In an exclusive interview with The New American, state Representative Helena Hayes (R-Iowa) relays her personal story about how a Convention of States (COS) Project leader and co-founder, Michael Farris, contacted her and attacked The John Birch Society. During the phone conversation, he also character assassinated JBS Constitutional educator and speaker Robert Brown as being a mere “house painter,” who lacks the credentials and letters behind his name to understand Article V and the Constitution. Yet this so-called “house painter” is kicking his and COS’s butts enough that they have to resort to childish name-calling and personal attacks, rather than debating the substance of the issue, i.e., whether or not the Iowa General Assembly should apply to Congress to call a constitutional convention to propose changes, or amendments, to the U.S. Constitution.
In the interview, Rep. Hayes also shares her shock about how COS put her personal cellphone number in a mass text blast sent to her constituents to contact and pressure her into supporting the COS resolution House Joint Resolution 7 (HJR 7), which applies to Congress to call a constitutional convention.
Rep. Hayes further expresses her disappointment with COS-sponsored events that she has attended, in which COS speakers again spend more time attacking groups that oppose a convention, such as The John Birch Society and various JBS speakers, rather than utilizing the time to explain the process of an Article V convention or to educate attendees about the alleged merits of a constitutional convention to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Rep. Hayes concludes the interview by explaining her opposition to HJR 7, the COS resolution, and of the idea of using an Article V convention to rein-in the federal government.
