Today I had the pleasure of talking with two great legislators in Pennsylvania's state capitol. The Commonwealth Foundation had suggested I speak with Senator Mike Folmer because of his understanding of and dedication to America's founding principles. It turns out that Senator Folmer is one of the founders of COOL: the Constitutional Organization Of Liberty, an organization that is doing in Pennsylvania what the Evergreen Freedom Foundation's Citizen Action Network is doing in Washington State.
The first-term Senator walks the walk in other ways as well, paying back to the state treasury the amount of the cost of living increase in his legislator salary because he believes the automatic pay raises violate the Pennsylvania Constitution. You can find him on Facebook.
State capitols are great places to get lost, which can turn out to be a real blessing. When someone offered to show me the way back to the main capitol building, it was only natural for me to ask him what he did there. He turned out to be Representative Joseph Preston, Jr., a long-time legislator from Pittsburgh. All I had to do was mention my concern about the effort to undermine the Electoral College and Representative Preston remarked that people just don't read The Federalist Papers anymore. He explained to me that he requires his staff to read them.
What a day, and a great reminder that there are dedicated, thoughtful elected officials who care enough for Liberty to study the institutions that preserve it.