Grassroots Tips

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!

 

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!

Know the Facts Before You Lobby

September 2, 2022 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.

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