Miscellaneous

An Article V resolution to repeal Obamacare should be brought to the floor for a vote in every state legislative chamber controlled by Republicans.

1) It dramatically informs the public and the legislators themselves of the extent of the grant power given by Article V to the states.

2) It forces Democratic legislators to make a tough, consequential vote.

3) It gives Republicans a vote which helps in their reelection.

4) It provides an issue for the 2014 election, to wit: should the state legislatures repeal Obamacare?

5) It puts pressure on the Democrats who control one of the two legislative chambers in WA, NH, IA, and KY to bring it to the floor.

6) It ratchets up the political pressure against the law.

And who knows? After the 2014 election, it might even work.

Some have suggested that no fundamental reform could be achieved through Article V because 38 states are needed to ratify an amendment, and there are too many blue states.  What they don’t appreciate is that at the state legislative level, just as in the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans have a huge advantage.

It’s because of “clustering.”  In WA, MN, and ME Republicans won legislative control in the wave election of 2010, and, in my opinion are likely to win them again in 2014.  In Washington, Democrats are clustered in Seattle, in Minnesota in the Twin Cities, in Maine the southern coastal region.  Outside these areas, Republicans are spread out over the whole state, where a majority of the state legislative districts are located.  The same is true in Oregon, with the Democrats in Portland.  Next year we only need to win two state Senate seats there, and five in the House.  Even in deep blue Delaware we only need three Senate, seven House.

So when you’re counting to get to the thirteen needed to block an amendment, what you would ordinarily think of as blue states aren’t really blue in the state legislatures.  And that’s where the ratification vote will take place.

 

Went to ALEC’s annual “Jingle Bell Rock” reception last night.  I’m having a beer, surveying the scene (it brought back a lot of memories), when Lew Uhler and his son Kirk arrive.  Lew spotted me, and we grabbed a table.  Lew got a cocktail and we talked about the progress we were making in “the cause”.  Lew was clearly enjoying himself, and got up a couple times to circulate.  Everybody knows Lew.

Back at the table, my old friend Robin Taylor brought over a couple of attractive women in their 50’s, who more or less accosted us.  The next thing you know they were trying to get us to go to dinner with them.  Kirk Uhler (nothing if not a dutiful son ) intervened, and as the crowd thinned out we all left.

I haven’t had this much fun since the hogs ate my brother.

Spoke with State Rep. Wes Keller (AK) about tapping in to the national homeschooler network and was advised that the person to talk to was, without question, none other than Mike Farris.  It dawned on me (I am actually pretty new to this current project) that Mike has behind him a national army of homeschoolers.  Drawing on this resource to mobilize support behind an Article V effort is, in political terms, brilliant.  These are exactly the sort of people we want.  I have little doubt that Mike has their full support.  He’s been through the wars with them, as their attorney. 

We really have only one disagreement with Mike and Mark Meckler, concerning the scope of the call.  Later I spoke with Dave Biddulph about all this.  None of it was news to him.  We agreed that when the day comes when we can pool our efforts with them, the job will become immeasurably easier.

Yesterday we all met State Senator Al Melvin of Arizona.  He’s an impressive Tea Party candidate for Governor in a crowded Republican primary.  We hooked him up with Typhoon Lou Marin of Iamamerican, and they’ll be working together on putting on a Tea Party event in Phoenix, similar to the recent one in Ohio that was so successful.  Al will be “on the podium” with Lou, and after Lou converts the crowd he will get a chance to make a pitch.  I think Al sees the value of our movement to his candidacy.  It could help propel him to the nomination.  We hope it does, since that would be an actual demonstration of the political potential available to candidates who associate themselves with us.

State Rep. Ken Ivory is our man in Utah, and because of the very strong Birch/Eagle Forum presence there we think sending in the Iamamerican team would be of great help to him.  Ken is totally on board, and is willing to take considerable personal political risk for the cause.  One of his colleagues was taken out for doing so, and our hats are off to Ken for his willingness to take the heat.  In any event, the state of Utah is in his capable hands. \

State Rep. Gary Banz has Oklahoma.  Assemblyman Chris Kapenga has Wisconsin.  Together they are organizing Saturday’s Mt. Vernon Conference.  It’s similar in in some ways to the Virginia/Maryland conference which preceded the Annapolis Convention of 1786.  They will meet with legislators from around 20 other states to identify the procedural issues which a Convention of States would face.  Later, in the spring, the presiding officers of every state legislature will be invited to delegate a member from their body to attend a meeting in Indianapolis  in order to hash out the proposed rules for such a Convention.  A subsequent meeting, about a year from now, would “adopt” them, in the sense of proposing them to such a Convention, if it ever takes place.  This is important work, and they’ve given a great deal of thought to it. 

Gary has invented an Article V board game, (it will sell for $17.87) which he hopes will be available for purchase soon.  I’ll be getting one for my granddaughter.  He promised to get me more info on it, which I will share. Chris is young, and fairly new to politics. He’s very bright, attractive, and soft spoken.  I asked him if this was a “Wisconsin” thing, since Gov. Scott Walker is similarly mild mannered.  He said Walker is working on livening up his delivery.  If he does so successfully, I think he’s the front runner for the 2016 nomination for President.  Anyway, Chris impressed in a Paul Ryan kind of way.  What is it with these guys from Wisconsin?  (BTW, his Congressman is Jim Sensenbrenner, an old friend of mine from the YR’s in college).  We all feel better about Wisconsin with Chris as our sponsoring legislator.

This morning we had a two and a half hour breakfast at the Grand Hyatt coffee shop.  Dave Biddulph, BBA Task Force co-founder, was the organizer.  Scott Rogers (our executive director), D.C. lawyer Michael Stern, and ALEC senior director Michael Bowman were there.  We were joined at various times by Article V Caucus co-chairs Rep. Yvette Herrell (NM) and Sen. Kevin Lundberg (CO).  (Their caucus currently has 82 members from 29 states, and is growing).  Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig dropped by, complaining of pink eye he got from his four year old.

When the discussion turned to Congress, and the role House Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte might play, we joined the table of Mike Farris, head of the Convention of States Project, and a personal friend of Chairman Goodlatte and Mark Meckler, President of Citizens for Self-Governance.  These are the fellows who are pursuing their own separate Article V strategy.  They are both very well informed, and we had a frank and productive discussion on issues which concern us all.

At lunch I sat in the back of the room with Lew Uhler and my old Alaska buddy, retired State Senator Robin Taylor.  Ted Cruz put on an impressive performance, but the highlight for me was when the following speaker, ALEC private sector head Steve Seale, asked Lew to stand up while he gave a glowing account of Lew’s 40 years of contributions to the cause.  Afterward a reporter came up to interview Lew.  Here’s hoping he gets some recognition in the press.