Do it Yourself!
The Delaware COS team met last week for our bi-weekly meeting. The state director from Massachusetts - another Blue state just like Delaware - shared with us his experiences in bringing his team to the place where a state legislative committee passed the Convention of States Resolution. Our Delaware team was so inspired because sometimes it can feel like we are fighting a losing battle in a state that leans so much to the left.
I want to share some of the inspirational things that Michael Arnold of Massachusetts shared with us. These are ideas that we have decided to implement in Delaware and that could also be useful in other blue states.
First, he said that his team meets weekly. Well, Massachusetts is much larger than Delaware but we are going to see whether meeting weekly helps to give us extra motivation and momentum.
Michael also emphasized the importance of developing relationships with our state legislators. He suggested attending neighborhood and park clean-ups, coffees, and other gatherings. He recommended not talking to representatives about COS for a while until you develop a reputation for being involved and helpful. Then he suggested contacting our legislators once a week in order to have “Top of Mind Awareness.”
Michael also suggested using our Telepatriot feature to call everyone who has signed the COS petition in certain districts in the state. These would be the constituents of the representatives who are on the committee hearing the COS resolution. The team would call these petition signers and ask them to contact their representatives. The constituents would then call and ask their representatives to vote favorably on the bill - giving the name and number of the bill as well as their own name, address, and phone number.
What an encouragement it was to hear from a team from another blue state that has successfully passed the COS resolution. It was a reminder that it is possible in our state too. Lastly he reminded us that COS is not about the agenda of the donkey or the elephant but about the “Agenda of the American Eagle.”
