Convention of States
Convention of the States (COS) is a variation on the discredited idea of a Con Con, by attempting to change the U.S. Constitution by holding a convention of delegates. The Convention of the States is a gimmick which in the best case is merely a waste of time, but in the worst case could enable liberals to rewrite the Constitution.
On December 8, 2013, perhaps 100 state legislators from more than 30 states secretly met at Mount Vernon in Virginia to hatch their plan for another Con Con. Some of these state legislators have themselves voted to increase taxes, and yet insist that a rewriting of the Constitution is necessary to rein in government spending. If the idea is so great, then why do the legislators keep their identities secret?
The meeting may remind historians of the Hartford Convention, by which Federalist Party members caused the demise of their own political party.
No genuine movement conservatives have supported this dangerous scheme, and many vocally oppose it. Despite massive publicity and a best-selling book that profits from the idea, the supporters include:
- Mark Levin (who profited from a book on the subject)
- David Barton (who declined to run against moderate John Cornyn for U.S. Senate in Texas in 2014
- Michael Farris (who runs a small college in Virginia)
- Glenn Beck (who is reportedly making tens of millions of dollars annually from Blaze television)
- the Goldwater Institute (which raises money off this plan)
"Make history"[1] appears to be the motto, rather than engaging in grassroots conservatism using the timeless Constitution that has worked so well for more than 200 years.
