Archives for Drew McKissick

Know the Facts Before You Lobby

March 5, 2026 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

resources listDo you know everything that you need to know about what you’re trying to have an impact on?

Before you set out to have an impact on any particular issue it helps to have more than just a thumb-nail view of the facts in order to be able to make a case for what you believe.

Whether it’s plain old citizen-lobbying of a local council, or the multi-million dollar corporate variety, good research is the foundation of good lobbying – but good research can require a lot of work.

The problem for elected officials is the huge number of issues that scream for attention. They don’t have the time to follow the nuances of every piece of legislation, but they put their name, reputation and possibly their career on the line with every vote. As a result, good information is invaluable.

The rule is this: do the work for them.

Politicians aren’t super-human and don’t know everything about everything (you probably knew that already), and can’t learn it all. Though as individuals they may know more about various subjects, most of them are forced to be generalists. So part of the job of good lobbying is to be an expert on the issues you want to advocate.

Things that elected officials need to know about legislation or proposals:

  • The details of any proposal
  • How it changes current law or the status quo
  • How those changes will impact their constituents

Without that knowledge, most elected officials can only hope and pray that they don’t accidentaly stumble into a politically explosive situation, (something most of them try to avoid because they want to get re-elected).

Where do they usually find the information they need to make a decision? A good bit of it comes from educated constituents who have done their homework or who offer the benefit of their own expertise.

In other words, it could be you.  You’re certainly more of an expert on the things you do and the situations you face every day than most politicians.

Spend time researching and organizing information on the issues you want to impact. Then turn it into a resource for friendly elected officials.

Remember, knowledge is power. Get it and use it.

How to Leverage Campaign Contributions

February 17, 2026 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

money 2If you have been involved in politics or helped with campaigns for any length of time, then you have learned how important money is to the political process.

The old saying that “money is the mother’s milk of politics” is true, but there’s a deeper truth there than just the importance of money, but rather the importance of “early money”.

Just like a mother’s milk helps a child grow, early money helps a campaign grow. And early money attracts more money, because it helps a campaign build the things that it needs in order to be viable. And people like to invest in campaigns that look like they will win.

So what does this have to do with you?

If you want to have a greater impact over which campaigns are “viable” and have a shot at winning, you can coordinate with other conservatives on which candidates should get “early money”.

There are many large groups that do this on the national level, such as the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List and the pro-abortion Emily’s List, (which actually stands for “early money is like yeast”). But these are large national groups focused primarily on federal races.

What’s needed are groups of conservatives who will work together to leverage campaign contributions on the state and local levels, which get far less attention and fewer dollars.

Start a Donation Group

You don’t have to create any kind of formal group or register with any government entity. Just have a group of like-minded conservatives who decide they want to collectively seek out and raise early money for targeted candidates and encourage other conservatives to support them as well.

Adopt some rules in order to target more effectively. For example:

  • Agree that you want to identify quality candidates in winnable seats – with good long-term political potential, (such as the school board candidate who could probably win a state house seat in the future).
  • Agree that you will only recommend X number of races (in order to concentrate your resources rather endorsing everybody that anybody happens to like). This is critical.
  • Agree on a threshold of support a candidate needs to be on the list, (like three-fourths of the group…or even unanimous support).
  • Agree that everyone will at least give X to everyone on the list or to X number of candidates on the list.

After everyone has made their own contributions, promote the list to others.

Leverage Your Support

Arrange the list in such a way that it has the campaigns’ mailing addresses and website donation links to make it easy for people to contribute. Then send it to everyone’s email lists with a letter of support over all of your signatures. Post it on Facebook and/or a webpage somewhere. Promote it by linking to it in online ads (even Facebook ads). Finally, you could even give your “group” a name if you want it to look more formal.

Keep in mind that most people are too disconnected from politics to make campaign contributions. Further, of the 18% of Americans who actually do contribute, most of those dollars go to federal or state-wide races – where they have the LEAST amount of political leverage.

An effort like this can help convince people to contribute to conservative candidates that they otherwise didn’t know anything about.

Remember, contributing to good candidates is one thing. Contributing to them early is even better. But organizing an effort to get other conservatives to collectively contribute early is best.

That’s real leverage.

Talk to other conservatives you know about starting a campaign donation group and leverage your impact.

What Effective Lobbying Looks Like

February 4, 2026 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

effective lobbyingEver complain about your point of view not being reflected in government?

Before you complain, make sure it’s not your fault.

Our form of government – representative self-government – relies on the feedback and involvement of citizens in order to actually “represent” them.  That means you help government operate more effectively (for you!) by contacting elected officials on a regular basis – whether they like it or not.

But when it comes to contacting elected officials, just remember the old adage that “it’s not what you say, but how you say it”.

How you say something can be just as important as what you say.  As Hubert Humphrey put it, “The right to be speak does not necessarily include the right to be taken seriously”.  If you have something important to say about government, take the time to say it in the most effective way possible.

Effective Lobbying Plays on How They Think

To understand how to lobby effectively it helps to get inside the mind of an elected official, (despite how scary that may seem with some politicians).  Generally they’re overly concerned with their next election, which means they’re constantly trying to get a handle on what voters think.

That’s where effective lobbying – (and YOU) – comes in.

The Tip of the Iceberg

Many legislators get a sense of their district through what could be called the “iceberg phenomenon”.   They represent thousands of people and, since they can’t get to know them all, they tend to look at people they come in contact with as representing “the tip of an iceberg” – and they don’t want to be the Titanic.  For example, if twenty people write their office asking them to vote against a particular bill, they think that there must be hundreds more who feel the same way but just didn’t write.

As a grassroots activist, this gives you a tremendous opportunity.  By joining together with others in a combined effort, you can have an impact that far exceeds your numbers.

Spontaneity Counts

A natural consequence of the iceberg phenomenon is that the more spontaneous the contact, the greater the impact.

If a grassroots campaign looks orchestrated, (such as a petition drive), it may tend to be discounted.  The town hall meeting and the grocery store illustrate the point.  If three people ask a question about tax increases during the open-ended question and answer time at a town hall meeting, a legislator will think that a lot of people are concerned.  But if three people stop them in the grocery store to ask about tax increases, they think “everyone” must be talking about it.

Personal is Better

The more personal the contact is, the more effective it will be.  For example, a stack of thirty postcards can be viewed as just “pieces of paper’, but thirty people at a meeting, (or showing up at their office), creates a more vivid and lasting impression.

Make it personal, but be polite.

Of course this doesn’t mean that if you engage in effective lobbying, then everything government does will suddenly start swinging your way, especially since there are other opinions out there besides yours.  But it does mean that YOURS will at least be heard…and be added to those of people who think like you do.

Don’t make it easy for them to ignore your views.

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Have any thoughts or lobbying experiences of your own to share?  Add them in the comments section below.

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