Convention of States host 'Spring Clean the Feds' Rally at Kansas Capitol
Convention of States host 'Spring Clean the Feds' Rally at Kansas Capitol
Article/COS - 6 minute read
After the Kansas House debated the passage of HCR 5008, a bill to apply to Congress for a convention of states for the limited purpose of amending the constitution of the United States to impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, ultimately passing the bill 73-46, a ‘Spring Clean the Feds’ rally was hosted on the south side of the Kansas capitol building.
The rally started with a prayer by Chaplain Dave DePue before Kansas State Director for Convention of States David Copeland said a few words.
“I don’t think we have the right tools with the brooms and the mops to do what needs to be done,” Copeland said. “Fortunately, our founders gave us the right tools. What we just saw in the House was an attempt by that body to rise up and put those tools to work.”
Senate President Ty Masterson (R) spoke next, starting out by thanking the Convention of States activists for their work.
“Don’t condemn those who are fighting against us on the other side because it’s human nature,” Masterson said. “Nobody likes to be restricted. Congress will never restrict itself…. Truth is, if you didn’t limit me, I’d probably drive 130, but those restrictions are necessary. That’s just a simple analogy I give to say that we as humans don’t like that, but they are the ones governing us. [Convention of States] is the only way for the People to rule. That’s why the founders put it there. It’s why we need to keep on fighting.”
U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R) spoke next.
“One of the things I’ve learned going state to state is it’s frustrating because you hear the same old arguments that are just factually not true,” Santorum said. “I understand that it’s frustrating to you because people that are supposed to be knowledgeable about these things, that are supposed to understand the issues they’re voting on, and when you hear them say things that are just easily provably false, and yet, they continue to maintain those positions, it can frustrate you. It can anger you.”
Santorum had the crowd take a deep breath to let their anger and frustration out, explaining how anger is not helpful in persuading people. He told the story of his run for president and the importance of being a “happy warrior” and forming relationships with people to help them change their mind about issues. He further spoke on needing the convention to preserve the country for our children and how what the activists are doing is the most important thing they can be doing in politics.
“We saw a similar Article V resolution a few weeks ago,” Speaker Pro Tem Blake Carpenter (R) said after having advocated for the bill on the House floor. “This one performed better. That’s because of your grassroots support that you folks have shown and given to this issue.”
“Government has a natural desire to grow, and it is up to the citizenry to resist the growth of government in order to protect our liberty,” Carpenter continued, after quoting Madison in Federalist 48. “For the larger our government becomes, the more our rights diminish. If the government fails to act, it is up to the citizens to act on the best interest of our great nation to keep it strong and vibrant. This is why we are gathered here today, because the government has to act. It has failed to respond to the majority of citizens on both sides of the political spectrum on what they want.”
Once Carpenter had spoke, a few Convention of State supporters began dancing around Copeland to the song, ‘Ghost Busters’, yelling with the crowd ‘Swamp Busters’. The dance was followed by a short, humorous sketch.
Representative Michael Murphy (R) said he would echo what Carpenter said earlier, and referenced Federalist 51, talking about angels and government and how if everyone was an angel, government would not be needed.
“We’re in a situation now where we’re being ruled by fear,” Murphy said. “I’m here to tell you, I’m afraid more of what’s going on and where we’re going than I am of what we can do if we pass [a convention of states].”
President and co-founder of Convention of States Action Mark Meckler re-echoed the sentiment that Santorum spoke on when it comes to being a “happy warrior” before telling the story of former U.S. president John Quincy Adams, who served in congress after his presidency, due to his strong belief in abolition during a time when almost no one did.
“He was approached by a journalist who asked him, ‘why does he keep talking about abolition,’” Meckler said. “He was really uninterested in anything else…. All his colleagues disliked him. The press really disliked him. But when he was asked why he kept talking about abolition even though it was not going to happen, he said, very simply and curtly to the reporter, ‘Duty is ours, results belong to God.’”
Meckler explained that, though Adams didn’t live long enough to see slavery officially abolished in the U.S., his work and his teachings inspired a young Abraham Lincoln who had worked closely with him.
“We never know the impact that we’re having,” Meckler said. “We don’t know what that one person we talk to is going to do. We don’t know that that one person who maybe comes in as a district captain might end up in the legislature, and might do something great in the legislature, and might inspire others. That’s what John Quincy Adams did because he understood the concept of ‘duty’—the idea that ‘duty’ are the things that we do when nobody is looking because they’re the right thing to do. They’re the things that we do that don’t necessarily benefit us individually. They may have no chance of benefitting us. They may not even benefit anyone we may ever know, but we do them because they are right.”
The last speaker at the rally was Regional Director for Convention of States David Schneider who spoke on how, when he started his activism ten years ago, no one had heard about the Convention of States, and yet it was getting heard in both the Senate in the House in one day now.
“73 votes in favor today from the House so we’re moving on to tomorrow,” Schneider said. “What happens now is we need 11 more votes in the House. 11 more to get to the two-thirds…. They have another vote that’s going to happen tomorrow in the House. That’s final actions tomorrow.”
He encouraged people to talk to as many House members as possible as well as Senators as they were having a vote on passing an application for Convention of States at 2:30 p.m. that same day.
The Senate did pass the application and final actions will be taken later today.
Thanks for reading. Be sure to like, share, and subscribe. You can also help support independent journalism in Kansas by buying me a coffee at buymeacoffee.com/kscon.