Promoting Rescission in Alabama
by Wayne Christopher, JBS Member in Alabama
Stopping an Article V constitutional convention has become a perennial issue for the JBS. Here in Alabama, there are live applications for a convention, including one following the wording of Convention of States’ (COS) model resolution. Since 2018, Jim Marshall and I, along with others, have been working as a coalition to rescind our state’s applications.
Our targeted action centers around Alabama’s various Republican Party committees. Once we speak to a group, we ask it to pass a resolution calling for rescission. To make the case, we use the JBS model resolution (link: https://gojt.us/jptb) and various tools the JBS home office has created and made available through ShopJBS.org and the “Stop a Con-Con” action-project page at https://gojt.us/3vo4. Their work prevents us from having to reinvent the wheel.
To date, we have been successful in 22 county executive committees, two women’s clubs, and one state-level Republican executive committee.
We have also spoken to new state representatives early in their tenure. Educating them before the opposition can influence them is key, and we tell them the truth. We have also made a conscious effort to avoid recruiting those who will not take the time to learn the issue, its ins and outs, or the other side’s talking points.
Persistence has been the key. This is a long game, and we must accept this in all our efforts. Although the resolutions passed by the various Republican committees do not require action by the Legislature, they do provide for multiple educational opportunities and lay the groundwork for a House or Senate resolution. Sufficient education will inevitably lead to a recission.
There is another benefit: we regularly build our credibility for other efforts that may come along, and we have become a resource on multiple topics. Do not wait. Get moving now. Action is the only thing that will move the ball down the field.