Cure for Inaction

Do you suffer from Narcotizing Dysfunction, also known as ND?

This condition has spread throughout the bikers rights community, since it is highly communicable.

ND is spread primarily via email. While most sufferers are totally unaware that they have contracted ND, there is an easy way to find out whether you've got it or not.

> Do you regularly email others with info about important issues?

> Do you believe that you've taken action by sending these emails?

If you answered YES to both questions, you've got ND!

Fortunately, help is available. And despite what some may believe, ND can easily be cured.

All you have to do is get out from behind your keyboard, and actually do something about the issue you care about. Or at least recommend a solution to the problem. Merely telling others about the issue is not enough, since this only makes the problem worse.

Ultimately, only your actions (not your emails) can cure yourself of ND. It's not enough to know about a problem. You have to actually do something about it.

Fallen Warrior

Richard "Dick" Floyd passed away on August 11, 2011. He is widely known for bringing the mandatory helmet law to California in 1992. For that alone, he is probably hated by a lot of frustrated motorcyclists.

Not me. I respect him for what he accomplished. Heck, I even admire him.

Don't get me wrong. I hate the helmet law more than your average motorcyclists. In fact, I've never met another biker who opposes the mandatory helmet law more strongly than I do.

But I gotta give credit where credit is due.

Floyd knew how to fight -- and he especially knew how to win -- the helmet law battle. He didn't get sidetracked, and never lost focus. He never gave up, and never took his eyes off his goal. But it was more than his single-mindedness that took us down. It was his winning strategy.

Dick Floyd didn't fight hard ... because he didn't have to. Instead, he fought smart. He picked his battle, and made his own rules. He played his strengths, and took advantage of our weaknesses. And we fell right into the trap he set for us. In fact, we're still running around in the same circle to this very day.

Even from the grave, he's still beating us.

Floyd drew us into a war of words, a dueling debate, a stalemate of statistics. And as long as we played his game, by his rules, on his home turf, he won. It took him only two seconds to plant a single lie, and bikers have spent the last two decades trying to prove him wrong.

Funny thing is, California bikers actually did beat Dick Floyd (once, temporarily). Not in a war of words, but by taking our fight to the campaign trail. When bikers mobilized against him, they kept him out of office. And that unified action took away the only real advantage Floyd had, which was his ability to legislate. All the rest was just a smoke screen.

But that valuable lesson was somehow lost. We abandoned the strategic high ground we held, and instead fell into his spin cycle of debating the issue. As if we could somehow say the right words or email enough letters to ever put the genie back into the bottle.

Floyd is dead, but life goes on. Redistricting is here, key legislators are termed out, and the 2012 primary elections are just around the corner. Will we keep trying to talk the talk? Or are we ready to walk the walk?

California bikers will determine whether Dick Floyd has the last laugh. And that's no joke.

Stack the Deck

Nevada is a state with a term-limited legislature. While it's debatable as to whether term limits are a cure-all for state politics, there's no question that it gives bikers a huge advantage towards repealing the helmet law.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, helmet laws are NOT decided during the legislative session. Election Day is when it really happens, and the results are merely added up when the Senate and Assembly vote on a repeal bill.

So the key to victory is not to email your legislators during the session. This approach relies too much on luck. And in this game, you need more than luck to win. If you disagree, look at how long bikers have been mass-emailing, year after year ... with no luck.

So how do term limits help the repeal effort?

By letting us stack the deck.

Incumbents are notoriously hard to defeat. Well over 95% of legislators win reelection. It's only when a seat becomes vacant that there's a real chance of making progress. This is especially true during the primary phase of the elections, where voter turnout is low and margins of victory are small.

Nevada has an additional advantage beyond term limits. Almost all of its legislative seats are located in two areas: Las Vegas and Reno. That's where all the people live, after all.

But it's also where the bikers live.

Imagine the kind of impact we'd have if a dozen bikers got involved in the few districts that are termed-out. With a little effort, we could turn those districts into "yes" votes on repeal.

Like Bon Jovi sang, "Luck ain't even lucky ... gotta make your own breaks." We need campaign volunteers to stack the deck in our favor. Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button to get started.

How to Score

Strength in numbers is a good thing. But if you plan on repealing the helmet law by any tactic that requires numerical superiority, you are going to have a hard time scoring. But the bases are loaded, and the winning run is standing on third.

Bikers are a tiny minority of the voting population. Strike one! Most bikers aren't politically active. Strike two! Politicians know this. Strike three ... you're outta there!

Let's pretend you DO have a lot of biker activists, ready to take action. What do you do with all that talent?

Raise money for political donations? Biker's aren't flush with cash. Strike one! Write a lot of letters to legislators? Politicians already ignore bikers. Strike two! Have a massive show at the capitol? Politicians know you will go back home at the end of the day. Strike three ... you're outta there!

Okay, you have only one out left. Will you keep swinging for the fences, or are you going to surprise them? Maybe it's time to catch them off guard, and hit where they least expect it. You gotta play smart to win at this game.

Play your strengths. You live near a district where a vulnerable nanny-crat is running for reelection. The race will be close because there's a strong challenger who supports repeal. It won't take much effort, and it doesn't require a whole lot of bikers Just a little tap in the right place will do...

So you bunt.

By nudging the vote, you forced a run home. And yes, you scored. Not because you worked your tail off, but because you played it smart.

You played to win.

Get Ready

Now that late summer is upon us, the political calendar shows that many states will soon gear up for primary elections. This is the most important time for biker activists to get involved.

I know that's contrary to "the way we've always done it." Most bikers are more inclined to focus their attention on repeal bills. But that's too late in the game to make any real difference.

When politicians are running for office, they need help. After they're in, they already have all the help they need. And while nanny-crats are running for reelection, they are vulnerable to primary challengers. Otherwise they're safe behind the castle walls.

So the first step is to find out who is running for office, as well as what legislative seats are coming open (due to term limits or retirement). That's pretty easy, and most of that work is already done for you.

The part where YOU can make a difference is to find out who the candidates are, and ask them what's their policy on the helmet law. Don't try to lobby them just yet ... what we need are their unbiased opinions. The less you steer their answer, the better.

Once we know where they stand, we're ready to take action. Our whole operation is focused on putting campaign volunteers where they can get the most results. That's how we will repeal the helmet law, once and for all.

Political Freeway

QUESTION: Anyone can volunteer for any candidate regardless of which district they live in correct?

ANSWER: Absolutely.

Since coming to California in May 2010, I've worked for six different candidates. Some were nearby, and others were over 100 miles away.

Five of these candidates won office, and they know me on a first-name basis. They also know how reliable I am. And I know where they stand on the helmet law, since I asked them ahead of time and only then volunteered.

I can't vote in California. Not yet, anyway. That's because I'm still a legal resident of another state. But despite that fact, I have more political power in my pinkie than 100 California voters.

Why? Campaign work doesn't require you to do anything other than show up. And that's 100% of the battle. While citizens can only cast a single vote, and only in their voting district, campaign volunteers produce one vote per hour where ever they work.

Politically speaking, the campaign trail is a freeway. Anyone can ride on it, and it's the road to freedom.

Talk is Hot Air

Yes, the debate over helmet laws will never end. But all that talk is just a bunch of hot air.

Repeal doesn't depend on debating the issue. It's a matter of political action.

So the choice for bikers is whether to prolong the debate, or repeal the helmet law. Talk is not action.

The elections are coming around soon. Find a candidate who supports repeal, and then join their campaign team. Otherwise, you have no say in the outcome.

Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button to find important races near you.

Pop the Question

Now that summer is winding down, it's time for biker activists to pop the question:

"What's your position on the mandatory helmet law for motorcyclists?"

If you pay attention to politics with a mind to make a difference, check out the candidates who are looking to move into the legislature. Incumbent segislators will also be trying to hold onto their seats, or move up to higher office.

With all this activity, it's important to know which candidates are biker-friendly and which ones are not. If you wait until after the election to get involved, the bouquet has already been tossed ... and you didn't catch it.

The easiest way to find out is to simply ask. And I do mean simply. Don't give away your position by telling them what you think about helmet laws. What you want is an honest answer.

Once you find out, record your candidate's position. This will help bikers can take action where it matters.

Oregon Shuffle

With a mid-term resignation of a US Congressman, there is normally a domino effect. State legislators are prime candidates for filling the void, which often triggers yet another special election for the state seat.

Not so in Oregon.

Unlike most states, Oregon normally fills mid-term vacancies in the state legislature by appointment. That means a hand-picked party member gets the seat. And that means the new legislator will be an incumbent by the time the next general election rolls around.

Gerrymandered districts are the norm for most states. That means the primary elections are the only races that might be competitive. We may not have any real choice with the resignation of Congressman Wu.

Fortunately, the elections resulting from Congressman Wu's exit won't be the only time the deck gets shuffled. There will be a few open seats, and a few competitive primary races.

That's where we need to focus our efforts. Spring will be here soon, and we'll be ready.

Repeal Machine Basics

The Repeal Machine is a tool that activist use to repeal the mandatory helmet law. It accomplishes this by steadily building a legislative majority, district by district. To do this, it relies on three basic steps:

1. Find out candidates' positions on mandatory helmet laws
2. Find out which few races are the most competitive
3. Mobilize campaign volunteers where we have the greatest impact

All essential tasks are provided in the Repeal Machine Handbook, which is an interactive step-by-step guide. Each Handbook task takes you progressively one step closer to repeal. There is no wasted effort, and each completed task builds a solid foundation for the next.

With the Repeal Machine, success doesn't depend on changing our opponent's minds about the helmet law. Instead, it creates a "critical mass" of like-minded activists who can focus on getting results. In turn, the Machine simply rewards or punishes legislators based on where they stand on the helmet law.

In addition to being effective, the Machine is also efficient, so it doesn't require a mass biker uprising, either. The more competitive a targeted race is, the smaller the number of activists needed. The outcome is therefore determined completely by our network of activists, and unhindered by our opponents' propaganda. So once in motion, no one can stop the Machine or undo its results.

The first step is also the easiest. Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button so we can notify you about important races near you. For more information, please contact me at Ride2Repeal@gmail.com.

Assembly Line

The state legislature is a lot like a factory. Legislators go in at one end, and legislation comes out at the other. How the laws are made doesn't matter as much as what the laws are made out of. Good legislation depends good legislators.

If you start with high-quality raw materials, you're more likely to get a good product. Nobody's perfect, of course. But without good legislators to begin with, the odds of getting good laws are extremely remote. Like they say, "garbage in, garbage out."

Forget about trying to turn bad legislators into good ones. Even if you talk until you're blue in the face, it won't make one bit of difference. That's because a leopard won't change his spots any sooner than a nanny-crat will respect your rights. It's possible ... but highly unlikely. Better to start with someone who's got a good reason to listen to you.

Fortunately, it's pretty easy to find good legislators ... as long as you know where to look. The campaign trail is where they come from, although you'll have to shop around to find the best candidates. If they are biker-friendly, and they have a good chance of winning, you found a keeper. Then all you have to do is join their campaign team and help them win.

Once you help a candidate win their first race, you have a friend for life. After all, you are the reason they got elected in the first place. And that's why they will listen to you -- especially when there's important legislation being considered -- because you earned their trust on the campaign trail.

So if you want good legislation to come out of the state capitol, make sure you put good legislators in there to begin with. Then you'll be happy with the laws coming out of the legislative assembly line, because they're made from the best stuff on earth: good legislators.

Foundation

If you want to build a really nice house, start with a really solid foundation.

You can't start by framing the walls, installing ductwork, wiring the outlets, or tiling the roof. You'd have nothing to build upon. Even worse, you'd be getting in the way of people who are trying to lay the foundation in the first place.

Same goes for our rights as motorcyclists. START by getting people elected to the legislature who will carry the load. Once they're in place, we'll have a solid and reliable foundation. Only then can we "install" the things that will make life free and easy for us all.

Unfortunately (sigh) the standard approach for biker activists is to start at the top ... trying to change the legislation (rather than change the legislators). There's also the court of public opinion, which is nice to have (like a roof deck) but not really necessary. Then throw in a party or two, and we can bitch about the sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in.

For some reason, very few biker activists understand this simple concept. And ironically, the majority of the "movement" is so fixated on finishing the job that they miss one little fact: There's too little foundation for them to build upon.

We can't change everyone's mind. Some people just aren't that deep. But there are some of us with enough common sense to start at the beginning ... on the campaign trail. We can leave the window dressing for everyone else.

CALM Down

Bad legislation comes from bad legislators. Bikers can get lucky and dodge one bullet, only to find ourselves getting nicked by another. But there are a lot of legislators who are gunning for us. Right now they have an unlimited supply of ammunition, and we are riding around with bulls-eyes on our backs.

Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles (CALM) can easily kick our butts as long as we fight them on their terms, using their weapons, where they have the home-field advantage. Their message resonates with the non-riding public, just like our bikes resonate with their car alarms. And as long as bikers keep chasing after CALM in a public debate, we'll be as irrelevant as a dog chasing a car ... and just as likely to get run over.

Legislators need a solid reason to be on our side. And I'm not talking about reasons that make sense to us as bikers. The reason has to be a matter of political self-preservation. Make a connection between our rights and their elections, and they'll have that reason ... because it will be in their best interest to be on our side of every issue.

When legislators see bikers on the campaign trail, as capable and reliable volunteers, we will have turned the tables. Our opponents will then be the ones who are bitching and moaning about how they're being ignored, despite how good they are at making noise.

There's no way we can win every race, of course. Most incumbents are untouchable, and most districts are owned by one party or the other. But there will always be open seats and vulnerable districts. During the primary elections, we can easily win a few close races.

There's no debating it.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Repeal Handbook

Now there's an easy step-by-step guide to repealing the helmet law. It's called the Repeal Machine Handbook, and it presents a set of tasks that lead straight to repeal.

The handbook has four categories, with tasks ranging from the simple to the challenging. But the great thing about it is that you don't need to do everything to get the results you want. Any single task is enough.

The handbook's website address is RepealMachine.com/handbook/. Take it for a test ride and let me know what you think.

I think you'll like it.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Achilles' Heel

Have you ever seen the movie called Jason and the Argonauts? One memorable scene in it reminds me of the current fight for bikers rights.

Jason finds a treasure trove that's guarded by a gigantic bronze statue. Though he knows better, he gives in to temptation and steals some jewelry. The statue comes to life and starts stomping the Argonauts like bugs. They try to fight back, but they're outmatched.

Then Jason notices a manhole-sized plug in the statue's heel. As soon as he uncorks the plug, the statue is mortally wounded, and rapidly and crumbles to the ground.

Bikers are fighting against a giant, too. It's the nanny state, and it's guarding the treasure we seek (freedom). But no matter how hard the bikers fight, the giant nanny keeps squashing them like bugs. Fortunately, the nanny state has an Achilles' Heel, too.

Why fight the giant with sticks and stones? A little campaign work in the right place can take down a vulnerable nanny-crat legislator. Do it in a couple of districts, and the giant starts to crumble. Get better at it, and it happens that much faster.

See you on the campaign trail ... and you can keep the treasure.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Learning Curve

I've learned a lot about politics over the past several years.

Being a freedom-loving biker, I joined my first MRO many years ago. And I put a lot into it, because it takes a lot to keep an MRO going ... virtually all of it through volunteer efforts.

Being a quick study, as well as a hard worker, I learned the ropes. Eventually I served in various capacities, from recording secretary to webmaster, and from Chapter Coordinator to Executive Director.

There were a lot of potholes along the road to freedom, as well as detours and ditches. The harder we worked, the more difficult the road seemed to become. Of course we started getting creative, branching out our activities and issues to appeal to more bikers.

We needed more bikers ... lots more.

Our legislative officer was an odd character, though. He kept telling us we needed to take out our worst legislative opponents during the next election. But we kept on doing protests, fundraisers, and trying to get as many bikers involved as possible.

Finally I agreed to help him work on the campaign trail, along with a few other members of my chapter. And what do you know ... our opponent was defeated AND we helped to elect a biker-friendly candidate in another nearby district. We had one less enemy and one more friend in the legislature.

Not bad for only five bikers.

After several years I had learned how an MRO works from other motorcyclists. But on the campaign trail I started learning how politics works from the candidates. And there is a big difference between the world of motorcycles and the world of politics.

Except for the using the helmet law as leverage, the Repeal Machine Handbook has absolutely nothing to do with motorcycles. You could even take out the words "helmet law repeal," and replace it with any other political issue. It would still operate the same way, because it only produces political results.

That's the reason it's so effective. And probably the reason it's so hard for motorcyclists to understand. It's not about motorcycles at all, but that's because motorcyclists don't necessarily produce political power.

But campaign volunteers sure do.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Sacramento

My first trip to the California State Legislature was time well spent. Got far more accomplished than I would have expected, and this ain't the first time I've been to a state capitol. Pretty amazing.

When first riding in, it was impressive to see about a thousand bikes parked out in front of the Capitol building ... even though I ended up having to park several blocks away. All those bikes in one spot was a sight to see, in case anyone missed it. I didn't even get a chance to take a picture. By the time I rushed all the way back up to the Capitol building, the rally was just getting underway.

Unfortunately I was running about 5 minutes late for my first appointment, so I went straight inside to meet the freshmen legislators that I'd worked for last year. We usually ended up talking waaaaay longer than we had originally scheduled, so I spent several hours talking to one legislator after another, back to back. Even dropped by to see a couple of them who I didn't even have prior appointments with (but did work for last year).

Every Assembly Member, Senator, and their staffers were generous in giving us so much of their time and attention. They treated us like royalty. I know this was due to the hard work that all the campaign volunteers did for them last year (They said to say "Thank you!"). Also heard a really funny story from two staffers about Denise Ducheney, Abel Maldonado, and the Governator, but I just can't repeat it here. Let's just say there was one cigar, one horse shoe, and a whole lot of "F" words. (See you at the next Local 6 or 11 meeting for the "rest of the story")

Weird thing is, I saw hardly any bikers inside the building as we made the rounds. Of course I saw Sporty wearing off his shoe leather. He's got to be the hardest working and most determined activist in the world, so I didn't want to slow him down (not that I could, even if I tried). During one break in the appointments, I got to sip coffee and have a good chat with Deacon (what a great guy) as well as Ron and Dan, of course. There were about three other MC bikers (who's names and patches I can't remember) that I also saw inside the Capitol during the day, plus our lovely and talented ABATE staff from the state office.

Maybe I just spent so much time with the legislators, I simply missed seeing more bikers in the hallways. But by the time we finished all our meetings, and I went back outside at after 3pm, there was only one single bike left out in front. Everyone had already ridden back home, so I totally missed it! A couple of legislators didn't even know there was a rally outside, and two other people asked us what all the motorcycles were about. But I heard it was a great event, even though I didn't actually get to share in the experience ... this time around, anyway. I'm sure there are stories to tell for years to come.

But all in all, it was really good to see so many new biker-friendly legislators in Sacramento, fighting the good fight. And after the 2012 elections, no doubt there will be even more. I think next year, I'll schedule meetings with legislators on a different day than the rally, so I can get the best of both worlds.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

PS: Be sure to send "thank you" notes to the legislators you met with.

Ratchet

The bikers rights movement has been going in circles for decades. Every year it's the same cycle, over and over.

It starts moving with getting enough bikers to agree on what a repeal bill should contain. Age, experience, training, and insurance are the standard issues to debate.

Of course they never call it "repeal," instead opting for words like "reform" or modification." It's as if they're afraid to say repeal, or perhaps they're trying to trick legislators into thinking it's something else.

Once a repeal bill gets submitted, out go the "calls to action." That will generate surge of emails from keyboard commandos. And not surprisingly, they don't change anyone's mind.

Finally, it comes down the committee hearing. Bikers will pack the hearing room, just like last year. And the bill doesn't pass, just like last year. So the bikers helplessly watch all their hard work go down the tubes.

Again.

Then it's back to the drawing board, and they will try to figure out how to get better at doing what doesn't work. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The irony is that it doesn't have to be this way, working up as much energy as possible, only to see it all fall on deaf ears, year after year.

Campaign work is totally different. It isn't like a wheel, spinning in circles. It's more like a ratchet, steadily moving forward but never retreating.

Every election cycle, we pick up another couple of biker-friendly legislators. And once they're elected, they stay there for a long time.

Click.

Every legislative session, we get a vote count on the latest repeal bill. Then we know which legislators to knock out of office during the next election.

Click.

With each new election, and each new session, we get closer and closer to our objective, which is a biker-friendly majority. There is no "back to the drawing board" about it. The gains we make are gains we keep.

If this sounds good to you, take a look at the Repeal Machine Handbook. Everything you need to do is in there, step-by-step.

Click.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Hobby Lobby

Someone recently took a look at the Repeal Machine Handbook
and said, "You could use this for any political issue, not just the helmet law."

That's an astute observation, since I am already in the process of using it on other political fronts.

The reason is that politics has NOTHING to do with motorcycles, and EVERYTHING to do with influencing legislators. Pick an item, whether it's a popular topic like abortion or guns, or a niche issue like flying model aircraft or painting bicycle lanes.

The problem with most "political interest" organizations is that they push their interest out in front of their politics. In other words, they spend more time being "hobbyist lobbyists" instead of political activists.

When they talk to legislators, they don't have a compelling argument. A logical argument, yes. But what makes sense to a hobbyist will fall on deaf ears to a legislator who just isn't that into that hobby.

However, I guarantee that legislator is VERY into getting reelected. So the trick is to make a connection between your political issue and their winning elections. That's what the Repeal Machine Handbook does.

And that's why it works.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Simple Question

The question isn't whether a helmet is good for you. It's whether you want to be forced to wear one.

(If you like the motorcycle helmet law, do nothing.)

But if you are done debating the issue, and would rather get rid of it, use the Repeal Machine Handbook. Simple steps, unbeatable results.

Click here and decide for yourself: RepealMachine.com/handbook/

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com