Louisiana Senate President sabotages Convention of States resolution

You may have heard the news that we failed to pass in committee on Tuesday. The reason we failed to pass is not because the Louisiana Legislature rejected our resolution. In fact, we were sure that the resolution would pass on the floors of both the House (which we did by a vote of 60-38) and the Senate. What happened to the resolution is much more complicated than that. HCR2 was deliberately sabotaged. Here is the full story:

If you recall in the emails I sent out previously I mentioned that the committees we would be assigned to were the House and Governmental Affairs Committee (in the House) and the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee (in the Senate). And this played out in practice up until we passed the House and made our way to the Senate. We learned that we were assigned to a different committee from what we previously had thought. At first we were confused and thought it could have been a mistake. When we dug deeper and more facts started to come out however, it painted a much different picture. It appears that Senate President John Alario had colluded with Senate Democrats including Senator JP Morrell and Senator Karen Carter Peterson to assign us to the Judiciary B committee, a majority Democrat committee which both Morrell and Peterson sit on, so they could effectively kill HCR2 and prevent it from getting to the floor. Senator Morrell and Peterson along with some of their Democrat colleagues had every intention in killing HCR2 before the hearing even began. This was all done in spite of what the Senate rules say. According to Senate rules, any bills or resolutions dealing with "intergovernmental relations between the state and the United States or other states" must go to Senate and Governmental Affairs. In fact, other Article V applications in the past have always gone to this committee. It appears that Senate President Alario in collusion with Senate Democrats broke Senate rules to kill the Convention of States resolution.

In the midst of all of this, our primary sponsor Representative Ray Garofalo has been a tremendous patriot. He kept his professionalism in committee on Tuesday while Senate Democrats Morrell and Peterson attempted to demean him by calling him a "hostile witness". He has fought courageous battles on the front lines in both the House and the Senate fighting for liberty and the Constitution. Representative Garofalo has upheld his oath to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States while others have neglected that responsibility.

The same cannot be said of Senate President Alario. He says he is a "Republican" on paper, but in practice he is far from it. He is no conservative. He is nothing but a RINO (Republican In Name Only). In fact I don't know if you know this, but Alario was a Democrat just a few years ago until he switched his party affiliation. Despite that, it looks like he still remains loyal to the Progressive cause. And his actions in killing this legislation unequivocally proves that. Senators Morrell and Peterson can be said to be extremely loyal promoters of the Progressive cause as well. Their actions make them equally as culpable as Senator Alario. Senator Peterson, in an Op-Ed in 2013, once referred to "Republicans and their tea party colleagues" as "the disease that ails this nation". She even went as far to say that the medicine our country needs is "a tea party amputation". Senator Peterson also happens to be the Chairperson of the Louisiana Democratic Party. You must ask yourself, how does a Republican Senate President send a resolution like this to a committee that has the Democrat Party leader for the state of Louisiana and permit her to make this decision on behalf of the entire state of Louisiana with 38 other states considering this resolution right now?

That is why WE MUST ACT NOW. We need to CALL AND EMAIL the Republican members of the Senate and URGE THEM TO ACT. Senate President Alario must be held accountable for what he has done. The Senate has procedural maneuvers it can use to still pass the resolution. BUT THEY NEED AN INCENTIVE TO DO IT. And that incentive is We the People. Below is an example of what you can say:

Hi my name is [your name] and I am a resident and voter of Louisiana and a supporter of HCR2, the Convention of States resolution. I firmly believe that a Convention of States is the ONLY way to stop federal overreach and restore our liberty and our U.S. Constitution. This resolution was killed in Judiciary B this week. It appears that Senate President John Alario has colluded with Senate Democrats, including Senators JP Morrell and Karen Carter Peterson, to kill HCR2. You must ask yourself, why would Alario assign this resolution to a committee with the Chairperson of the Louisiana Democrat Party as a sitting member? According to Senate rules, resolutions like HCR2 must be assigned to Senate and Governmental Affairs. Instead, Alario along with his Democrat friends in the Senate assigned the resolution to Judiciary B, where it ultimately met it's fate. I urge you to stand up and do something about this. It is things like this why many feel their elected officials no longer listen to them. You must stand up and do something about this Senator [name]. Thank you for your time.

When you call and send an email to Alario, please use this example:

Senator Alario, I am a resident and voter of the State of Louisiana and a supporter of HCR2, the Convention of States resolution. I believe that a Convention of States is the ONLY way to stopping an overreaching federal government. HCR2 was killed this week in the Senate Judiciary B Committee. This resolution was improperly assigned to this committee by your office. According to the Senate rules, it was supposed to be assigned to Senate and Governmental Affairs. The question must be asked, why would you send a resolution like this to a committee that has among it's members the Chairperson of the Louisiana Democrat Party Senator Peterson? The appearance is that you colluded with Senate Democrats to kill this bill. I urge you to correct this matter immediately and act to save HCR2. You as Senate President have the power to do so.

Note: Please "cc" or "bcc" me in ANY emails you send. Thank you!

Senate Republican Contact Information:

Name	District	Phone Number	Email Address
Robert Adley	36	(318) 965-1755	adleyr@legis.la.gov
John A. Alario, Jr.	8	(504) 340-2221	alarioj@legis.la.gov
R. L. Bret Allain, II	21	(337) 828-9107	allainb@legis.la.gov
Lee "Jody" Amedee	18	(225) 644-1526	amedeej@legis.la.gov
Conrad Appel	9	(504) 838-5550	appelc@legis.la.gov
Sherri Smith Buffington	38	(318) 687-4820	smithbuffington@legis.la.gov
Norbèrt N. "Norby" Chabert	20	(985) 858-2927	chabertn@legis.la.gov
Dan Claitor	16	(225) 342-7602	claitord@legis.la.gov
Patrick Page Cortez	23	(337) 993-7430	cortezp@legis.la.gov
A. G. Crowe	1	(985) 643-3600	crowea@legis.la.gov
Jack Donahue	11	(985) 727-7949	donahuej@legis.la.gov
Dale M. Erdey	13	(225) 686-2881	erdeyd@legis.la.gov
Elbert L. Guillory	24	(337) 943-2457	guillorye@legis.la.gov
Ronnie Johns	27	(337) 491-2016	johnsr@legis.la.gov
Robert W. Kostelka	35	(318) 362-3474	kostelka@legis.la.gov
Gerald Long	31	(318) 628-5799	longg@legis.la.gov
Daniel R. Martiny	10	(504) 834-7676	martinyd@legis.la.gov
Fred H. Mills, Jr.	22	(337) 845-4240	millsf@legis.la.gov
Dan W. "Blade" Morrish	25	(337) 824-3979	morrishd@legis.la.gov
Barrow Peacock	37	(318) 741-7180	peacockb@legis.la.gov
Jonathan W. Perry	26	(337) 643-6425	perryj@legis.la.gov
Neil Riser	32	(318) 649-0977	risern@legis.la.gov
John R. Smith	30	(337) 238-2709	smithj@legis.la.gov
Michael A. Walsworth	33	(318) 340-6453	walsworthm@legis.la.gov
Rick Ward, III	17	(225) 246-8838	wardr@legis.la.gov
Mack A. "Bodi" White, Jr.	6	(225) 272-1324	whitem@legis.la.gov

We must not give up in defending liberty and preserving our Constitution. It takes good people to stay silent for evil to flourish. We must not stay silent. We must not allow evil to flourish. It is our duty before God. Thank you for standing with us. You are a tremendous patriot. God Bless you and our great country!

In Liberty,

Bryce Barras
Louisiana State Director
http://www.conventionofstates.com/