Winter 2017 Newsletter

Attachment: 157/Winter_2017_Donor_Newsletter_Final.pdf

A quarterly newsletter from

www.cosaction.com Issue #3 Winter 2016/2017

IT’S SWAMP DRAINING

TIME IN DC!

It’s hard, when you’re up to your armpits in alligators, to

remember you came here to drain the swamp.

~ President Ronald Reagan

”

“

“

Like Reagan, we want to ‘drain

the swamp’ of that sort of ego, in-

competence, and corruption… and,

thanks to the Founding Fathers, we

actually have the power to do it.

”

I

t’s easy to idolize people, to put

them up on a pedestal and assume
they’re better than they are.  We see
it with actors who’ve disappointed
us (Bill Cosby), with athletes (Lance
Armstrong) and with politicians (all
of them).

Yes, all of them. Of course, some
make their flaws more obvious than
others. Richard Nixon resigned in
disgrace and Bill Clinton was im-
peached, but most have failed us in
big and small ways.  Take conserva-
tive hero Ronald Reagan – one of our
favorite Presidents here at the CSG

office. As a proponent for limited
government he vowed to do away
with the Department of Education,
yet the federal government grew
under his Administration.  (Yes, his
Department of Education swelled to
an even bigger size.)

After the bitter 2016 Presidential
contest, many are hopeful about
Donald Trump’s term as President.
No matter how many good inten-
tions he has, however, Congress will
resist.  We know this because we’ve
seen them block improvements
over and over. No one has earned
the distrust of American voters like
our current crop of so-called politi-
cal leaders. Ideally, Trump will go
to DC and “drain the swamp” as he
so colorfully put it on the campaign
trail.  We hope he does. But it’s going
to take a lot to remove the sludge of
ego and corruption from Congress.
Adding better leaders and Cabinet
members won’t be enough.

Thankfully, our Founding Fathers
planned ahead. First, they created
three separate branches of gov-
ernment, to help keep them all in
check. That hasn’t worked out too

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

well. Congress doesn’t act as a lim-
iting force in D.C. – this was most
obvious when they almost eliminat-
ed the ethics office. The Supreme
Court has acted well outside its con-
stitutional bounds, deciding contro-
versial cultural issues by fiat. Plus,
President Obama has used more
restrictive executive orders than his
six predecessors.

Fortunately, the Founders also in-
cluded an “emergency cord” in Ar-
ticle V that citizens can pull if the
three branches fail to keep each
other in check. Reforming our gov-

ernment requires more
than a few appoint-
ments; it requires we go
back and really restruc-
ture the way our Found-
ers originally intended.

Thomas Jefferson warned against
having, “confidence in man,” but
that we should “bind him down
from mischief by the chains of the
Constitution.” In other words, our
Founders expected us to behave in
a manner that is consistent with the
Constitution, even though modern
politicians have forgotten they can’t
do whatever they what, whenever
they want.

As Trump and Reagan have both
used the phrase so well, we do want
to “drain the swamp” of that sort
of ego, incompetence, and corrup-
tion… and, thanks to our Founding
Fathers, We the People actually have
the power and the obligation to do
it. Right now, most of America is fed-
up with the federal government and
is ready to put it back in its constitu-
tionally intended box.

We may never live through another
moment more conducive to the con-
vention than right now. It’s time for
“we the people” to show our Pres-
ident-Elect the one and only way to
drain the swamp permanently and
really make America great again:
by calling a Convention of States.

OUR

FUTURE

COULD

LOOK

BLEAK.

Republican control of

state legislatures has hit a

high-water mark with the

just concluded elections.

Reviewing the Presiden-

tial electoral map post-

election was exhilarating.

The map lights up red,

all across the country.

This dramatic shift was an

expression of the Ameri-

can sentiment that We the

People reject the ruling

elite of D.C.  What was

even more exciting was

to see what happened in

the state legislatures, lay-

ing the foundation for a

continuing shift of power
towards the forces of lib-

erty.  Today, 33 states are

red in both chambers, as

can be seen here, in this

state legislative map:

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

This is an unprec-
edented opportunity
to move the Conven-
tion of States Project
forward at a rapid
pace. Time is of the
essence, and our mo-
ment is now. Because
as good as this map
looks in the short
term, the future may
not be as bright.

Looking forward
demographically,

the map changes dramatically. As you can see below, the map changes from red to
blue when it covers only the 18-34-year-old voting demographic from this election
cycle. As older voters are replaced with this younger demographic, the future of
the country looks far less certain:

The demographics
are discouraging but
should prompt us to
immediate action.
While we have this
window of opportuni-
ty to drain the swamp
and put in structural
impediments to its
existence, we must
seize it. We must
change the structure
of government while
the American senti-
ment is in our favor,
and while the make-up of the state legislatures is greatly in our favor. Additionally,
we must take into account that some states have bi-annual sessions, and are not in
session every year. The odd years (i.e. 2017) also offer us the opportunity to have
more citizens engaged in COS, versus an election season year when much attention
is drawn into the election. Additionally, after the 2018 election, we can’t predict the
partisan make-up of the states. Now is the moment when we must act decisively.

Alabama 2/7/2017

Alaska 1/17/2017

Arizona 1/9/2017

Arkansas 1/9/2017

California 12/1/2016

Colorado

1/11/2017

Connecticut 1/4/2017

Delaware 1/10/2017

Florida 3/7/2017

Georgia 1/9/2017

Hawaii 1/18/2017

Idaho

1/8/2017

Illinois 1/11/2017

Indiana 1/3/2017

Iowa

1/9/2017

Kansas 1/9/2017

Kentucky 1/9/2017

Louisiana 4/10/2017

Maine 12/7/2016

Maryland 1/11/2017

Massachusetts 1/4/2017

Michigan 1/11/2017

Minnesota 1/3/2017

Mississippi 1/2/2017

Missouri 1/4/2017

Montana 1/2/2017

Nebraska 1/4/2017

Nevada 2/6/2017

New Hampshire

1/4/2017

New Jersey

1/10/2017

New Mexico

1/17/2017

New York

1/4/2017

North Carolina

1/11/2017

North Dakota

1/3/2017

Ohio 1/2/2017

Oklahoma 2/6/2017

Oregon 2/1/2017

Pennsylvania 1/3/2017

Rhode Island

1/3/2017

South Carolina

1/10/2017

South Dakota

1/10/2017

Tennessee 1/10/2017

Texas 1/10/2017

Utah 1/23/2017

Vermont 1/4/2017

Virginia 1/11/2017

Washington 1/9/2017

West Virginia

1/11/2017

Wisconsin 1/11/2017

Wyoming 1/10/2017

STATE LEGISLATURE START DATES

TIME IS OF THE

ESSENCE.

The media and the ruling statists in D.C. weren’t happy with the outcome on November 8th.

They’ll do everything in their power to resist the coming change and continue their domi-
nance and control over the people.

But the media and statist elites cannot win a two-front war. As they focus their efforts in DC,
We the People will be gaining ground in state capitals across the country. As Washington
elites work to corrupt the newly elected federal officials, We the People will be pulling the
rug from underneath their entire power-hungry system.

The make-up of the state legislatures is in our favor. As 42 state legislative sessions start in
January, the time for this asymmetrical warfare is NOW. As the statists and media fight the
fight in DC, it is much more difficult for them to fight the brushfires in the 30-40 states that
threaten the statists dream of concentrated power.

But some state legislatures are only in session for 60 days. Others only meet every other year,
but in odd years (like 2017!) all states are in session.

That’s why we must strike NOW to secure our liberty for future generations.

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

WHAT

CONVENTION OF STATES

ACTION

DOES…

COS Action was designed to serve citizen activists at the state legislative district level with a constitutional plan

to restore self-governance and empower the sovereign citizen in the states. No other organization does this.

…SEE HOW

COS

IS IN

ACTION

IN

TEXAS.

On December 6, 2016, more than 350 COS Texas citizen activists overflowed the TX Capitol Auditorium in
response to a COS Call to Action to show up in Austin for COS Advocacy Day. State Co-Directors Tamara
Colbert and Paul Hodson led the charge with several weeks of advance work with COS volunteers, con-
tacting legislative offices to announce the event and schedule meetings with key legislative staffers.

The COS Texas Advocacy Day was the first event in the Texas strategy to pre-file the COS resolution
simultaneously in the House and Senate, followed by an event that included remarks from House sponsor
Rep. Rick Miller and Senate sponsor Senator Brian Birdwell, as well as Governor Greg Abbott.

Senate Joint Resolution SJR2 (the low # indicates priority) was pre-filed with 9 total co-sponsors. This is
significant because of the outstanding efforts of the Texas activists for the past 18 months, forging new
relationships and solidifying existing ones with legislators. Activists have been tirelessly working their
legislators in a variety of ways, including attending their town halls, events and district meetings to show
support. TX COS citizen activists laid the groundwork for Governor Abbott’s ringing endorsement in
January 2016 and also Lt. Governor Patrick’s public endorsement this fall.

Convention of States district leaders and grassroots coordinators have conducted more than 300 meet-
ings in 2016 alone around the entire state. In poll after poll the Convention of States Project is at the top of
the 85th Legislative priorities list. This is just the first in a calculated strategic vision laid out by the ex-
ecutive leadership team for Texas. The COS Texas slogan officially changed on December 6 from “Texas
MUST lead” to “Texas WILL lead.”

1 Awareness

Builds awareness

of the constitutional solution

provided us in Article V of the US Constitution
via the website, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, news
articles, and ads.

2 Recruiting

Recruits citizen activists

(now more than 2.1 million

citizen activists) to sign the COS petition and volun-
teer in their state or district.

3 Training

Trains COS volunteers

to serve in a particu-

lar capacity, via webinars, Facebook live events,
training manuals, and actual courses that are
provided by our staff.

4 Mobilizing

Mobilizes citizen activists

via “COS Calls to Action”

into the state legislatures during critical committee
hearings or floor votes in every state. We also track
our legislation in every state – from filing to commit-
tee hearings to floor votes to final passage.

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

GET INVOLVED.

There are many ways patriots can get involved with COS Action.

Convention of States Action is dedicated to training the COS citizen activists in every state legislative district in the
nation. Supporting a citizen activist army requires that we must recruit, educate, and train in a variety of specialty ar-
eas related to effective citizen activism. We know that the grassroots volunteer army is our greatest asset at COS and
we are proud to offer training courses to educate and enhance the skills of the COS volunteers thru COS University.
COS Action’s specialty training teaches citizens how to be highly effective and self-governing, which readies our
citizen activist army to mobilize into the state legislatures when we put out “Calls to Action.” COS Calls to Action via
email, text alerts, telephone trees, Facebook, and Twitter encourage volunteers to put pressure on their legislators
to heed the will of the American people. This dedicated trained citizen activist army is now in excess of 2.1 million
citizens strong and they reside in every state legislative district in the nation. That’s right—we have COS activists in
100% of state legislative districts nationwide! We at COS Action are dedicated to recruiting, educating, training, and
serving these activists as we continue to recruit and grow the grassroots army tenfold, while we restore the balance
of power back to the sovereign citizens of the states, as the Framer’s always envisioned.

COS Action recruits grassroots volunteers and trains citizens in these specialized positions in every state in

the nation (volunteer at: www.COSAction.com/get_involved):

Veterans Coalitions Director

Veterans Coalitions Directors help recruit, welcome, and
educate US Military Veterans in their State and introduce
Veterans groups to COS Action to continue serving their
oath to uphold and defend the US Constitution with COS.

Social Media Warrior

The Social Media Warriors support, promote, and de-
fend the Convention of States mission by leaving relevant
comments on blogs, social media posts, and online pub-
lications. COS Social Media Warriors have access to our
unique online task manager, the COS War Room.

State Followup Team

The State Followup Team works to welcome new volun-
teers to the Convention of States Project in their state.

Chat Team

Members of the Chat Team work on the instant message
system on the Convention of States Project website to an-
swer questions and respond to objections.

Quick Response Team

The Quick Response Team mobilizes volunteers across the
country by calling team members in states that have ur-
gent calls to action.

Digital Marketing Coordinator

Digital Marketing Coordinators create and execute state-
wide digital promotions for local events and Calls to Ac-
tion.

State Grassroots Coordinator

State Grassroots Coordinators train District Captains to re-
cruit, train and activate new volunteers.

District Captain

District Captains help recruit, welcome, and educate other
volunteers in their state house legislative districts and pro-
actively raise grassroots support at the local level. District
Captains drive the district level activism according to the
district & state strategy.

State Director

State Directors work with the COS legislative team to for-
mulate their respective state strategy all the way down to
the district level. State Directors also work closely with the
COS grassroots team to monitor optimal recruitment tech-
niques and training needs within the state.

Legislative Liaison

Legislative Liaisons are the interface between their state’s
legislators and the rest of the Convention of States organi-
zation and State Leadership Team.

Coalitions Director

Coalitions Directors work to build favorable relationships
with statewide and local organizations to gain their sup-
port in the movement.

State Media Liaison

State Media Liaisons focus on communicating Convention
of States Project news to journalists, radio, television, and
online outlets within the state and secure interviews.

State Tech Manager/Information Analyst

State Tech Managers play a critical role in helping their
state teams effectively use our proprietary technology and
our geo-target web tools to recruit volunteers and mes-
sage citizen activists in their respective states.

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

CONVENTION OF STATES PETITION

The following petition requests state legislators to support their state’s Convention of States

movement. All across the country, citizen activists have signed it, representing

100% of state

house legislative districts in the nation.

To add your name to the list, simply visit

www.cosaction.com

, enter your information on the

home screen, and click “Add My Signature.” We’ll send a copy of the petition directly to your

state representatives –

FREE OF CHARGE!

(If you’ve already signed the petition, will you con-

sider sending the link above to ten friends?)

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

FILED THE COS

RESOLUTION (44

STATES)

AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, DE,
FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY,
LA, 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, WV, WY



PASSED THE COS

RESOLUTION (8

STATES)

AK, AL, FL, GA, OK, TN, IN, LA

HOUSE FLOOR

VOTE WINS

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

  SENATE FLOOR

VOTE WINS

AL, AK, FL, GA, IN, WV, NH,
OK, LA, MO, TN

  COMMITTEE WINS

(24 STATES)

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

LEGISLATIVE

VICTORIES

BY THE

NUMBERS

TX State Co-Director, Tamara Colbert, with

COS citizen activists at the TX State Capitol.

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