Ground Work

Today I met with the campaign manager for a very important candidate -- one who's running in a very important race. From a strategic standpoint, today's little chat could affect the freedom every motorcyclist in and around my state for years to come.

About a month ago I took a look at this year's crop of candidates in House of Delegates races all across the state. Using campaign money as a guide, I picked the most evenly matched races. And using the legislature's voting record on repeal bills, I found close races between candidates on opposite sides of the helmet law.

The guy I met today works for an incumbent Delegate who always supports repeal. But this Delegate is also a member of the House Transportation committee, which ups the ante considerably. Not only does he go to bat for us at the capital, he sticks his neck out for us.

He's exactly the kind of ally we need to keep in the state legislature. And my sincere hope is that he'll sponsor (or co-sponsor) our next repeal bill. But I can't ask him for such a huge favor without something to show for it: campaign workers.

That was the purpose of today's meeting -- to lay some ground work. This candidate is in a very close race, and he needs our help. Real help -- not just rooting from the sidelines. He needs bikers on the front lines as campaign workers. And that's what we talked about today.

The campaign manager said he gets about 10 requests per day, from voters that want campaign signs in their front yards. That means someone has to deliver them, of course. And that's where we come in. Not only will we be helping out, we'll also be freeing up other workers to do the things we HATE doing ... like phone banking and door-to-door canvassing.

Delivering signs is easy work. Even a cave man can do it. Or a biker, if you think about it. Just find the house, plant a sign, and move on to the next address. It takes about an hour to put in 10 signs -- less time if you're good at it, and your ole' lady is riding along.

Of course there are more traditional ways to fight the helmet law. You can go to biker meetings and debate the issues. Or you can go on poker runs and raise money for your cause. Maybe you can have a charity event to help the biker community.

Or you could just END helmet law.

Take one hour out of your "busy schedule" and directly support legislators that will repeal the helmet law. Don't bother debating the concept with bikers that don't do anything except talk about it. And don't try to sell the idea to bikers that really don't care. Definitely don't attempt to win the hearts and minds of the public that will never "get it." Just END it, with only one hour's worth of work.

So I promised the campaign manager that I'll make sure those campaign signs get delivered. My job now is to find a couple of bikers that are willing to use their brains AND get off their asses. Not an easy task, I assure you.

At the end of the campaign season, one of two things will have happened. Either a couple of truly righteous bikers will have risen to the challenge, or I'll be standing alone when it comes to helping a legislator who's fighting for my rights.

And I'll talk to that candidate after the election is over, and he's once again a member of the House of Delegates. That's when I will look him straight in the eye and tell him whether bikers helped him. Or whether they left him hanging out to dry.

If you want to look good, hang some flags on the back of your bike, and cover yourself with cool patches and smart-ass stickers. But if you want to do more than strike a pose, get off your butt and do some campaign work ... for those biker-friendly candidates who are the only ones who can restore our rights.

The first step is to click on the red "Subscribe" tab at the top of RIDE2REPEAL.COM so you can get our Legislative Alerts. That's how you find out about important races near you. Then it's your job to show up and help when the call comes out.

And if you'd like to notch it up to the next level, just pop me an email at Bikers4BillSponsors@gmail.com. We use a step-by-step process that's easy to do ... and NOT a complete waste of your time.