There were around 150 conservative activists at Grover Norquist’s weekly get together yesterday. I thought it began at 10:30, so when I arrived we had already made our presentation, which I gather went well. An interesting event, which I have heard about for years, but never attended.
After a luncheon speech by Senator Ron Johnson (WI,) Mike Farris and Mark Meckler (conventionofstates.com) were featured at a well attended ALEC workshop. They, along with Senator Johnson, made remarks, which were well received. They have tapped in to the country’s home schooler network for volunteers, apparently with good success. I later learned that Alaska State Senator Fred Dyson and Rep. Wes Keller, both old friends, have great contacts with these folks, which we will pursue. They could be an extremely valuable resource, almost as significant as the Tea Party.
In his parting statement Senator Johnson admonished us to cooperate with one another, and after the event I introduced myself to Mark Meckler and we exchanged cards. Apparently there’s been a bit of conflict between his organization and ours, which serves no one well. He is acquainted with Lew Uhler, and we agreed to meet at Lew’s Roseville, CA office on Dec. 16 to iron things out (if Lew’s available). Mark believes, based on his extensive experience, that volunteers can be more easily organized if the Convention of States has a broader mandate than just a balanced budget amendment, He also thinks that we will face lengthy court delays before we can convene a Convention of States, because the various state resolutions which we’ve gathered are not identical. We believe, based on the opinion of Professor Rob Natelson (the foremost legal expert on Article V) that these legal concerns are unfounded. We also think that unless the subject matter of the state resolutions is strictly confined to one subject, the fears of a “runaway convention” will prevent success in the state legislatures.
Mark and his group are unconvinced, and want a Convention of States to have the authority to propose a range of amendments designed to rein in the federal government. We agreed to disagree, and that whichever idea proves most successful should be the one to focus on. The fact that we have 18 resolutions in hand, and that his group (which only formed a few months ago) has none, suggests to me that we have the better approach. Time will tell. We, of course, have the advantage of having been specifically endorsed by Ronald Reagan, and can draw on the vast experience and contacts of old Reagan hand Lew Uhler. But we certainly don’t want to burn any bridges with Mark and his group. They have resources which could prove extremely valuable to the cause. As they encounter resistance to their concept in the state legislatures, they will hopefully come around to our way of thinking, and can become part of the Article V coalition.
reaganproject.blog 