Campaigning in LA

I just finished a very productive weekend, working as a campaign volunteer for a biker-friendly candidate. Early on Saturday I drove up from San Diego, and then delivered signs in and around Los Angeles. (Click on map to see the district.)

Though it made for two long days of riding, it was still a lot of fun. Not only did I meet the candidate and his campaign staff, I even got free food!

Believe it or not, most campaign volunteers prefer to make phone calls and knock on doors. They hate delivering signs.

But for bikers, about the only fun thing to do is deliver signs. We're outdoors, riding our bikes ... all without having to deal with "civilians." What a deal!

Delivering campaign signs is both fun and productive. Kinda like a scavenger hunt -- only in reverse. Find the address, plant the campaign sign. Then dash off to the next address. Repeat until free.

Fortunately for me, I now have a GPS on my handlebars. I just plugged a list of addresses into the gizmo, and just followed wherever it led me.

So I saw some of the most beautiful countryside you could imagine. And then I decorated some of it with campaign signs.

I also stopped by a couple of motorcycle shops that I happened to see along the way. It was pretty easy to stop in, and talk to the store manager about our candidate. At one shop, the store manager asked me for a campaign sign to put into his storefront window. Of course I let the candidate know we earned him a new business supporter.

Now I'm a little sore, but it's the good kind of sore. Just like after you go running, or lift some weights, you know you did some good.

Our candidate saw a biker busting his butt to help him get elected. And since actions speak louder than words, we'll have yet another advocate in Sacramento when motorcycle laws are being considered.

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

< CA > Special Elections

Let those who ride decide!

There are three special elections coming up very soon, all for the state legislature. And all three of these races feature solid biker-friendly candidates. Any help you can provide as a campaign volunteer will make a huge impact.

Special elections always have low voter turnout. That's why "get out the vote" volunteers are so important: They are the deciding factor in who wins these elections.

It's all about political power.

There is no more effective way to lobby our legislators than to help them win races. That way, after they're in the state legislature, they are actually happy to hear from us (and give support to us). Our campaign work also helps knock nanny-crats out of the state capitol. Plus it lets all politicians know that there's a price tag for messing with bikers rights.

The 411 on the upcoming elections ...

The races for Senate District 37 (Riverside) and Assembly District 43 (Glendale) will be history after June 8. Help is urgently needed, since less than 3 weeks remain. Then there's another race soon afterwards on June 22 for Senate District 15 (Monterey).

PLEASE pass the word to bikers you know in and around these districts!

All the needed info is posted on the  ELECTIONS  page at the top of RIDE2REPEAL.COM. The biker-friendly candidates are listed in GREEN, and clicking on their name will take you to their "volunteer" web page.

And if you're not sure how far that district is, just plug your ZIP Code into the box, and instantly get a Google Map showing directions and distance. It's that easy.

Go the extra mile and make a difference.

Get involved AND have a huge impact. RIDE2REPEAL.COM has taken out all the unnecessary and time-consuming steps, just to help get "biker boots" on the ground where it counts, in districts that matter.

Please help -- while it's still up to us. Because win or lose, after the election we are stuck with the results. Let's get the government we deserve ... and we deserve better!

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

PS: Many thanks to Carol, Dennis, and Jean from ABATE of California for their input on this article.

Starting from Scratch

Now that I'm a new resident of sunny Southern California, it's time for me to get busy helping to get rid of the universal helmet law. I want to ride the Pacific Coast Highway with my wife, and I sure can’t steal a kiss from her while there’s a bucket on my head!

Fortunately, there has already been a lot of work accomplished here. ABATE of California (www.abate.org) has been fighting the helmet law for quite a while, and they've made an impressive amount of progress in this direction.

I joined ABATE of CA the first day I got here, by the way. You should join your State Motorcycle Rights Organization, too. Even if you don't participate, at least you'll be informed about what's going on. And even then, you can always get off your ass when the mood strikes you. ;)

Now RIDE2REPEAL.COM is all about beating the helmet law by the most effective and the most efficient way possible. There is no wasted effort, and there are as few moving parts as possible in our "machine." It all boils down to political power. But you gotta start somewhere, and that's what this article is about:

Starting from Scratch.

Starting locally, my first step is to get to know my state legislators. Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, that's very easy to do. When I plug my zip code into the box at the Project Vote Smart website (www.votesmart.org), I get a list of every single one of my elected officials between President Obama and the Town Dog Catcher.

Now the most important elected officials (to us bikers) are our state legislators. They are the only ones that pass or repeal helmet laws. They are also the elected officials that we have the greatest ability to help win (or make lose) an election. That's because we can concentrate a whole state full of bikers -- as campaign volunteers -- into just a few legislative districts.

Sure, the other levels of government are important, too. By all means, get involved in those campaigns if you want. But keep in mind that at the Federal level, most of those bozos used to be ... you guessed it ... state legislators! So if you clean house at the state capital now, the legislative gene pool will eventually wash most of the nanny-crats right out of Washington. Though it may take 10 years or so, that problem will inevitably take care of itself.

But back to the state legislators. If you scroll down your list at Project Vote Smart, you find your State Senator and State Assembly Member (or in some states, State Delegate or State Representative). Scroll down a little further, and you also find the CANDIDATES who are running for the State Senate and State Assembly.

How cool is that?

The next step is how to contact them, which is probably easier than you think. But I'll save that for another article. For now, go to Project Vote Smart and find your legislator. And since it’s the campaign season is just around the corner, make note of who will be running against them this year.

When it comes to progress, there is nothing more important than taking the first step.


-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

Crossed the Country

I finally made it to San Diego, having criss-crossed the country and running up a grand total of 4,076 miles since leaving Arlington, VA.

I met quite a few friends along the way, some old and some new. My Marine buddies were like family, and it was a treat to see them all. I also met up with an old high school friend who ended up riding a Harley like me, and another friend I hadn't seen in quite a spell.

There were new friends along the way as well. In Hattiesburg MS I met up with the Director and Assistant Director of ABATE of Mississippi, Paul and Robbie. And in Monroe LA I crossed paths with Cut-Thru and Squirrel, both of ABATE of Louisiana. These fine folks took time out of their busy days to talk power politics with me, and they are valuable allies in the fight for our rights.

I ended up smack dab in the middle of the 16th Annual Regional Rally for ABATE of California, and promptly got adopted by the fine members of Local 11. What a great event, with a large turnout, a great band, and some really good company around the campfire. And when the ABATE of CA officers spoke to the crowd, guess what they talked about?

CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEERING

Anyway, I believe that memories are what we experience on the road of life. And when I'm an oldie, I'll have lots of goodies.

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com