John Birch Society Leads Con-Con Victory in Iowa, Notching Number 13 This Year 

The John Birch Society’s success in guarding the U.S. Constitution from being opened and gutted through an Article V Convention is another reminder that truth is its own currency.  

With the help of other constitutionally aligned ally groups and individuals, JBS members have quashed 13 well-funded constitutional convention (Con-Con) application attempts — just this year. Number 13 came about May 4 in anticlimactic fashion. Convention of States’ (COS) bid to convince Iowa state legislators to apply for a Con-Con officially bit the dust after lawmakers simply decided not to bring the Con-Con resolution for a vote, just before wrapping up the 2023 legislative session.

A lot of work went into the victory in Iowa. Radio host and local influencer Tamara Scott brought a number of JBS Con-Con experts on her daily show. JBS members — Birchers — shared with Iowa legislators interviews of lawmakers who’ve witnessed COS’ fraudulent and dirty tactics. Birchers also showed up at the Capitol to pass out information about the dangers of a Con-Con. And, of course, constitutionalists called, emailed, and even talked to lawmakers in person about why it was important to vote “no” to a convention application.  

The Con-Con battle had been raging in the Hawkeye State since the bell rang the latest session open. COS saturated the local airwaves with pro Con-Con propaganda; they hosted town hall meetings in which they took few, if any, questions; they trotted out former presidential candidate Rick Santorum in a lackluster attempt to create influence; and they stooped to lower lows as they ratcheted up their character assassination of JBS representatives and other Con-Con opponents.  

The JBS has conducted multiple interviews with state legislators who attest to COS’s dirty and seemingly fraudulent tactics. A number of legislators said they received phony petitions from constituents supposedly asking them to support a Con-Con. Others have said they were turned off by COS’s character-assassination strategy, suspecting it the work of an outfit without solid arguments.

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In addition to Iowa, the other state legislatures that have rejected a Con-Con this year are those of Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.

Montana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Georgia, Arizona, Virginia, New Mexico, Washington, and Utah. Despite COS president Mark Meckler’s oft-repeated fairy tale, the obstacle to a convention is not so much leftist groups as it is Americans who know that opening up the Constitution in today’s climate is a dangerous idea. This is why longtime public Con-Con supporter and popular talk show host Glenn Beck withdrew his Con-Con support back in September.  

The JBS opposes a Con-Con because it would ultimately destroy the U.S. Constitution by providing a legitimate way for those looking to destroy this nation to completely re-write it. Furthermore, and probably most importantly, between nullification and elections, Americans already have the legal and civil measures needed to restore the nation. And legislators have agreed. They agree that there is nothing wrong with the Constitution — it just needs to be followed, and voters need to know it so we can hold legislators accountable.  

The push to destroy the Constitution via a convention has been going on for decades. In 1983, we were just two states removed from the 34 needed to call a convention. But then Birchers and allies went to work, and from 1988 to 2010, 16 states rescinded their Con-Con applications, including those for a balanced budget amendment.  

In 2013, Meckler co-founded COS with the sole mission of triggering an Article V Convention. And despite a very lopsided loss-win ratio over the last ten years, COS has had some success, including in Wisconsin and Nebraska more than a year ago.  

Meckler claims COS is a grassroots movement, but the organization’s finance filings tell a different story. Public 990 forms show that COS received $26.7 million between 2018 and 2020 from undisclosed financiers. A majority of their money, more than 60 percent, came from 168 unique people with an average contribution of $99,708.  

Today there are 19 states that have applied for a Con-Con, and 27 for a balanced-budget amendment, also a Con-Con. The next step in the battle is to start mounting more rescissions.

If you’d like to learn more about the dangers of a Con-Con, check out JBS’s Stop a Con-Con page here. And if you’d like to join The John Birch Society in our mission to restore America, you can apply for membership here.