Just Do It

Let's say bikers are ready ... to roll up their sleeves, and to help a biker-friendly candidate win office. But how can we tell which candidate is on our side?

It's as easy as typing a question. Here is an actual email I recently sent to a candidate running in a special election:

SUBJECT: Motorcycle Helmet Law Question
TO: joe@candidate.com

Joe

What's your position on the universal helmet law?

Douglas Voter

I've sent this very email to candidates from Atlanta to Los Angeles. It's simple, to the point, and issue-neutral.

Now let's take a look at an actual response -- this one coming from a candidate running for state representative in a special election:

SUBJECT: RE: Motorcycle Helmet Law Question
TO: douglas@voter.com

Douglas

I support a person's right to choose to wear a helmet

Joe Candidate

Wasn't that easy? Absolutely. So why am I the only one who seems to be capable of doing such a simple thing?

In most places the State Motorcyclist Rights Organization (SMRO) never contacts the candidates ... at all. They don't even mention elections on their websites, let alone provide info on how to help biker-friendly candidates.

This puzzles me.

But I'm not an SMRO, so I don't vote on whether to look at candidates, vote on what questions to ask, and then vote on which candidate to endorse. Or vote on what to do about it, assuming a choice was made. If I did, it wouldn't matter because term limits would probably come along sooner.

I just do it.

Of course there are a few SMRO's that are on the ball. In those states, I just rely on the SMRO to pick them. They tell me who's biker-friendly, and then I pass the word along to you. Then, of course, it's up to you to act on it.

I'm pretty smart, and I always look at new ways to do things. That's not typical for a biker, but who cares about what's normal? The important thing is to discover, to innovate, to create, to change. But none of this matters unless people first find out about it ... and then act on it.

Borrowing an old saying, "You can lead a biker to knowldge, but you can't make him think."

So think about it, already. Then do something.

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com