Wake UP!: Chardon’s Completely Un-Sexy But Very Useful Guide to Lobbying Your Government
Wake UP!: Progressive Punditry and Action Alerts for the Apathetic Advocate
How to be an Effective Advocate: Lesson #1
Before We Begin…A Few Important Definitions:
- Lobbyist: A person who is paid to lobby for an issue, non-profit organization, or corporation.
- Liaison: Basically a lobbyist, but for another government agency such as the Department of Health and Human Services or the National Guard.
- Advocate: Essentially an unpaid lobbyist. Usually a volunteer for a non-profit group or a concerned constituent.
- Constituent: A citizen who lives in the representative’s district.
- District: The area that votes for, and is represented by, a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate.
Lesson # 1: What NOT to DO
The most important thing to start with is what NOT to do. It is my belief that knowing what NOT to do is infinitely more important than knowing what TO do. You can bumble through something and still be effective, but if you pull off a serious faux pas, then hang it up brother, you’re done.
The four most important things you don’t want to do as an advocate:
- Don’t start going off about how you voted them into office, you can vote them out, you have friends that will vote them out, you pay their salary, yadda yadda yadda.
- Don’t be unprepared or uninformed.
- Don’t waste your time with Representatives that aren’t in your district.
- Don’t piss off the Staff.
1. Threatening Based on Your Vote
Okay, lets start with issue numero uno: Don’t threaten them with your $$ or your vote. I’m not saying that you’re not right; you do have a vote, you do pay the salaries of public officials, and with enough support you might just be able to get your elected official voted out of office. But guess what? So could millions of other people.
First of all, if you are a constituent of voting age, the representative already knows that you have the power to vote them in or out. This will not help your case, and can only have the opposite effect. Why? Well, I’ll tell you.
The people who most commonly use threatening to get their point across are crackpots and constituents who DON’T support the representative. Chances are, if you’re threatening your legislator, you are already planning to vote against them. You don’t go up to someone you campaigned for and say, “I voted you in, I can take you out. I have 20 kids, and they’re all of voting age, they can take you out.” Constituents only pull this kind of crap if they’re on the fence, leaning toward the other side, or if they’ve already built their homestead in the opponent’s camp.
Constituents who try to bully their legislator will get NOWHERE. Constituents who try to bully their legislator’s assistants or staff will also get NOWHERE.
2. Showing Up Uninformed or Unprepared
You may think your legislator is a lazy, good-for-nothing piece of dog poo, but the truth is they are almost always incredibly busy, good-for-nothing pieces of dog poo. (Not all of them are crap, but some certainly are, and they may be the person you voted for!)
If the legislator is busy as hell, their staff is even busier. So don’t come in empty handed… do your homework and come in with ideas on how to fix your problem. Give them short, concise information which explains:
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The problem;
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Why it’s important;
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What you Want Done; and
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Ideas About How Your Problem Can be Solved.
The first thing you want to do is articulate the problem. Sounds easy, right? You shouldn’t just throw that issue out at everyone, you need to determine who has jurisdiction over this issue, then start at the bottom and work your way up.
Next, you need to explain why it is important that this problem be fixed. If the problem only affects one or two citizens, and does not put anyone’s life, health, or ability to do their job in danger, then it probably shouldn’t be bumped up to the top of the “to do” list.
Next, you need to let your representative know what you want done. There are many ways to skin a cat, and if you have a preference, this is the time you want to let them know.
Finally, you need to offer possible solutions. This is the step that will make you stand out in the crowd, and guarantee that more time is devoted to your issue. This step is similar to step three, but different…You have a problem, you have explained its importance, you told them what you want done, now you should tell them how they can do it. An effective way to do this is to get research on other communities with similar problems. If you can prove another community has solved a similar problem using your preferred method, then you’re golden. Special bonus if you have copies of legislation or ordinances from those communities. It makes your legislator’s job EASY.
3. Don’t waste your time with Representatives that aren’t in your district.
If you don’t vote for them, they don’t care. Sad but true. Really, their staff is already inundated with requests from their own district, and it’s not their job to fix other people’s districts. I know it’s a crappy thing to hear, but that’s the way the political world works.
You like low taxes, right? Then you don’t want to be paying for a hoard of staff members for each and every state and federal representative. And that’s the ONLY way we’d be able to help you, Mr. I’m-Not-From-Your-District-But-I-Saw-Your-Name-on-TV-and-I-Want-You-And-Only-You-To-Help-Me. Most legislators in State or Local government have between one and two staff members. Federal government folks tend to have more, but not by much.
I have helped people from out of the district, especially if it involved a child in danger or something of that nature. Sometimes, I get people whose representatives are pompous idiots and refuse to help. If this is you… then VOTE THAT IDIOT OUT! Your representative is your servant, and if they’re not serving you they need to GO.
4. Don’t piss off the Staff.
This is the final, and MOST IMPORTANT rule of the “Don’t” list. Nine times out of ten, your representative is not going to lift a finger to remedy your situation. Well, they’ll life one finger… to dial their staff.
You see, not every legislator is going to be an expert on every issue. However, they have staff who specialize in certain subject areas and have built relationships with different governmental departments over time. Most cases require at least 1 man hour of work, even if it’s just a simple information request. Most staff members juggle dozens of cases at a time.
If you talk to your legislator’s staff like they are dirt, they will not go out of their way for you. They will do the bare minimum. And if you’re dealing with some heavy stuff, you don’t want the bare minimum. Bare minimum means that the staff member calls a department liaison, asks if there’s anything they can do, liaison say no, staff hangs up the phone and drafts a letter to you explaining your rejection.
However, if you’re courteous, appreciative, and understanding, they’ll bust their asses for you.
So let’s recap… If you want to be an effective advocate:
- DON’T threaten to withhold your vote or angrily insist that “I Pay Your Salary!”
- DON’T show up unprepared.
- DON’T write to people outside of your district.
- DON’T piss off the staff.
Tune in for the next Un-Sexy but Useful Guide, and before long I’ll make you a silver-tongued devil as effective as any Wal-Mart Lobbyist!
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About Chardon Moore:
Chardon Moore is a political junkie, LGBT ally, and the webmistress of LiberalMartyr.com. She’s been a human and civil rights activist for over a decade, as well as working in broadcast media, academia, and state government. She now lives in Raleigh with her longtime boyfriend and young daughter.
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