Convention of States grassroots members know the path to calling an Article V convention is an uphill battle.
However, they are not afraid to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work necessary to deliver our message to the silent majority of patriots that want to see our liberty preserved for future generations.
With that in mind, COS Michigan volunteers decided to go into a setting that would on the surface seem to be a friendly environment, but in reality was an unsupportive environment. Last week COS was represented in a vendor exhibit area of the Michigan Conservative Union’s (MCU) spring conference.
Topics at the conference ranged from addressing election integrity with updates on the Antrim County lawsuit, educational curriculum standards, such as resisting efforts to introduce programs like the 1619 Project, as well as many other topics that I am sure most COS grassroots volunteers would align strongly with.
So, what is not to like? Unfortunately, there were a few in the upper administration of the MCU that have a mistaken understanding of COS and have bought into the “runaway convention” fake news. The main MCU organizers felt strongly enough about their opposition to the COS to even denounce it with their misinformation from the podium during one of the sessions.
Undeterred by this lack of public organizational support, three COS grassroots volunteers spent two days representing COS with a positive, confident, and optimistic perspective. There were many visitors to the COS booth, including congressional aides, candidates for the state legislature, and even a candidate for governor.
All showed interest in COS, asked excellent questions, and appeared to have a positive perception of the organization and its goals by the end of the conversations.
Many of the attendees of the conference appeared to not have the same perception of the COS as the MCU organizers and were incredibly open to the COS message. Several petitions were filled out, and one amazing patriot even signed up to be a volunteer.
So even though the quantity of petitions signed was not a good indicator for success, the steadfast conviction of the COS team came through loud and clear and won over more than a few of the conference attendees.
Instead of running the COS out of their convention with our tail between our legs, the attendees observed a resolved, composed, and convicted group of patriots that made them question the basis of their own objections.
Success might be better gauged by the quality of the hearts
and minds converted as well as the lasting impression that COS is committed to serving and saving our beloved country regardless of the discomfort along the way.
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" -James 1:2
Photo: COS volunteer Rob Borer discusses the Article V Convention with Gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley at the 2021 Michigan Conservative Union spring conference.
