Tag: NoConCon

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Medicaid Expansion Key To Dems Winning State Houses

Folks Yours Truly readily admits that this week the Mainstream Media has done very well highlighting two issues that are very important to grassroots democrats across the country–voting machine security and the fight to save Medicare/Medicaid in the states


After bashing the Mainstream Media for weeks on end about their inexplicable silence regarding voting machine security in an election year, it was a pleasant surprise to see a report on Reuters addressing similar concerns. Hopefully MSM will continue reporting on this issue of great concern especially in Texas, where Dems are finally poised to make Historic electoral gains but are confronted with the sad reality of unverifiable voting machines in the Trump-Putin era. In years past fears about unverifiable voting machines would be shunned as conspiracy theorist talk. Grassroots Dems however are aware of just how real these fears are in the age of Trump and are desperate for more media coverage on this issue, not less.

Another big grassroots Dem story by the MSM this week was the Medicare expandion vote by the Virginia legislature that was largely pushed by the newly elected state Democrats. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow hosted one of the Virginia state Democrats, Danica Roem, who was instrumental in the Medicare expansion push


The Virginia case is a classic example of why Dems need to wage the Medicare/Medicaid war in the states. As Maddow pointed out in the segment, the Dem electoral sweep in Virginia was largely because they campaigned on restoring healthcare to a public that is increasingly witnessing GOP efforts to take away their healthcare. In other words Medicare/Medicaid is a winning issue for Dems in the states

As Yours Truly has repeatedly stated, the fight for Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security are very important to grassroots Dems and could reap huge harvests in state legislatures. Democrats could literally recapture a huge chunk of the state legislatures they have lost to the GOP in recent years if they campaign hard on the theme that Republicans are out to take away people’s Medicare/Medicaid.

To be clear, Yours Truly’s argument has been that the Koch Brothers/ALEC funded clamor for a Constitutional Convention(ConCon) by state GOP politicians is aimed ultimately at the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they are the biggest driver of the national debt.


There is a lot of proof out there supporting this argument but you’ll never hear that from the Mainstream Media probably because it is still considered a “radical” argument because its main pusher, Yours Truly is regarded by the MSM as a “radical leftist”. But the proof is staring the Mainstream Media in their faces if they cared to look. Consider for instance, Virginia GOP’s pushback argument to the Medicare expansion move by the Democrats. Virginia’s GOP Senate Majority Leader opposed the Medicare expansion move because it “abandons Virginia’s long-standing reputation for fiscal responsibility.”–the quintessential balanced budget amendment argument behind GOP’s Constitutional Convention effort.

Bottom line folks we still have a lot of pushing to do to get the Mainstream Media to talk about issues near and dear to grassroots Dems. However where, as here, they show a slight improvement we have to give them partial credit. The ideal situation(worthy of full credit) would be for Mainstream Media to “go there” and say boldly like Yours Truly that the ultimate goal of the Constitutional Convention push by state Republicans is the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they believe these programs are huge drivers of both the national and state government debt. Let us hope from now until midterms 2018 the Mainstream Media sticks with issues important to grassroots Dems like voting machine security and the NoConCon war as opposed to say, “c*unt” talk

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Kill Washington State’s ConCon Proposal Before A Vote

Democrats have traditionally done very well in Washington state. The current Governor of WA Jay Inslee is a Democrat. Obama won WA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton won WA in 2016. There’s clearly a lot ot Dem support in WA state and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the U.S. Constitution



According to the Washington state Legislature's website, the state's Constitutional Convention proposal HJM4006, was introduced on January 19 2017 and has 16 sponsors. Like Pennsylvania, Washington remains a targeted state(marked red on ConCon map above) meaning the ConCon measure has been introduced in the state legislature but is yet to be voted on by the full House and Senate (ConCon proposal still pending).

However there is a strange twist in Washington state's NoConCon battle. Turns out unlike in the previous states Yours Truly has highlighted, in WA, one of the ConCon proposal sponsors is a Democrat--a self-described "Berniecrat"--an obvious reference to 2016 Presidential aspirant Sen Bernie Sanders. Yours Truly only hopes that one of Rep Brian Blake's House colleagues will whisper in his ear that grassroots Democrats are totally opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution--for any reason.

Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 15 WA GOP state politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Bottomline, because Washington state is a Dem-friendly state the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 15 Red WA state House seats blue.

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Kill PA’s ConCon Measure Before A Vote

Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state in Presidential elections. Democrats have traditionally done very well in PA. Obama for example won PA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton was favored by pollsters to win PA in 2016 but surprisingly lost to Donald Trump. The fact of the matter is there is a lot of Dem support in PA and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the constitution


Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention proposal HR100 was introduced in the PA Legislature on March 20, 2017 and has 7 sponsors–all Republicans. According to the PA Legislature website, the proposal is still lying in the PA Legislature with no vote taken on it yet.

That leaves us with only 7 PA GOP ConCons to go after(proposal sponsors). They are up for reelection so its important that we kick them and their ConCon proposal out of the PA Legislature in Midterms 2018

Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 7 PA GOP State politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security

Bottomline, because Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state where Dems have traditionally done well, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 7 PA State House seats blue.

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Wage NoConCon War In Wisconsin

In a recent post Yours Truly suggested that Democrats needed to wage the NoConCon war in Michigan because it was a Dem-friendly state. Well the same applies for neighboring Wisconsin

On Nov 7 2017 the Wisconsin Senate passed AJR20 the state’s constitutional convention proposal. 19 Wisconsin GOP State Senators supported the ConCon measure. Sadly not all of them are up for reelection this year.


Here’s a Handy List of Wisconsin GOP State Senators up for reelection this year, who backed Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution opening up the door for elimination of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”

The interesting thing about Wisconsin is that the Dems really fought back the Senate GOP ConCons. The same day the WI Senate GOP passed the ConCon measure, Dem State Senator Chris Larson (seen in the picture below) addressed demonstators who chanted “hands off my constitution”.

State Senator Chris Larson addressing NoConCon Demonstrators

Another Dem State Senator Kathleen Vinehout also slammed the GOP’s ConCon measure warning that it could degenerate into a “runaway” convention, basically a free-for-all where everybody’s constitutional rights would be at the mercy of GOP politicians–VERY SCARY. Yours Truly will reach out to these Wisconsin State Dems to see if they can mobilize a nationwide NoConCon movement.

The proposal passed the Wisconsin House on a 60-37 vote. There are 21 Wisconsin GOP House Reps who sponsored the ConCon bill. However three of them, Chris Kapenga, Dave Craig and Frank Lasee have since become State Senators.  Of the three, only Sen Kapenga is up for reelection in 2018 and Yours Truly has included him in the HANDY LIST of State Senators(see gallery above). The Handy List of WI House Reps is therefore down to 18 and here are their “mugshots”

Bottomline, because Wisconsin is similar to Michigan and Minnesota in that they are all Dem-friendly states, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war in Wisconsin–especially in this midterm election year.

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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Dems Must Wage The NoConCon War In Battleground States Like Minnesota

Constitutional Convention Map

In a recent post Yours Truly listed the 20 Texas GOP State Senators pushing the Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. While Texas is a major Republican state that deserves the attention of the #NoConCon movement (those opposed to a Constitutional Convention), the battle also needs to be waged in Battleground States that are currently mulling the Koch Brothers’ radical idea.



One such battleground state is Minnesota where Democrats have traditionally done very well. Minnesota for example went for Obama in 2008 and 2012  and for Hillary Clinton in 2016. To have Minnesota State GOP flirting with Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution can reap huge benefits for Dems in Midterms 2018.

Records show that SF 2490 was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on 03/15/2018. The “authors”(really ALEC) of SF 2490  are Republican State Senators Roger C. Chamberlain, Mark W. Koran, Andrew Mathews, Torrey N. Westrom, and Bill Ingebrigtsen.

In the Minnesota House of Representatives HF2690 was introduced on 5/18/2017. The bill is “authored”(really ALEC) by these 17 Minnesota GOP House Representatives

Bottomline, Dems must make a run for the Minnesota Legislature using the radical GOP/Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution whose end run is the elimination of Medicare /Medicaid under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”

For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out




You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com

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A Handy list of Texas GOP Politicians Pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC Radical Plan To Change The U.S. Constitution

In a previous post, Yours Truly highlighted a radical plan by the Koch Brothers and their outfit American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC)  to get  Republican-controlled State legislatures to support their effort to Amend the U.S. Constitution and thereby ELIMINATE programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that have greatly benefited the poor.



This rare constitutional maneuver referred to as Constitutional Convention (aka #ConCon in Twitter circles) or Convention of States would require the approval of 34 State Legislatures for it to initiate (begin debate). However for any proposed amendment to be ratified, it would require the approval of 38 State Legislatures. Because this is such a radical maneuver by the Koch Brothers and their State GOP enablers, our target should be to prevent them from getting to the 34 states required to begin the constitutional amendment process.

Texas has traditionally been a hotbed of Republican politics. It follows therefore that the Koch Brothers/ALEC would push their radical Constitutional Convention campaign heavily in the state---and they have. All elected Republican politicians in Texas have bought into the ConCon idea, from The Governor, Lt Governor, the two U.S. Senators and virtually all GOP State elected officials. The Texas Senate for example approved the ConCon idea on February 28, 2017 on a 20-11 straight party line vote. The same thing happened on May 4, 2017 when the Texas House of Representatives, adopted the Senate's proposal on a 94-51 straight party line vote. You would think that on an issue as consequential as changing the U.S. Constitution, the Texas GOP would at least strive for some support from Democrats, but no, they are controlled by what Koch Brothers/ALEC want, not what is in the best interests of the State. 

Given the heavy investment Koch Brothers/ALEC have made in Texas as a ConCon state, it naturally follows that Texas also has to be ground zero for the #NoConCon movement--people like Yours Truly, opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC radical idea to amend the U.S. Constitution. That of course begins by knowing who our enemies are--The Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lt Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas GOP State Senators, without whose support the radical Koch Brothers/ALEC agenda would be dead on arrival

Below are the 20 Texas State Senators who supported Koch Brothers/ALEC radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. Governor Abbott, Lt Governor Patrick and most of the GOP State Senators below are seeking re-election this November. Because the said Texas Senators are supporting Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to kick Grandma and Grandpa out of their Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, let's return the favor and kick these shameful Republicans out of Austin this November. We owe that much to poor Grandma and Grandpa. 

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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com