NTSB Distraction

Everyone's in a tizzy over the latest bureaucratic attack on our right to decide. In case you haven't heard, a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) representative has testified against repealing any part of the motorcycle helmet law in Nebraska.

The NTSB briefing is pretty thorough, and they get automatic points for credibility. This is the accident investigation crew that is well known for figuring out the cause of major airline crashes. They also do train wrecks, and even pipeline disasters, as part of their mission.

Now they've stepped into motorcycle safety, which rightly concerns a whole lot of freedom-loving motorycyclists. It's one thing to save lives and property when it makes the world a better place. But it's quite another to start going after people who aren't harming anyone else.

In the court of public opinion, NTSB rules the roost. And since bikers rights activists tend to react strongly to any attack on their freedom, their response is fast and furious. Unfortunately, the deck is stacked against the bikers on this one. Even worse, bikers are not staying focused on what they can do to fight back AND win.

The more energy bikers put into winning races for biker-friendly state legislators, the sooner they will restore their right to decide. Conversely, the less they work on the campaign trail, the less likely they will ever see their rights restored. So by engaging the NTSB in a battle of words, bikers are giving up their home-field advantage on the campaign trail.

The last several decades have shown that debating the issue will not work. The proof is that -- while bikers have gotten really good at lobbying and protesting -- our rights have steadily eroded. While the halls of the state capitol may be filled with bikers (for one day a year), the campaign headquarters of their strongest allies remain totally void of any black leather.

In addition to helmet laws, bikers now have to deal with organized motorcycle-only traffic stops, prohibitions on modifying our motorcycles, and more stringent helmet requirements. Think it's going to get any better if we keep talking?

We can stop all of this infringement in a very short period of time. And we can accomplish this with very few bikers, using very little of their time. All it takes is an organized effort to put volunteers on the campaign trail in races that matter most.

If YOU want to make a difference, subscribe to our Action Alerts. Or if you want to make it happen even faster, take on the task of canvassing your legislators to find out where they stand on the helmet law.

Use the Repeal Machine, and you'll get results.

Winning the war is a whole lot better than losing the battle ... year after year. You just have to keep your eyes on the prize, and simply avoid the pitfalls of getting sucked into a debate that won't change a single closed mind.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

ACTION: CA Assembly Canvassing

California Assembly Member Chris Norby has submitted a bill (AB695) to repeal part of the motorcycle helmet law, which will restore an adult's right to decide. With ABATE of California leading a massive grass-roots effort, you are being asked to contact your legislator to urge passage of this bill.

As our legislators respond to us, we can get a good idea of which ones will support this bill. This information will be vital as we prepare for the upcoming primary campaign season, saving us a lot of leg work as the pace of election activity picks up.

A little knowledge now will go a long way later.

Of course, there is no better evidence of how legislators will vote than their voting record. The first step is the Transportation Committee, where the odds are pretty good that we can get a recorded vote. Hopefully it will then pass on to the Assembly for a full vote, but this is not a sure thing.

This is why it's vitally important that we take the time to canvass each Assembly Member now, while the bill is under consideration. While they may not care about helmet laws at any other time, it's their job to evaluate pending legislation. So let's take advantage of their time and effort by simply asking them how they intend to vote on it (and urge them to support it, of course).

Once you find out where they stand, please let me know. I'll immediately share your input with the hardest working man in Sacramento, ABATE lobbyist Jim Lombardo. While RIDE2REPEAL.COM is focused on the elections next year, Jim needs your immediate support so he can work his mojo while the bill is working its way through the legislature.

Let's pull out all the stops, work together like never before, and help push this bill all the way to the Governor's desk. And regardless of how it turns out, we'll be ready when the campaign season rolls around too.

Thanks for your help.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

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Want a friend? Be a friend.

If you've ever ridden to the state capitol to meet your legislators, you know how important it is to make a good impression. You're on your best behavior, of course. A lot of motorcycling issues are at stake, and you certainly want a majority of legislators to be on your side.

But are you on their side?

As important as your trip to the capitol may be, it should NOT be the only time you have personal contact with your legislator. Ideally, your meeting should be more akin to reuniting with an old friend. And rather than talking them into helping you, they should instead be thanking you -- for helping them get there in the first place.

The reason is pretty clear. Politicians are just as passionate about winning elections as bikers are about riding motorcycles. So when you volunteer for a candidate during the campaign season, you make a lasting impression. And the harder you work for them on the campaign trail, the harder they'll work for you at the state capitol.

But when it comes to making a first impression, the legislative session is probably the least opportune time. Legislators are busy, trying to move their own agenda forward. Meanwhile, everybody else is clamoring for their attention, and asking them for favors. How can you possibly make yourself stand out from all the political moochers?

By not being a moocher, of course.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't go to the capitol if you’re new to election politics. Far from it. The more that legislators see you, the better. But think of the advantage you'd hold over other constituents -- and even professional lobbyists -- if you had been an important part of their winning campaign.

By all means, make that trip and tell them what you think. Just keep in mind that if you want to see more “biker friendly” legislators at the state capitol, then make sure they see more “friendly biker” volunteers on the campaign trail.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

Who's the Boss?

Imagine you applied for a job -- a job that's perfect. Good pay, of course. But the benefits are what you like most. They're putting you in charge of a lot of people, and you can put as much (or as little) effort into it as you want.

There's a catch...

You have to get past a job interview panel. And not just one time, but once every two years ... assuming you want to keep the job, anyway. (You do.) Same panel every time, and the same people. Fortunately, they like you. That's because they know you well, and trust you. They want you to succeed.

In fact, they actually recruited you.

That interview panel hired you to accomplish certain things, but otherwise they give you a free hand. And they'll support you, through thick and thin. In other words, they trust you enough to keep you. As long as you meet their short list of expectations, the job is yours to keep.

Now imagine, as part of your job, you get a lot of people who try to tell you what to do. This comes as unsolicited advise from total strangers. Some say do this and that ... while others say DON'T do this or that. They send you email, call your workplace. Sometimes they even make appointments to come and see you, though this is rare.

The bottom line is that you follow through for the people who hired you. And what about the advice from strangers? Basically, you do what you can to keep them satisfied (or at least pacified) ... as long as it doesn't conflict with what the hiring panel expects.

This is basically the way it works when you're a state legislator.

The interview panel is your campaign team. They're the ones who got you the job in the first place. Whether it's the party bosses or the foot soldiers, you'd hardly stand a chance of winning the election without their help.

And the unsolicited advice from total strangers? That's your constituents talking, asking you to vote yea or nay on bills that come before you. Most of them are passionate about the laws they care about. But for the most part, they won't do anything above and beyond expressing their opinion.

Now lets play out two different scenarios, one on each side of the helmet law. In both situations, you personally don't care one way or the other. You don't ride a motorcycle, for one thing. And helmet laws are not really a big issue, compared to balancing the budget, creating jobs, and all the other chart-topping issues of the day.

It was a close election, by the way. But your campaign team made the critical difference. And now that you won the race, you're the incumbent.

Scenario One...

Nobody on your campaign team rides motorcycles, and helmet laws are never even discussed throughout the campaign season. In fact, nobody says anything about it -- it's a non-issue -- until someone submits a bill to repeal it.

Then you get lots of input, from constituents on both sides of the issue as well as from representatives from the insurance industry, various government agencies, and the medical community. You can see both sides of the issue, but it's your decision to make.

In the end, you vote the party line, since most of your campaign team consists of the party faithful. Friends come first, after all ... and there's really no political benefit to going against them.

Scenario Two...

About a dozen of your campaign volunteers ride motorcycles. And the only reason they helped you get elected was because they approached you about repealing the helmet law.

You told the bikers up front that it wasn't a big issue, and that you didn't see a problem with keeping the helmet law as-is. But they made a good pitch, and you agreed ... as long as age, training, and insurance would be part of the package.

Sure enough, when a repeal bill was submitted, you got all kinds of input from constituents, government agencies, the insurance industry, and the medical community. But out of all the people you heard from, you remember those motorcyclists who helped you win that close election.

It's obvious that the outcome of each of these scenarios is a foregone conclusion. In the first case, motorcyclists made a lot of noise for a week or so, and then faded back into silence. But in the second case, those motorcyclists were there when it counted (for you). And they did more than talk. They busted their butts, and they helped you overcome your opponent at the polls.

This isn't some pie-in-the-sky theory. It's the way the political machine works in the real world. People who understand this, and then put it to good use, are the ones who really get to call the shots.

So if you ride a motorcycle, and you want to repeal the helmet law, click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  tab at the top of the page. When the Call to Action comes your way, you'll know what to do.

Then you'll know that you're the boss.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

Hold your Head Up

"In the long run, people don't remember whether you're right or wrong. What they remember is how you conduct yourself."

This is just how the human brain evolved over the years.

Just think like a caveman, and it becomes clear. You want to know who's on your side, and who's a threat. While we like to think we're so much more civilized in today's society, we are really just well-dressed cavemen.

As political activists, there are unwritten rules about how bikers should behave around elected officials as well as the public at-large. Some of these rules are good, and some of them are wrong.

Being polite is pretty universal. There's never a good reason to be rude. That doesn't mean you can't be assertive, but you can always make your point without crossing the ugly line.

Being confident, however, is usually NOT the way bikers present themselves. Take the issue of helmet laws. When bikers talk to their legislators on Lobby Day, for example, they often try to sneak it in amongst other more palatable issues. Like motorcycle awareness proclamations, driver education, etc.

Reminds me of the character "Toad" from the movie American Graffiti. Remember how Toad wanted liquor? So he asked for a comb, a snickers bar, a pack of slim jims, etc. Liquor was mentioned in there somewhere, hopefully not really noticed. Of course the proprieter gave him everything he wanted ... but THAT.

Sound familiar?

Bikers often use the same approach when we "ask" for the right to decide. We even gussy it up by calling it "helmet modification" or "helmet law reform," as if politicians are too stupid to see it for what it is.

Ask any lawyer (because I'm not one). If you strike any part of a law, you are REPEALING that part. This perspective is not that big of a deal, even though most activists will strongly disagree with me. But they are negotiating for their rights from a position of weakness.

It's all they know. And so far, they're getting pretty good at it.

Building political power must come first. Only then can you politely assert yourself in the world of politics. Everyone else must beg, boot lick, and suck up. Only the powerful have the right to decide, no matter what the issue.

Where does political power come from? The ability to win elections. Not by voting, because bikers are a minority. Instead it must come from concentrating our energy into the districts that have close races, and helping the biker-friendly candidate as campaign volunteers.

That way they see us helping them in their time of need. We don't have to live in that district, or even be registered to vote. And by working as a campaign volunteer, we're 10 times more powerful than any single voter. That's because we deliver votes.

Of course, once we start helping the good guys win elections, lobbying becomes more of a friendly get-together than an intimidating audience before the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

So get off your knees, stand up like a man, and hold your head high. It's so easy, even a caveman can do it.

-RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com