Moving Mountains

Repealing the motorcycle helmet law is like trying to dig a tunnel through a mountain. We know that once built, the road will be smooth and easy.

But that's a big mountain.

So far we've had limited success, digging with our hands and whatever else we can get a hold of. Shovels, pick axes, pry bars ... and a whole lot of blood, sweat, and tears. If only we had more helping hands.

That's why we spend a lot of time and effort looking for more people. Skills and aptitude don't matter, as long as we can increase our numbers. And it doesn't matter whether you actually dig, since we need more recruiters, safety inspectors, team supervisors, eloquent preachers, trash collectors, and even a dog catcher.

So to keep the operation going, we created a whole mining town, complete with a Board of Directors to keep everything under control. But running the town takes a lot of time and money, too. In fact, we need more resources for running the mining town itself than we do for actually digging.

The current state of bikers rights is that we spend more time on the mining town than we do at actually digging that tunnel. There's got to be a better way.

Fortunately, there is.

We now have a powerful tool at our disposal, called the Repeal Machine. So instead of digging with our hands, dealing with constant cave-ins, and getting sucked into the drama of life in a mining town, we can quickly drill a clean, wide hole straight through to the other side. Best of all, we can complete the job with the people we already have.

If you're like me, you're tired of digging ... and ready to ride.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

What Price Freedom?

How much attention to you "pay" to freedom? Or more specifically, what are you doing about it? This is a reasonable question to ask if we, as motorcyclists, hope to restore our right to decide when -- and when not -- to wear a motorcycle helmet.

You could read about it. Every year there are repeal bills in dozens of state legislatures. And every year, there are news articles about these annual attempts to repeal the helmet law.

You could talk about it. Lots of people talk about the helmet law, since most people have opinions about it. Motorcyclists definitely talk about it, though there are almost as many opinions as there are motorcycles.

You could protest about it. Many motorcycle rights organizations and activists make an annual trek to their state capitols. And all those protesters make a lot of noise.

The simplest way is to EARN IT. That obviously means getting off the couch, which a lot of bikers do. But you also need to be effective, and that's where reading, talking, and protesting fall short.

Helmet laws come from state legislators. State legislators are elected, and some of them win by very small margins. A few volunteers can easily help biker-friendly candidates win close elections, and at the same time they can help defeat vulnerable nanny-crat legislators.

This is not science fiction. It is fact. In the past 4 years we have won -- and lost -- close elections by fewer than 100 votes. One, by as few as 16. A couple of bikers can and do make the difference.

So what's the price of freedom? If you want to read, talk, or protest about it, you can't afford it. But if you're willing to break a sweat for a worthy candidate, it's practically free ... just like you.

The Repeal Machine

The Repeal Machine has arrived. Its sole purpose is to build a biker-friendly legislature at the state capitol. That's all it does, nothing more -- nothing less. So feel free to take the Repeal Machine for a test ride. You'll soon find yourself on the road to freedom.

The Accidental Activist

You want to repeal the mandatory helmet law, and you're willing to do what it takes to restore your right to decide.

How effective are you?

This is a reasonable question. It's not a matter of how hard you work, or how passionate you are. Nor does it depend on how effective you are at debating the issue. You have to measure your effectiveness in a way that is simple and easy to prove, just like saying 2 + 2 = 4.

Several states are considering some type of helmet law repeal. And there is no doubt that bikers rights activists are behind these bills. At least one biker organization in each of these states asked a biker-friendly legislator to submit a bill. That much is easy to prove.

But beyond that, it gets murky.

The way it plays out from here is predictable enough. Either the bill passes, or it doesn't. But WHY it plays out as passing or failing is not so clear, and what effect bikers have on the outcome is often totally misunderstood.

The wording of the bill gets a lot of attention, with the belief that adding the right conditions is crucial. Looking back at prior years, many bikers feel that previous bills failed simply because they lacked the right words to sweeten the deal. In truth, this is an extremely small factor since most legislators either support our right to decide ... or they don't.

A little sugar doesn't necessarily help the medicine go down.

Another conventional approach is that bikers need to rise up and be heard when the bill is being considered. Flooding the legislature with emails, faxes, and phone calls is the tactic. But again, this approach has a marginal effect. Incumbent legislators always get a tremendous amount of input on controversial bills. But if there's nothing except temporary noise, it's easy enough to ignore.

Big protest rallies are good at getting bikers stoked up. A show of force is very good ... to a point. But like the flood of emails and faxes, it too subsides. After the rally, the bikers go back home and wait for change to come. And the legislators go back to business as usual.

So what are the results of all this activism?

Not much, when it comes to how the vote comes down on repeal. As long as we bikers limit ourselves to only telling legislators what we want, we will never have control over the outcome. Without doing anything more than voicing our opinions, passing a repeal bill becomes a game of chance.

With these worn out tactics, ther's no way to break out of this dead end. We can not do it by getting more bikers to talk to their legislators. We can't do it by getting better at debating the issue. And we sure can't trick legislators into supporting repeal with crafty bill language.

Simply put, legislators need a reason to change their minds.

It takes a totally different approach to change the game, and that approach is the Repeal Machine. It's a simple process with proven results. With just a few bikers, working as campaign volunteers for electable candidates, we can build a biker-friendly majority.

How legislators vote is no longer a matter of personal opinion. Now it becomes a matter of job security.

Take a look at the Repeal Machine. There are very few moving parts, so there's less to break down. It has no weak links. And if each step is sucessfully completed, the dream of helmet law repeal becomes a reality. And that's no accident.

- RIDE2REPEAL@gmail.com

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