Mission BBQ
The 10th Anniversary of Florida officially calling for an Article V convention of states was celebrated by COS Florida at the 2024 Rally in Tally. The event began Monday evening at Mission BBQ and featured good food, great conversations and fellowship among American patriots. Speakers included Denah Butts (State Director), Troy Darling (LL District 32) and Mark Meckler (President and Founder of COS Action).
Denah, like any smart executive, paid tribute to her Florida team for their efforts putting the Rally together. Troy spoke about Legislative Liaison’s effort to shift focus to educating prospective Florida convention commissioners with a “Roll-Out Plan”. Mark, of course in his trademark humble manner, expressed how much he enjoyed meeting with the true grassroots of America and the confidence he gains from these encounters.
Capitol Building
Rally day began with a well attended prayer meeting at sunrise on the 22nd floor of the Capitol Building. The prayers offered were notable for their lack of personal requests. Instead The Almighty was asked repeatedly to pardon our nations waywardness and provide us with inspiration and enlightenment that we may unite and heal.
It is arguable that the greatest virtue is humility. No other virtue is possible absent the presence of humility. The prayer gathering showcased the commitment of attendees to placing “God and Country” before themselves.
Meetings with Legislators
After prayer, each attendee collected information packets to deliver in person to their House and Senate representatives. The elevator system proved to be a challenge to navigate but was ultimately conquered due to the efforts of those COS attendees with superior GPS chips in their heads!
Cheerful COS volunteers greeted legislators and their staff many times over, thanking them for their work on Florida’s behalf. These were first time encounters for many attendees while for veteran COS volunteers it was renewing already developed ties. It was fun and educational for all.
Rotunda Table
Volunteers manned the COS table in the Capitol Rotunda throughout the day encouraging passersby to sign the Article V petition and discuss COS’ mission and goals. Feedback from volunteers indicated a steady interest in the Article V approach to federal government reform. One lady stated that she was done “drinking the kool aid,” signed the petition and copied the COS FL web address so she could sign up as a new volunteer!
In a sign that COS is “over the target,” the table also attracted the attention of opponents and naysayers. Notably the John Birch Society (JBS) was protesting at the COS table. After engaging with Mark Meckler and apparently unable to get the better of the discussion, JBS resorted to surreptitiously placing their propaganda sheets on the COS table when volunteers were engaged with visitors. When unable to prevail in open discussion, resorting to subterfuge seems to be their alternative.
Veterans Walk
No rally celebrating the American founding principles would be complete without honoring the men and women who have served, suffered and died in the cause of Liberty. COS held a Veterans Walk to the Vietnam War Memorial. Approximately a dozen attendees not engaged in packet distribution or manning the Rotunda table made the walk from the Capitol building to the memorial to pay respects to our nation’s finest.
Speakers
The COS Rally guest speaker talent was impressive. The points covered were deep and varied. Mark Meckler’s half hour address may be viewed here:
Some (but definitely not all) speaker takeaways were:
Preston Scott (iHeart Radio Talk Show Host) –
Preston has done thousands of talk radio hours but he feels his alignment with Article V is what really drives pushback from establishment and JBS types.
Moms for Liberty (Grassroots Advocacy Group) –
Never mess with mama bears protecting their cubs. An amazing grassroots effort has risen as a result of Covid 19 school shutdowns. Just like COS, Moms for Liberty has become a nationwide movement against government overreach.
Mark Meckler (COS Founder and President) -
Two BIG highlights:
“We each have a decision to make – Do I step into it or step back?”
“We mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor”.
Seamus Bruner (Author and Peter Schweizer Research Aide) –
The end game of the unelected ruling class is accumulation of power to themselves. No single human being can stop this. A Convention of States is our best hope.
BLM and Law Enforcement response
Towards the end of Seamus Bruner’s presentation a group of approximately 30 “Black Lives Matter” protesters gathered in front of the House exit chanting and blocking pedestrians. In less than 5 minutes several black SUVs with lights flashing pulled up and Capitol police swept the protesters away from the exit. In Florida protesting is fine but don’t expect patience when imposing on the public.
Final Thanks
The success of the 2024 Rally in Tally can be shared by all who participated and contributed. But…there are always those who go the extra mile and make the difference between acceptable and outstanding.
This year we should all express special thanks to the following COS family members:
Bill Snyder - for securing our reservations in the rotunda and courtyard.
Joel Thornton - for bringing us great speakers (Preston Scott, Mom’s for Liberty: Priscilla West & Brandi Andrews, and Seamus Bruner)… also for helping to get out many emails to promote and for personally paying for the tents.
Joyce Berry and Jonathan Viaud - for helping to get COS on Mark Meckler’s schedule.
Michelle LaFlamme and Troy Darling - Troy’s wife, and Michelle’s kids helped print out all that went into the packets and put the packets together…. also Michelle called those who said they were going, to confirm who was following through on their commitment to attend.
As Mark Meckler would note: These folks really “stepped into it”!
