Miscellaneous

West Virginia.  Number 27 would be heaven.  We hoped to be in and out of House Judiciary, and on the floor, last night.  Instead we’re in Judiciary at 10:00 a.m.on Saturday, March 14, the last day our bill can be considered.  In committee or on the floor.  This could be the result of the last minute press of business, or stalling by the opposition.  The question now is how much Speaker Armstead wants this bill, how high of a priority is it?  If he runs out of time today he must make choices  — what passes this year, and what must wait until 2016?  How late is he willing to hold the House in session?  Is he willing to “stop the clock” at midnight and continue working into what is, technically, Sunday?

I’m 3,000 miles away, and can’t know any of this.  I feel like I’m in the waiting room at a maternity ward.

I’m always trying to think of one.  You can be creative in politics.  You can also make a fool of yourself.  Figuring out what works, and what doesn’t, is what makes a good politician.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis of Idaho will never be convinced, just as Andy Biggs will never be convinced, that there is not a legal possibility of a runaway.  Once it convenes, the Convention is subject to no external control.  No one has any authority over it, except its own members, the states.  I want to try to convince him that if the Convention were held this year, with the current configuration of political power in this country, a runaway is actually, if not legally, impossible.  I believe the best way to demonstrate this to him is to prepare a pamphlet containing the pictures of each of the legislative leaders in the Republican states, along with a brief political biography, including NRA membership or endorsement, conservative legislative accomplishment etc.  In addition to the Republican states I would include pictures and bios from the seven split states*, which, at the Convention, would likely align with the Republicans.  Altogether it’s 38 states, a 3/4 supermajority.

These are people Davis will identify with.  They’re people who are just as patriotic as he is, and have proven it.  These are the people who will control this convention.  They’re his peers.  They’re just like him, except a bit more cosmopolitan, in some cases.

These people are a threat to the Constitution?  My God, these people are more dedicated to the Constitution than any group in this country.  But he doesn’t know that.  He doesn’t know any thing about these people, just as they don’t know anything about him.

These people need to be introduced to each other.  Thus, the pamphlet.

When I was in college we used to call ideas like this “mind attacks.”  I’ve been having a lot of them lately.

Maine, Minnesota, Iowa, Kentucky, Colorado, Washington and New Mexico.

More good news today, as the Oklahoma Senate passed the Convention of States bill.  Since it is far broader than ours, and raises fears of a runaway that ours does not, any chamber which passes CoS will, logically, pass ours.  We look very good in Oklahoma, which would be a huge win.  My impression, from 1500 miles away, is that Dr. Coburn’s powerful endorsement made the difference.  Thank you, Doctor, and may you win your fight with cancer.  This may be the most significant service you have performed in your political career.

We passed the West Virginia Senate on a voice vote, will be heard in House Committee tomorrow, and on the House floor Saturday, the final day it can be taken up.  This is a little scary, because at this point in a session bills can die for a lot of reasons other than lack of majority support.  Republicans haven’t controlled the West Virginia Legislature in about 85 years, and they’ve got a lot on their agenda.  We will be competing, in a sense, with a lot of other legislation that they may have prioritized.  We may just run out of time.  It may depend on where we appear on Saturday’s House Calendar.  At the top, good.  At the bottom, bad.  The Speaker makes the call.

Organizing the Amendment Convention will be a challenge.  In organizing a state legislative majority, most of the members know each other.  Even freshmen know veterans by reputation.  You know who you can trust, and who you can’t.  You know who would be competent in leadership, and who would not.  99% of the time it is a partisan organization, and all the members of the majority want their party to look good and retain control of the chamber after the next election.

The Convention is a different animal.  I had a good meeting with Alaska Senate President Kevin Meyer in Juneau, and got a positive reaction to the proposal I will be promoting to assist in organizing the Convention.  If he was acquainted with legislative leadership in any other state it would be Washington, with all its ties to Alaska.  Kevin does not know, or even know of, Washington Senate President Pam Roach.  None of these people know each other.  Who can they trust?

I believe they should organize around a set of principles, which I intend to assist as a sort of go between.  I don’t think organizing around who will be the Chairman of the Convention would work.  If a group of 26 states agree to an agenda, they can have a wide open contest for leadership, and may the best person win.  To get to 26 you start with a core group, which I think should be the western states, leading off with those west of the 100th meridian.  You can get   almost half way to 26 with this core.  Add in the eastern west, the five states from North Dakota south to Texas, and you’ve got a majority of a majority, say 16 of 26.  Pick up ten more in the south, or elsewhere, and you’ve organized the Convention.  What you don’t do is have a meeting of the 31 Republican delegations and just see what happens.  All must be decided, and votes counted, in advance.

It was nice to be back in Juneau for a day.  There are three legislators still serving who were my colleagues when I was last there, 25 years ago.  Johnny Ellis, Max Gruenberg, and Lyman Hoffman, an Eskimo from Bethel.  I used to play a lot of cribbage with Lyman in the legislative lounge.  We were evenly matched, and our games were intense.  He was a character.  That’s the best thing I got out of my eight years in Juneau.

I made some friends.

George Mason drafted the precursor of the Bill of Rights in 1776.  He fought to include it in the Constitution, and when he failed he refused to sign it.  His efforts convinced the Federalists to support the Bill of Rights, and led to its adoption.

The Reagan Project announces the first two recipients of the George Mason Award:  Hal Wick of South Dakota and Kraig Powell of Utah.  When sufficient funds have been raised, a suitable plaque will be purchased and presented to them.  Future recipients will likely include Gary Banz of Oklahoma, John Overington of West Virginia, and Chris Kapenga of Wisconsin.

Mason was responsible not only for the Bill of Rights.  He also fought for Article V.  He was one of the wisest of the Founding Fathers.

Let us honor him.

Politically, the big news is the Clinton email brouhaha.  This woman is politically inept.  Her arrogance and money grubbing make her an unattractive figure, and if it were not her status as the Great Female Victim her candidacy would be laughable.  But is she really a victim?  Why did she stand by her man?  Was it not greed and ambition?

The odds against a third Obama term were always long.  With no real viable alternative to Hillary the Democrats are in disarray.  Add an election, on November 8, 2016, of delegates to BBA ratification conventions in all 50 states.  Voters, in that election, will be voting yea or nay on a Balanced Budget Amendment, brought to them courtesy of the efforts of Republicans.

This could be more than a landslide.  It could be a dam break.