Title: Winter 2017 Newsletter Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/files/winter-2017-newsletter|winter-2017-newsletter]] Login Required to view? No Attached File: Winter_2017_Donor_Newsletter_Final.pdf Winter 2017 Newslette Created: 2017-08-24 17:09:59 Updated: 2019-11-24 19:00:00 Published: 2017-08-23 17:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T19:25:06.344068581 ---- {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto001.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}}                        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** //”// “ {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto002.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} //**“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.**// //**”**// It’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: {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto003.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} **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. {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto004.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} 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** {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto005.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} **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** {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto006.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} 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** {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto007.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} 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: info@cosaction.com 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** {{:cb_mirror_public:media:files_4484_pdfto008.png?nolink&918x1188 |background image}} **     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.