Although many people criticize the Founding Fathers for not living out these written principles, there is one Founding Father who stands out - Thomas Paine.

 

Thomas Paine was an abolitionist and was the only Founding Father with no ties to slavery. 

 

In 1791, he wrote Rights of Man. In this book, he became one of the first Americans to advocate for school choice.  We have no doubt that Thomas Paine would have supported the Students First Amendment here in Kentucky. 

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Thomas Paine was also known for holding others accountable to their principles - most notably George Washington. 

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If you choose to become a Thomas Paine Patriot, we challenge you to live out a modern version of Thomas Paine's virtues.

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Additionally, we ask that you commit to several actions:

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1. Sign our online petition for school choice.

As a Patriot, you commit to personally recruit another 10 individuals. 

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2. Contact elected officials.

Legislative fights move fast. Commonwealth Educational Opportunities will email members with urgent calls to action.  As a Thomas Paine Patriot, you will pledge to call an elected official within 4 hours to tell a politician how they must vote on specific issues such as school choice, reopening schools, or stopping wasteful tax hikes. 

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3. Volunteer.

At times, we will need you to put boots on the ground as a volunteer in order to let a politician know how to vote correctly.  While we don't expect you to drive to Frankfort every weekend, we will occasionally encourage you to come to Frankfort.  However, if we need help lobbying your local representative, it is expected that you help us as a volunteer. 

 

4. Learn to Win. 

The Founding Fathers knew that to be victorious, they not only had to have an army but also had to train to fight.  At Commonwealth Educational Opportunities, we host a series of activist trainings taught by the Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership.  These intensive one-day trainings will prepare you to become an effective fighter to advance your principles. 

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As we organize these classes across the Commonwealth, we ask that you attend and bring some friends with you. We will notify you of upcoming classes on Facebook and by email. 

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5. Donate.

It takes ammunition to win a war. Like the Patriots at Bunker Hill, we have the (moral) high ground. Like them, we also have motivated volunteers.  But not many people know that we lost the Battle of Bunker Hill because those brave patriots ran out of ammunition. 

 

Politics is much like war, and you must have the ammunition to fight.  In politics, donations are that ammunition.  Here in Kentucky, we have seen the teachers' unions quickly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting to protect their monopoly.  That is a fact. 

 

It is also a fact that Commonwealth Educational Opportunities is an all volunteer organization with each of us donating our time and money to fight for our children's futures. 

 

We are asking that each Thomas Paine Patriot donate $17.91 a month to help us arm fellow patriots with the political tools needed to win. 

 

We do not spend donor money recklessly. Our leadership has been trained how to best spend those very precious donations.  In fact, with your donation of $17.91 a month, we can call over 700 targeted voters urging them to contact key politicians who are being pressured by the teachers' unions. 

 

We are not going to send you a hat, a bumper sticker, or a T-shirt.  Every dime will be used to FIGHT politically to put Kentucky Students First. 

 

We know this sounds like a lot of work. However, if you think about how OVER HALF OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS goes to education in Kentucky, this is time and money well-spent.

 

In fact, we promise to use your money far better than the government.

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Hop on board the Paine Train today!