How to Lobby

You just made the trip all the way to the state capital, and now you're about to meet your elected representatives. The legislature is in session, busy as a beehive.

There are several upcoming bills affecting motorcyclists, and one in particular will allow helmet choice for adults.

Your mission: Get your legislator to support bikers' rights on as many of these bills as possible.

Let's roll the tape...

Earnest Biker: Good morning Senator Limelight. I'm Earnest Biker, and I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you about motorcycle issues.

Senator Limelight: It's my pleasure to meet you. Where do you live?

Biker: In your district, just north of Pleasantville ... a little past the shopping center on Commerce Highway.

Senator: Oh, yes. Really nice folks up that way ...

Earnest Biker talks to Senator Limelight about motorcycle safety, distracted driving, motorcycle awareness month, and the helmet law. The meeting is brief but pleasant.

Senator Limelight doesn't say exactly where he stands on any specific motorcycling issue, but he's definitely listening. He promises to give it all some serious thought, and he tells Earnest that "it's really all about common sense."

Earnest Biker is really happy now. The meeting is going well, and they discuss many topics. He gives the senator a small stack of information about bills being considered, and thanks him for his time. Earnest then rides back home -- feeling like he really made a difference.

There's just one problem. He didn't make a dent.

Senator Limelight doesn't know Earnest Biker from any other stranger. And while he's happy to spare a few minutes to listen to a constituent, he's got other things on his mind.

Core issues, like the economy and the environment. Hot button issues, like abortion and gun control. Things that make people get up from the couch, and out from in front of their widescreen TVs.

Plus there are deals to be made, whether its to promote his own agenda, or -- thinking ahead -- to building coalitions for his reelection machine. He pays attention to groups that can "get out the vote" for him.

And the helmet law? Nothing to fear, because nobody ever got kicked out of office over that one. Despite all the talk when there's a repeal bill being considered, nobody even thinks about it during the campaign season.

Besides, bikers show up only one day a year, and then they go away. The worst they can do is clog up his computer with email. But their concerns can be deleted just as easily as their messages, because bikers are all bark and no bite.

Disaster Strikes

During the session, an insurance industry lobbyist testifies before the transportation committee.

He says helmets saved thousands of lives nationwide last year. He says that repealing the helmet law will cause an additional 250 deaths statewide next year. The helmet bill never even comes up for a committee vote, and Senator Limelight can only watch as the bill gets tabled indefinitely.

Repeal is dead for another year.

Earnest's riding buddies tell him "I told you it was a waste of time." And right about now he's starting to believe them.

Start at the Beginning

Let's try that again. Only this time Earnest Biker is connected to our email network of biker activists through RIDE2REPEAL.COM. In late summer -- long before the session begins -- he starts getting Legislative Alerts about nearby elections. Which ones matter, which ones don't.

Earnest finds out that Senator Limelight never voted for or against repeal. And that he is a shoo-in for re-election, running unopposed. There is absolutely nothing Earnest can do to help -- or hurt -- the senator's chances. Winning is guaranteed.

But just a few miles up the road, a popular attorney named Max Feller is running a strong race against a powerful incumbent, Senator Hugh Nannicrat. Powerful because Senator Nannicrat chairs the Senate Transportation Committee. And he always blocks repeal bills. That's why there is no voting record for anyone on the senate side, including Senator Limelight.

Let's listen in while Earnest Biker meets the new candidate ...

Earnest Biker: Good morning Mr. Feller. I'm Earnest Biker, and I was wondering what your position is on the universal helmet law.

Candidate Feller: Well, I haven't really given it much thought. I don't like the idea of government telling us what to do, but I think I'd have to come down on the side of public safety. Freedom is a good thing, but I'm concerned about the cost to taxpayers.

Biker: I see your point, and I've heard that same argument, too. But I firmly believe that adults should be able to choose. My riding buddies feel the same way as well. Senator Nannicrat always blocks our repeal bill, and we were hoping you'd be on our side.

Candidate: Do you have any information that supports your position? If I opposed the helmet law, I'd need to explain why. What should I tell people when they ask me about it?

Biker: We all have different reasons for wanting repeal. But there's one thing bikers have in common: We will work our hearts out for someone who will stand up for our freedom. Nobody else really cares ... not enough to lift a finger, anyway. And nobody will ever vote you out of office for supporting repeal, so you don't have to even debate it.

Now watch as the candidate gives Earnest Biker the green light ...

Candidate: Personally, I'd wear a helmet ... most of the time. Not on a nice day like today, though. What a beauty! Like I said, there's enough government interference in our lives already. I can definitely support your position on repeal. And bikers can defintely count on me to represent them at the state capital.

Biker: How can we help you? We're pretty good at delivering campaign signs, and we all have pickup trucks. *grin* Do you have someone you want us to work with ... like your campaign manager? Give me his cell number, and I'll pass it along to my riding buddies ...

The rest of the story is that Candidate Feller is now Senator Feller. It was a close race, but Earnest and his friends plastered the whole town with campaign signs. Senator Feller won by a narrow margin, and he knew that a small handful of bikers made all the difference.

Many of his new senate colleagues knew it, too. Those bikers came out of nowhere, and took down a senior member of the senate. Nannicrat never saw it coming.

Easy Lobby

This time it's a little different. Earnest Biker rides all the way to the state capital, just like before. But because he did his "homework" ahead of time, now he's there to visit his friends in the state legislature.

Including freshman Senator Feller.

They talk about biker issues, of course. But they also talk about how important it is to get the right people elected in the first place. And how working with friends is always a whole lot better than begging from strangers.

Later on, the repeal bill is debated in committee. But now that ex-Senator Nannicrat is gone, the committee actually votes on the bill. Its newest member, Senator Limelight, votes with the majority ... killing the bill for another year.

But now we have a voting record for all 12 committee members. Compared to last session -- when we had nothing -- that's real progress. And that voting record will be vitally important in a few years, when RIDE2REPEAL.COM starts another round of Legislative Alerts on the state senate races.

Meanwhile, some state senators may decide to change their minds about repeal. They just might figure out that it isn't worth fighting. Not after seeing what happended to their old friend, ex-Senator Nannicrat.

Moral of the Story

Think ahead and start upstream. Ignore candidates during the campaign season, and they'll ignore you during the legislative session.

Nothing works like campaign work. A few bikers in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, makes all the difference.

So get yourself plugged into the most effective network of biker activists in the nation. Click on the red Subscribe tab at the top of RIDE2REPEAL.COM to receive Legislative Alerts on important races near you. Or you can always shoot me an email at Bikers4BillSponsors@gmail.com.

Note: For the sake of brevity, I compressed several persons and events into one short story. Otherwise, everything is true.