Title: COS Volunteer Training Document

Original CoS Document (slug): cos-volunteer-training-document

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Attached File: CoS_Volunteer_Training_Document_3-20-2018.docx

Created: 2018-04-28 20:59:55

Updated: 2019-04-28 23:00:07

Published: 2018-04-28 20:00:00

Converted: 2025-04-14T19:30:47.319220881

Presentation to Convention of States CoS) Project Volunteers (9/18/17)

(CoS Volunteer Training Document 3-20-2018.docx)

The Problem

• Federal Government Overreach
  • Jurisdiction
  • Power
• Lack of Federal Government Fiscal Restraint
  • National Debt: $20 Trillion ($166,000/Taxpayer)
  • Unfunded Liabilities: $107 Trillion, ($900,000/Taxpayer)
• Federal Government Working Outside the Intent of the Constitution (Annotated Constitution)
• Balance of Power Between the Federal Government and the States

The Answer

• Article V
  • Initiated by Congress with Ratification by the States
  • Initiated by the States (Convention of States (CoS)) with Ratification by the States
    • Driven by States/People
    • Federal Government Has No Role
    • 2/3 of States Must Call for Convention of States
    • Convention
      • 1 State, 1 Vote
      • Takes Simple Majority to Propose an Amendment
    • 3/4 of States Must Approve Each Individual Amendment
  • Amendment Process Intentionally Difficult to Ensure Government Stability in Times of Political instability (>11,000 Attempts, 27 Successful According to U.S. Senate Records)
• CoS Project Focus Areas
  • Fiscal Responsibility
    • Spending restraints
    • Balanced Budget
  • Term Limits on Congress and the federal Judiciary and possibly other government officials
  • Federal Government Power and Jurisdiction
  • Proposed Focus Areas are Intentionally Non-Prescriptive (See Mark Levin’s “Liberty Amendments” to See the Types of Amendments that Might be Proposed)

Get It Done

• Efforts Focus on Legislators
• Tools
  • Petitions, E-Mails, Letters, Meetings with Legislators
  • CoS Project Leaders/District Captains
  • Volunteers (Most Potent Resource Available to the CoS Project)
  • Mega-Champions, e.g. Jim DeMint, Tom Coburn, Mark Levin
• Grass Roots Organization
  • State Leaders, District Captains, and Volunteers
    • No Pay
    • No Reimbursement for Expenses
  • Depends on Volunteers’ Willingness to Get Involved
• Status in South Carolina
  • Votes in House and Senate Would Be Close, But Would Probably Win
  • Resolution Tied Up In Judiciary Sub-Committees/Full Committees
    • House
    • Senate (Judiciary Sub-Committee Not Yet Appointed)
  • Need to Apply Significant Legislative Pressure to Advance
    • Focused on Specific Legislators Regarding Committees
    • General Effort Required for Floor Votes
      • House
      • Senate

What Volunteers Need to Know Regarding the CoS Project

• General Comments on the History of Federal Versus State Power (State’s Rights) – Rebalancing of Power Between the Federal Government and the States is not New!
  • Articles of Confederation
    • Prior to the Articles of Confederation There Was No Central Government at All
    • The Federal Government Empowered to Create a Standing Army but Had No Power to Tax to Pay for It
    • Power to Levy and Spend Taxes Were Agreed Upon but Only for a Very Limited Set of Issues (see Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.)
    • States Were at Economic War with One Another
  • This Situation Described Above Led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 Where States Ceded Limited Enumerated Powers to the Central (Federal) Government to Save the Union and Create a Central Referee for Commerce Between the States
    • Original Interpretation of the present Constitution was that the Federal Government Had Authority to
      • Maintain a Standing Army
      • Tax to Support the Standing Army and Other Very Limited Functions (Article I, Sect 8 lists Enumerated Powers to Tax and Spend)
      • Solve Disputes Between the States (Focused on Trade)
    • Executive Orders Were Confined to Only Those Areas Under the Executive authority (See Article II for Powers Enumerated to the Executive Branch). The Problem Today is that Congress Lets the President Issue Orders for Things for Which He Has No Constitutional Power.
  • Reinterpretation of the Constitution (the Annotated Constitution) has Lead Us to Where We Are Today, and the Federal Government is not Willing to Limit Its Own Power – It’s Again Time to Rebalance the Power Between the Federal Government and the States
    • Executive
    • Legislative
    • Judicial
    • Bureaucracy (the “Fourth” Branch of Government)

• Article V – Methods of Amending the Constitution
  • Initiated by Congress with Ratification by the States
  • Initiated by the States (Convention of States (CoS)) with Ratification by the States
• Constitutional Convention (Con Con) Versus Convention of States (CoS)
  • Con Con to Rewrite Constitution
  • CoS to Add Amendments to the Constitution
• Federal Government Claims to Follow the Constitution Because it Follows the Annotated Constitution (~3000 Pages of Judicial Interpretations of the Constitution)
• Three CoS Project Focus Areas (Intentionally Not Prescriptive)
  • Fiscal Responsibility
    • Spending Restraints
    • Balanced Budget
  • Term Limits
  • Power and Jurisdiction of the Federal Government
• There are Other Article V Activities that Focus on Other and/or Individual Initiatives, e.g. Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA), term limits, eliination of the electoral college, etc…
• Runaway Convention Theory – the Negative Argument You Will Face on the Most Frequent Basis
  • Article V (Amendments Only)
  • Convention of States Resolution Identifies Areas to be Addressed
  • States Give Binding Instructions to Delegates (Some Include Criminal Penalties for Deviating from Instructions)
  • Ratification Process
    • U.S. Congress Would Likely Stop Ratification Process if Proposed Amendments Were Outside the Scope of the Convention of States Resolution by Refusing to Identify Ratification Process
      • Approval by State Legislatures
      • Approval by State Conventions (Only Utilized Once)
    • Each Proposed Amendment Individually Ratified
    • Thirty-eight States Must Approve
    • Each State Requires Independent House and Senate Approval
    • House and Senate Approval Typically Requires Four Approval Steps
      • Sub-Committee
      • Committee
      • Two Independent Floor Votes
    • Only Takes Thirteen States to Disapprove – and All They Have to do is Nothing!
    • >11,000 Attempts to Amend the Constitution, 27 Successful

What is the Risk of a Runaway Convention Versus the Existing Status Quo Where the Annotated Constitution Will Continue to Grow and Flourish Further Degrading Citizens’ Constitutional Rights, e.g.?

• Freedom of Speech
• Right to Bear Arms
• Freedom of Religion

• If All of the Above Failed, Amendments Would Be Challenged by Many Groups Including the CoS Project (Federal Courts Would Adjudicate)

• Constitutional Amendments Have Been Obeyed
  • The Annotated Constitution Has Been Used to Shift Power from the States to the Federal Government, e.g. Interpretation of the Commerce and General Welfare clauses of the Constitution. The Abuse of the Commerce Clause has Grossly Altered the Intent of the 10^th Amendment. The Commerce and General Welfare Clauses Are the Two Most Abused Portions of Text by the Federal Courts in that They Have Been Used to Grow the Federal Government Over the Last 100 Years.
• The CoS Project Does Support the Second Amendment
  • Visit the National Site
  • The Former SC CoS State Leader Wrote the Current Concealed Weapons Permit Law
• Nullification (Theory States Can Reject Laws That Are Beyond the Federal Government’s Authority)
  • No Well-Defined Process
  • Attempted Multiple Times
  • Never Successful (Federal Law Overrides State Law)

What Volunteers Need to Know Regarding Legislators to be Successful

• Republican Legislators Are Generally Receptive to
  • Reducing the Power and Jurisdiction of the Federal Government (State’s Rights)
  • Fiscal responsibility
  • Term Limits
• Democratic Legislators Are Generally Receptive to
  • Reducing the Power and Jurisdiction of the Federal Government (state’s rights) – Particularly the Executive Branch

• SC Legislature Culture
  • Policy Important
  • Partisanship Occurs Only on Social Issues
  • Integrity Important (Do What You Say to Maintain Respect/Power)
  • Respect More Important than Seniority in Both the House and Senate
  • Senate more Seniority Oriented than the House
  • Patience and Persistence Are Important When Dealing with Legislators

• The Best Approach is to Have the Constituent Present to the Legislator, and the CoS Representative to Provide Support as Needed (Requires a Willing, Informed Constituent)
  • E-Mail, Personal Mail, and Phone Calls Far Less Effective than Face-to-Face Interactions
• Legislators’ Time is Limited, Discussion Should be Concise and to the Point (Especially True for the Majority Party Which Chairs All Committees)
• Have a Dialogue, Find Common Ground, Develop a Relationship – Request, Don’t Demand!
  • Introduce Yourself
  • State Purpose of Visit
    • Involved Citizen
    • Asking Support for the CoS Project/Resolution
  • Give Overview of CoS Project at Level of Detail Appropriate to Their Current Level of Understanding
  • Solicit Their Support for the CoS Project/Resolution
    • Emphasize Common Ground
    • Provide Support Materials
  • Answer Any Questions They May Have
  • Close
    • Thank Them for Their Time
    • Offer Support for Other Future Initiatives Where There is Common Ground
• Desired CoS Representative Reputation
  • Knowledgeable
  • Polite
  • In Frequent Contact

Some Key References

• Convention of States Project
  • http://www.cosaction.com
  • http://www.cosuniversity.com
• Finding a Bill or Resolution, e.g. H-3233 or S-86
  • https://legiscan.com
• Election Information Including District Demographics and More
  • https://www.ballotpedia.org
• South Carolina Legislature and Legislators
  • http://www.scstatehouse.gov
• Election Funding
  • https://followthemoney.org