Miscellaneous

In this holiday hiatus, it’s natural to look beyond the legislative battles that will be fought this winter and spring.  Come summer it will be time to focus on Nov. 4th.  The Reagan Project is predicated on a large Republican wave, so there’s no point in worrying about defending legislative majorities we already have.  Riding a wave means capturing new territory, not defending what you have.

Which means that from June on our energy is concentrated in Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Maine.  For starters we want to send the IAmAmerican road show into each of these states.  Ideally, it would be in conjunction with some local event, like a state fair.  The goal of these appearances is to rally tea party support for state legislative candidates.  We’ll hopefully be working with CoS by then, so Mike Farris will be unleashing the homeschoolers to the cause.  We will get college YR’s and the young libertarians of Young Americans for Liberty on the case.  Independent PACs will be set up in each state as a receptacle of whatever dollars we can raise.  And, beginning now, I will be on local talk radio in each of them as well, propagandizing.

This is all very much local politics, but we will try to nationalize these elections.  We want Article V to be an issue, and that necessarily means federalism and reining in a federal government run amok.  And we are tightly focused not on just electing legislators who support Article V, but on electing those who will organize behind legislative leaders who will bring Article V Resolutions to the floor for a vote.  Which means voting out the current Speakers and Senate Presidents — Democrats all.  I don’t give a rat’s ass about getting Democrat legislative candidates behind Article V.  They may talk a good game, but when it comes time to organize they’ll stick with leadership that will never allow a vote.

This all ties in with the previous post, about public awareness of what we’re doing.  We’ll beat Article V over people’s heads, drive the issue into these elections.  As Obamacare continues to implode, and federal fecklessness is on full display, it’s a natural.  For political animals like me, this is all good fun. 

Secondary targets will be Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and any state where we have been unsuccessful, such as, possibly, Utah.  If we lose in Virginia, we’re SOL, since their legislature won’t be up until 2015. The idea in these states is to grease the wheels for quick and easy passage of the Resolution early in 2015.

I’ve always loved watching election results come in on election night. My first wedding anniversary was Nov. 7, 1972. My new bride was a bit disappointed when we spent it watching the Nixon landslide. I can’t wait to watch the returns come in from state legislative campaigns ten months from now.

Despite some inroads, the Article V movement is off the radar.  Only a tiny number of people understand the significance of what we’re doing, the progress we’ve made, and the path to victory we’re on.  Glen Beck had Mark Meckler on his national show, and has become a big proponent of Article V.  But because Meckler was there to promote CoS, I’m sure no mention was made of  the BBA Task Force and the 20 Resolutions we have in hand.  I’m sure it’s discussed here and there on talk radio, but nobody pays it much mind.

This is understandable.  Whenever I come across an article touting a constitutional amendment as the solution to our problems, I move on.  Passing a constitutional amendment is hard.  Getting 2/3 of the House, and then 2/3 of the Senate, to vote to propose an amendment is tough.  There needs to be a bipartisan consensus on something, and in the polarized world of Washington it’s laughable to see John Boehner and Harry Reed agreeing on anything, much less a constitutional amendment.

In 2014 I think we show up on the radar.  Getting to 21 in January, with Michigan, will be a start, but not enough.  I actually have no idea at what point people start to take this seriously, but if we manage to have a series of victories this spring it seems to me the story will be compelling.  I’m certainly not predicting the sequence, but if 2014 sees South Dakota as 22, Georgia as 23, Idaho as 24, South Carolina as 25, Tennessee as 26, Arizona as 27, Oklahoma as 28, Louisiana as 29, and then, a big one, Wisconsin as 30 – if all that happens over the space of four months or so, this has got to become a story!

On balance, that’s a good thing.  Because the logic of Article V is so airtight, the more people know about it, the easier things should get.  The big question is the response of the left.  If they took us seriously they would be mobilizing against us now, so our low profile has been advantageous.  That’s got to change, it seems to me.  Any intelligent leftist who saw where we’re going with Article V would be outraged.  The left wing interest groups rely on the federal government to advance their causes, and we’re all about taking power away from the feds, and restoring it to the states, and the people.  That’s gotta piss these people off.

Feminists, race hustlers, public broadcasters, trial lawyers, corporate rent seekers, teacher’s unions, Washington lobbyists, environmentalists, public employee unions, the academic community  —  we’re a threat to them all.  Once awakened, they will fight, and they are formidable.  They could very well beat us in Virginia.  But in Utah?  Hell, their opposition there could be a boon.  Likewise in the states that don’t go into session until 2015: Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.  In other words, by the time they wake up it may well be too late.  We’ll be fighting on our ground.  And we have reinforcements coming in Oregon, Washington, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Maine.

My son Darren created this web site, and has set me up with Facebook, Twitter, GoDaddy, and all the rest.  We’re 50/50 on this thing.  He may be going to Europe this fall, and needs someone to take care of his dog.  So my wife and I may be in Bozeman, Montana for the last three weeks or so leading up to November 4.  I may be able to somehow involve myself in the state legislative races not only in Montana, but neighboring North Dakota and Wyoming, as well.  This could give me a leg up when I lobby these legislatures in December and January.  And one of them could be number 34.

It would be very cool if the left tried to stop us in those three states.  It would be their last hope.  I can see these people descending on Helena, Cheyenne, and Bismarck in a panic.

I’ll be waiting for them.

 

 

At the moment, there are two approaches to using Article V.  The one advocated by our “competitors”, the Convention of States (CoS) people (Mark Meckler and Mike Farris) is the shotgun approach.  It calls for a wide open convention, which could properly propose any amendment which reduced the power and scope of the federal government.  This includes all but one of the “Liberty Amendments”.

One of the rationales of the shotgun approach is the theory that constitutional reformers will get only one shot at it.  The forces of the left and the status quo are so powerful that, once awakened, they will prevent a second Convention of States from ever taking place.

We think this is totally wrongheaded, and betrays a paranoid attitude toward politics.  We believe the states, and the people, will get so jacked up once they use Article V that they’ll use it again, and again.  We’ll pass most of the Liberty Amendments, just one at a time.

As a result of their paranoia, the CoS people’s shotgun approach will breed counter paranoia.  The biggest obstacle to using Article V has always been right wing paranoia.  The shotgun approach feeds it, and, we believe, will doom the CoS approach..

Paradoxically, the CoS people think that there is so much enthusiasm for reform that all opposition can be overcome.  Time will tell.  As I’ve mentioned before, the CoS folks bring serious assets to the fight, and will eventually be strong allies.

A byproduct of our tightly focused effort is our interest in expanding the playing field in the 2014 state legislative elections, starting in Oregon. 

I got a return email from the Chairman of the U of O YR’s, Caleb J. N. Huegel. In my humble opinion, all I will need with these college kids is a chance to make the pitch. I can speak their language, having been one of them 50 years ago. Here’s betting that I’ll be able to close the deal with young Mr. Huegel and his whole damn club. I don’t know the extent to which they’ll follow through, in terms of actually pitching in to help these legislative candidates. But I’ll sell them on the idea, anyway.

The upshot is that I may well fly to Portland to appear on the Larson radio show, then drive to Salem to meet people in the legislature, then to Eugene to meet these college kids. I’m excited about it because the whole effort in Oregon could be duplicated in Washington, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Maine.

Come 2015, these states could mean the difference between success, and failure.

In the states where the Reagan Project is in full campaign mode (Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Kentucky and Maine) we’re hunting for Blue Dogs, or conservative Democrats.  These are the D’s who live in the most conservative districts, and who have relatively conservative political views.  They’re often quite sincere in their moderation and mainstream values.  They’re people we can get along with, people who might even support an Article V resolution.

 But they’ve got to go.  Because in the most important vote of all, the vote to organize, they stick with the liberals, and we get Pelosis and Reeds.  Counting Blue Dogs, we can have majority support for an Article V resolution, but the Democratic leadership will never allow a vote.

I want to tie these people to the national Democratic Party, to Obama, Pelosi, and Reed.  To Obamacare, and the national debt.  To the whole “progressive” agenda, with its wealth redistribution, its hostility to family values, the second amendment, and traditional America.

They howl in protest when you do it.  They don’t believe all that crap, and they resent being associated with it.  But they endorse it all when they vote to organize, so they’ve got it coming.

This isn’t hard to do.  It’s not rocket science.  It may be controversial, but it’s entirely legitimate.  You don’t need big bucks to do it.  Often these Blue Dogs are personally very popular; well respected community leaders with a long record of public service.  The Republican candidate, and his campaign, would face a backlash if they did this themselves.  Which is why it must be done by a truly independent PAC, with no ties to the candidate.  Often the candidate will disavow the attacks, even publicly call for them to stop.  Fine.  Whatever.  It’s called free speech.

This will all take time, and a lot of work, in each state.  But it doesn’t take much money.  Handled properly, you can get a lot of earned media when you do it.  You can make it an important issue in the campaign.

Hunting Blue Dogs is exciting, but it can be sad, in a way.  When you’ve successfully hunted a big game animal, you feel a bit of remorse posing with the carcass.  They’re beautiful animals.  But you can’t let that bother you.

It’s just business.

 

 

 

Counting Michigan as our 21st, we need 13. 

Tennessee is going to be a challenge, from what I hear. The IAmAmerican show is set for Feb. 8 & 9.  I’ll talk to our sponsor and event organizer Rep. Dennis Powers about getting on local talk radio to promote it, the BBA, and Article V. 

Louisiana is Rep. Joe Harrison of Gray, LA.  I met him at ALEC and he seems competent and confident.  I asked him about getting on the Moon Griffon show, but he says a guy named Robinette at WWL is the guy.  The road show is set for March 22 & 23, so by then we’ll have a good idea if our confidence is well placed.

In Arizona Rep. Bob Thorpe of Flagstaff appears to have things well in hand, working with Sen. Al Melvin.  The show is in Phoenix Feb. 22 & 23, coinciding with a Western Conservative Congress (a CPAC offshoot) which Lew Uhler told us about.  He’ll be there for that, which will be a big help. I’ll be on the “Joe Show” in Flagstaff with Bob, and also, hopefully, Broomholder in Phoenix.

In Montana I’ve got to see if Dean Folkvold of Wheat Montana actually wants to be involved. I’m not worried about Montana. My sons Darren and Brendan are there, and I will get on talk radio there to promote this as an election issue in November’s election. Same goes for Wyoming and North Dakota. These three have to wait for 2015.

Oklahoma won’t be easy, but Rep. Gary Banz has the show coming on Jan. 25 & 26, and I’ll do talk radio ahead of time. He’s got to talk to the Governor.

I feel real good about Idaho, with Sen. Marv Hagedorn in charge. Again, he needs to see the governor. The IAmAmerican gang will do two events on Jan.11 & 12, one up in the panhandle – Bircher country. Marv will set me up with two shows in Boise.

In Wisconsin we’re counting on Rep. Chris Kapenga, and, hopefully Gov. Walker. After our success in Ohio and Michigan, we feel good here. U. S. Sen. Ron Johnson would help, if called upon.

In Georgia all we need is the House, and its anti-Tea Party Speaker. Sen. Bill Cowsert and his pals in the House should handle this.

We only need the Senate in South Carolina, and I hear conflicting things about the Senate President. There’s some huge Tea Party thing coming up there, which we think will push us over the top.

Rep. Lemunyon has put his bill in in Virginia, and we’ll see. I really don’t know about Virginia. I have strong doubts, but we’ll see.

I have big doubts about our 34th state, Utah, as well. The Tea Party is very strong, but contains a lot of Bircher and Eagle Forum people. Eagle Forum belongs to our nemesis, Phyllis Schlafly. This right wing heroine (she killed the Equal Rights Amendment) is 89, and we hear is terminally ill, and shutting down her operation. If this rumor is true, it will make it easier. U. S. Senator Mike Lee could help, but I guess he’s afraid of these far right guys.

Because Utah, our 34th, is so shaky, the Reagan Project will be spending a lot of time on turning MN, ME, KY, OR, and WA in November’s election. After the state legislative “season” winds down this spring, everyone else will need to get involved as well.

The Reagan Project was born out of a conviction that November 2014 will be an historic wave election, as, or more, significant than 1946. If that prediction proves out, we will flip three, four, or five legislatures, greasing the path to 34, then 38.

It all gets back to the American people. I think they’ve still got enough spine to take their country back. If I’m wrong I will have wasted a lot of time, and missed a lot of football games. But who really gives a shit about football, anyway?

An Article V campaign can be compared to a presidential election, where the magic number is 270. Karl Rove gets a lot of credit for focusing on West Virginia’s five electoral votes in 2000, which put Bush over the 270 mark. The attention the Reagan Project is giving, in order, to Kentucky, Washington (with the help of former Alaska Senate Majority Robin Taylor), Oregon, Minnesota, and Maine just might be the difference in getting to 34, and then 38 for ratification.

That would give me a lot of satisfaction. I feel like everything I’ve done in politics for the last 50 years has prepared me for all this. If my health holds up (I’m 68) I’ll be fine.

And, when you think about it, what was Reagan doing when he was 68?