMint was known throughout our na-
tion’s capital for his refusal to become
just another Washington insider. He
spoke up for the will of the people and
the good of the nation, no matter how
much opposition he faced from the
statist “elite” who call the shots in D.C.

But DeMint’s extensive experience in
Washington has given him first-hand
knowledge of the near-impossibility
of making any significant changes
from within D.C.:

“I’ve tried to rein in Washington from
inside the Senate. I’ve tried to elect
good conservatives with the Senate
Conservatives Fund. And as the Presi-
dent of the Heritage Foundation, I’ve
worked to create and promote good
conservative policy,” DeMint said.

“While all these things are important,
the nation cannot be saved from with-
in Washington. Only the people in the
states can save the country, through a
Convention of the States that proposes
constitutional amendments to fortify
restrictions on federal power.”

DeMint served in the U.S. House for
South Carolina’s Fourth Congressio-

nal District from 1999-2005. He was
elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004,
and served as one of South Carolina’s
senators until he resigned in 2012 to
become President of the Heritage
Foundation. With eighteen years of
political experience working both in-
side and outside Congress, DeMint of-
fers a wealth of wisdom and insight to
the volunteer grassroots armies who
are reaching every state legislature
in the country with the Convention of
States Project’s message: we CAN take
our power back.

“Once I realized that Washington in-
siders will never truly return decision-
making power to the people and the
states, I began to search for another
way to rein in the federal govern-
ment,” DeMint said. “When I learned
about Article V and the Convention of
States Project, I knew I had to get in-
volved.”

DeMint brings with him more than just
legislative experience: he knows how
to fight through opposition and make
the tough calls for the
benefit of the country.

In 2009, DeMint was one of only two
Senators who voted against Hillary
Clinton’s appointment to Secretary of
State. In 2010, he introduced an Obam-
acare repeal as well as a bill that would
have required congressional approval
of any major regulatory change made

SEN. JIM DEMINT JOINS

CONVENTION OF STATES AS

SENIOR ADVISOR

“Americans are sick and tired of the doubletalk coming out of

Washington. So am I. After serving in the House, the Senate, and

as President of the Heritage Foundation, I’ve finally realized the

most important truth of our time: Washington, D.C., will never fix

itself. Article V is the only solution.”

know the stakes. As much as the
election of Donald Trump grieved
half this nation, the left knows his as-
cension to the Oval Office is tempo-
rary.

There’s nothing he’s doing right
now that can’t be undone in the next
couple of elections. (The only pos-
sible exceptions to that are his Su-
preme Court selections, but even
SCOTUS is mired in the politics that
determine which cases are actually
heard.) The Left is uniting against us
because they know we’re about to
make permanent, structural change.
They find the idea of us fixing the
problems they’ve spent over a hun-
dred years creating as more horrify-
ing than President Trump, more hor-
rifying than an Obamacare repeal,
and more horrifying than a Republi-
can appointed SCOTUS pick.

You can tell by their lies they’re des-
perate. They describe what’s go-
ing on in the most inaccurate, fear-
inducing ways possible in the leftist
media outlets that have been their

pawns and deliv-
ery mechanisms.
Mark Levin, who
popularly intro-
duced the Article
V convention to
the nation in his
book

The Liber-

ty Amendments

,

said, “They are

purposefully lying or they are utter-
ly contemptible or illiterate when it
comes to our Constitutional system.”

“These powerful, heavily funded or-
ganizations have awakened,” Levin
continued.  “We are truly the David
versus their Goliath.” I guess that’s
a pretty accurate analogy. Once the
Convention of States aims the power
of the people at the regulatory state,
it’ll be as permanent a change as
what old Goliath experienced… and
no election in the world will be able
to bring it back from the dead.

As Ronald Reagan once said, “this is a

time for choosing” and THIS is truly
a time for choosing. It is now time
to choose between those who have
declared war on our fellow Ameri-
can citizens pursuing their Consti-
tutional remedies under Article V
(2.2M citizens strong, and growing),
or those radical statists who would
prevent us from reclaiming our heri-
tage and restoring the republic. It is
time to stand with “We the People,”
the Framers and the US Constitution.
It’s time to stand with Convention of
States.

Those 230 organizations have de-
clared war on us (complete list on p.
5).  They will slander us.  They will
utilize their enormous war chest
against us. They will use their left-
ist media outlets to propagate fear
and doubt in those who do not know
about the only constitutional solution
as big as our nation’s problems. We
must stand unified now, and we must
do what it takes to reach every Amer-
ican citizen and inform them that war
has been declared on them and the
foundational principles of liberty on
which our nation was formed.

We must stand above the slander,
lies, and deceit of the leftist agen-
da that these 230 organizations and
their media pawns will continue to
put forth. We must define the real al-
ternatives in today’s battle: will the
American people decide their coun-
try’s future or will the federal gov-
ernment and liberal “elites”? We
must not let Soros and his cronies
instill fear in our fellow Americans
and keep them from standing up for
liberty and self-governance.

230

Reasons to Support
a Convention
of States

By Mark Meckler

Y

ou can tell a lot about a man by his

enemies, and I’d say the same thing is
true about an organization.  Though
the Convention of States Project is
just a grassroots movement, we are
animated by the spirit of our coun-
try’s founders – a patriotism unwill-
ing to let this nation be ruined by a
bunch of incompetent, unelected
bureaucrats.

That’s enough to cause some orga-
nizations to self-identify as our en-
emies. Two hundred and thirty of
them, to be precise, have organized
to oppose a Convention of States in-
cluding:

Common Cause, Center

on Budget and Policy Priorities,

the Daily Kos, Greenpeace USA,

NAACP, National Council of La

Raza Action Fund, Sierra Club,

People For the American Way, De-

mocracy 21,

large national unions

like the

Service Employees Inter-

national Union and the AFL-CIO,

Emily’s List, and Planned Par-

enthood.

The groups are the most

left-wing groups you can find, dedi-
cated to Marxism, fascism, radical
environmentalism, and abortion-on-
demand. It’s actually quite flattering
that we’ve gotten them to do what
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders
couldn’t: unify with one voice. They

“

They are purposefully

lying or they are utterly

contemptible or illiter-

ate when it comes to our

Constitutional system.

”

- Mark Levin

4 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 5

A TIME FOR CHOOSING.

Do you stand with the 2.2 million citizen activists who sup-

port a Convention of States or those who have declared war

on their fellow citizens

?

On Good Friday, April 14, 2017, the George Soros funded left-wing policy group Common Cause declared war
on the Convention of States Project, announcing the formation of the largest radical left alliance in US history.
Almost every radical, liberal, progressive, Marxist group in America signed onto the

230-member

coalition to

oppose the use of Article V and the Convention of States as given to us in our beloved Constitution. The follow-
ing is a list of the most notable groups in that coalition. Read the entire list here:

cosaction.com/opposition

ACLU of Colorado

Alaska AFL-CIO

AFSCME 2960

AFSCME 4041

AFSCME Council 3

AFSCME Council 32

AFSCME Council 67

AFSCME Iowa Council 61

AFSCME Retirees

AFSCME Retirees Chapter 32

AFSCME Retirees Chapter 97

American Federation of Labor

and Congress of Industrial

Organizations (AFL-CIO)

California Common Cause

Center for American Progress

Center for Media and

Democracy

Center for Popular Democracy

Colorado AFL-CIO

Colorado Common Cause

Common Cause

Common Cause Connecticut

Common Cause Delaware

Common Cause Florida

Common Cause Georgia

Common Cause Hawaii

Common Cause Illinois

Common Cause Indiana

Common Cause Kentucky

Common Cause Maryland

Common Cause Michigan

Common Cause Minnesota

Common Cause Nebraska

Common Cause New Mexico

Common Cause New York

Common Cause North Carolina

Common Cause Ohio

Common Cause Oregon

Disability Rights Oregon

Common Cause Pennsylvania

Common Cause Rhode Island

Common Cause Texas

Common Cause Wisconsin

Colorado Sierra Club

Communications Workers of

America

CWA Local 1081

Daily Kos

Democracy 21

Earthjustice

EMILY’s List

Greenpeace USA

Idaho AFL-CIO

Iowa AFL-CIO

Kansas AFL-CIO

Kentucky AFL-CIO

League of Women Voters of

the United States

League of Women Voters of

Colorado

League of Women Voters of

Minnesota

League of Women Voters of

New Mexico

League of Women Voters of

Wisconsin

Maine AFL-CIO

Massachusetts AFL-CIO

Mi Familia Vota

Minnesota AFL-CIO

Mississippi AFL-CIO

Montana AFL-CIO

NAACP

National Association of Social

Workers

National Council of La Raza

Action Fund

National Education Association

National Fair Housing Alliance

New Hampshire AFL-CIO

North Dakota AFL-CIO

Oklahoma AFL-CIO

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice

& Ecology

People for the American Way

Planned Parenthood of

Southern New England

Service Employees

International Union

Sierra Club

South Carolina AFL-CIO

South Dakota AFL-CIO

United Food and Commercial

Workers

Virginia AFL-CIO

Washington AFL-CIO

Wisconsin AFL-CIO

Wyoming AFL-CIO

4 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 5

6 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 7

JOIN US IN MAKING HISTORY

We always knew the statist ruling “elite” would one day attack, but our growing success
has forced them to act faster than we anticipated. To ensure that we respond effectively,
we’re increasing our grassroots army from 2.2 million to

10 million

. You can be a part

of this historic grassroots movement by getting involved in four unique ways.

1

Sign and Send

First, sign the Convention of States Petition at

cosaction.com

or sign the petition below

and mail it to

COSA 1464 Morena Blvd. San Diego, CA 92110.

Then, send the petition to

five

of your friends. Right now we have over 2 million supporters,

but we’re looking to secure 10 million by the year’s end. If every supporter sends the petition to

five of their friends, we’ll hit that goal in no time.

Dear Representative,

Almost everyone knows that our federal government is on a dangerous course. The unsustainable debt com-
bined with crushing regulations on states and business is a recipe for disaster.

What is less known is that the Founders gave state legislatures the power to act as a final check on abuses of
power by Washington, DC. Article V of the US Constitution authorizes the state legislatures to call a convention
for proposing needed amendments to the Constitution.

Citizens for Self-Governance has launched the

Convention of States Project to call an Article V convention to

propose only amendments that would impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit its power

and jurisdiction, and impose term limits on its officials and members of Congress.

I support this approach. I want our state to be one of the necessary 34 states to pass a resolution calling for this
kind of Article V Convention. You can find a copy of the model resolution and the Handbook for Legislators and
Citizens here: http://www.conventionofstates.com/handbook_pdf

I ask that you support the Convention of States Project and consider becoming a co-sponsor of the resolution.
Please respond to my request by informing the national COS team of your position, or sending them any ques-
tions you may have: [email protected] or (540) 441-7227.

Thank you so much for your service to the people of our district.

Sincerely,
___________________________

6 Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter Convention of States Action Quarterly Newsletter 7

2

Volunteer

Volunteering is the easiest way to get involved in the fight in your state. As a volunteer your

primary tasks will be contacting your state legislators and asking that they support the Con-

vention of States resolution, spreading the word about Article V to your friends and family, and

attending legislative meetings at your state capital. You can commit as much or as little time as

your schedule allows – we’re just excited to welcome you aboard!

Volunteer at:

conventionofstates.com/volunteer

If you’d like to become even more involved, we also have several volunteer teams you can join.

The Social Media Warriors spread the word online, the State Followup Team welcomes new

volunteers, the Chat Team works with the online chat tool, and the Quick Response Team con-

tacts volunteers in states around the country and encourages them to call or email their state

legislators.

Learn more at:

conventionofstates.com/volunteer_teams

3

Be a Leader

We have leadership positions to fit any skill set. You can apply to be a…

Learn more and apply at:

conventionofstates.com/be_a_

leader

•  State Director

•  District Captain

•  Veterans Coalitions

Director

•  State Videographer

•  Digital Marketing

Coordinator

•  Legislative Liaison

•  Coalitions Director

•  State Media Liaison

•  State Tech Assistant/

Manager

•  State Grassroots

Coordinator

4

Spread the Word

facebook.com/conventionofstates

instagram.com/conventionofstates

twitter.com/COSProject

540-441-7227

to request a speaker.

B

e a leader in your com-

munity and help spread the
word by being the first to
read Sen. Tom Coburn’s new
book

Smashing the DC Mo-

nopoly: Using Article V to

Restore Freedom and Stop

R u n a w a y

Government.

Get your own
copy today on
Amazon.com
at:

http://a.

co/8Wto4zr.

FILED THE COS

RESOLUTION (48

STATES)

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE,
FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY,
LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MS,
MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM,
NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA,
SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA,
WI, WV, WY

PASSED THE COS

RESOLUTION (12

STATES)

GA, FL, AK, AL, IN, TN, OK, LA,
AZ, ND, TX, MO

HOUSE FLOOR

VOTE WINS (18

STATES)

AL, AK, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IN, IA,
LA, ND, NM, TN, VA, SD, UT,
OK, MO, TX

SENATE FLOOR

VOTE WINS (17

STATES)

AL, AK, AZ, AR, FL, GA, IN, MO,
NH, NC, ND, OK, LA, MO, TN,
TX, WV

COMMITTEE WINS

(27 STATES)

AL, AK, AZ, AR, FL, GA, IL, IN,
IA, KS, LA, MS, MO, NE, NH,
NM, NC, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN,
TX, UT, VA, WV, WY

LEGISLATIVE

VICTORIES

BY THE

NUMBERS

cosaction.com

(540)-441-7227

Facebook.com/COSAction

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