Archives for Drew McKissick

Basic Grassroots Lobbying

August 12, 2023 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

grassroots lobbyingNo matter how involved you may become in the political process, every citizen – in the serious sense of that word – should know how to lobby their government.  (Don’t forget that it IS a Constitutional right, after all)  And that means grassroots lobbying!

Knowing how to effectively lobby – and actually doing so – is what gives conservatives a voice in the development of public policy.

It’s not enough to show up at the ballot box every few years and elect some people to office.  You’ve got to keep an eye on them once they get in, (even the one’s you may be friends with).  Then let them hear from you when necessary.

That’s the essence of grassroots lobbying.

But how can you be more effective in the process?  There are some fundamentals when it comes to being effective in politics, and one of them is to multiply and organize your efforts.

Effective grassroots lobbying is a team effort.

In any team sport, the players are supposed to work according to their individual responsibilities for the overall benefit of the team.  The better they work together, the more likely they are to reach their goal – winning.  You have to know the rules, the positions, and the key players.

At the same time, a winning team needs to be strategic in its overall game plan and consider the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition as well as their own.

Whether in grassroots lobbying or actual campaign politics, “the game” is pretty much the same.

You don’t have to pay too much attention to the way things are going to know that it’s more important than ever before that conservatives build winning “teams” of players at the local level to offer support to public officials in advancing public policy, or to bring heat when it’s necessary.

All the more reason for you to either join a local grassroots lobbying team or start one of your own.

Instead of complaining, make a point to reach out to some people who think like you do today and get started.  What’s stopping you?

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Any experiences about grassroots lobbying you’d like to relate?  Sound off in the comments below.

Get more tips like these in my Grassroots 101 Training Series.  Check it out!

 

The Four Rules to Winning an Election

September 28, 2022 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

winning an election

Do.  Not.  Get.  Sidetracked.

When it comes to winning an election or organizing for grassroots success, it’s not complicated.  It’s not some secret formula that you need to figure out or pay a lot of money for.

It’s pretty simple and straightforward.  In fact, the rules haven’t changed since this country first started holding elections.

The “rules” were spelled out best by someone who (at the time) was a little known congressman from Illinois who went on to get himself elected President, (shortly before hiring a general who burned my hometown to the ground, but I’ll let it go…).

The four rules to winning an election are:

  1. Obtain a complete list of voters
  2. Determine how they will vote
  3. Contact the favorable voters
  4. Get your voters to the polls

In other words, start with the outer rings of the target and work your way down towards the bulls-eye.  When it comes to summarizing the basics of a get-out-the-vote strategy, you can’t do much better than that.

Of course there are a number of other elements to campaigning, but they don’t really matter very much if you don’t do the basics.  No matter how much modern technology may change “how” things are done, the fundamentals still apply.

These rules don’t just apply to campaigns, but they also apply to successful grassroots political organization in general. You start with those who are registered to vote, identify those who agree with you, provide them with the information they need, and get them to take action when it’s necessary.

Successful campaigns and organizations adopt and apply these rules to effectively mobilize supporters at the local level.

No matter what kind of election or issue-based campaign you’re working on, don’t let yourself get sidetracked.

Do the basics. You’ll be glad you did.

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Get more useful grassroots tips in the “Grassroots 101 Training Series“

How to Frame the Debate

September 21, 2022 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | 2 Comments

Frame the debateHave you ever noticed in the Bible that, whenever he was accused or interrogated by his opponents, Christ almost always answered them with a question?

When it comes to political debate, there’s a lot to learn from that example. It’s a way of “framing the debate”, which helps you strategically present issues in terms that help shape the debate in your favor.

Politically speaking, it’s a way of controlling the ground that you fight on instead of debating or fighting a campaign on the opposition’s terms. When you do that, you let them frame the debate instead of you – and it usually makes you look defensive.

Go on the Offensive

Framing the debate helps you go on offense. And for conservatives, the best way to do that is to get to the “heart of the matter”, which is usually the liberal’s Achilles’ heel on any issue.

Use terms that help frame your issue in a positive light and put your opposition on its heels.

For example, on abortion, focus on the life of the unborn “child” and its right to life, not the “choice”; on education, focus on providing the “choice” for a better education; on the death penalty, focus on “guilt” and “justice”; on guns, focus on the right to “self-defense”, etc.

Keep the spotlight on the victim, (or the potential victim). Who’s being harmed, or will be? And why is the opposition OK with that? Make them defend it.

If you fail to focus on the heart of the matter, you’re more likely to get sucked into a debate that is centered on the liberal (read: humanistic) world view, which means that you end up fighting on their terms. Sort of like being asked, “When did you stop beating your wife?” There’s no way to respond that doesn’t make you look bad.

Responding to an attack

Keep in mind that framing the debate is easier when you are the one who starts the debate. But if you are responding to an attack, the same principle still applies. Frame the debate by “re”-framing it. In other words, pivot by interrogating the opposition in a way that redirects the conversation back towards the heart of the matter.

Once the debate is re-framed you can discredit their arguments.

Remember, when you control the debate, you control the ground you fight on and keep your opposition in a position of weakness. And you increase your odds of success.

Frame the debate!

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