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

New Helmet Law

Actually, it's a new helmet law regulation. Adding to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 218 (FMVSS-218), it further cracks down on the wearing of novelty helmets. You know them as biker beanies, skid lids, or anti-ticket hats.

Katie, bar the door!

I'm sure a bunch of emails are flying around the on-line biker community. And so the standard response (yawn) will be calls to "action" to write your [fill in the blank] immediately. But the barn door was opened years ago, and the cows are long gone.

Bad legislation comes from bad legislators.

The same thing applies to the byproduct of bad legislation, which is regulation and enforcement of helmet laws. So the key is to nip oppressive regulation in the bud, before they turn into final rulings like FMVSS-218.

Consider this: About 10 years ago, an unknown community organizer was the only nominee for an unchallenged state senate seat ... by virtue of 237 petition signatures.

And now, he's President of the United States.

Fun Fact: About 75% of governors, Federal appointees (regulators), and congressmen started out as state legislators. And many of them won their first elections by a handful of votes.

Holler about laws and regulation, and nothing will change. We're too far downstream, and we have no leverage. It's a done deal.

But start at the headwaters of the state legislature, and the problem goes away. If bikers had gotten started about 10 years ago, we wouldn't even have FMVSS-218 now.

Nip them in the bud, bros.

Use the Repeal Machine Handbook (RepealMachine.com/handbook/).

See you on the campaign trail.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Oregon Trail

I just got back home from Oregon, where they recently held their annual May Awareness Rally. Despite the predicted bad weather, it turned out to be a good day for riding.

The best part of the trip was meeting with the folks from BikePAC and from the Hub City chapter of ABATE of Oregon. You'd expect them to be kind of down after having their latest repeal bill die in committee, but it wasn't like that at all.

Instead, they were a whole lot wiser from the experience. Some of the best lessons in life are also the hardest, and they are certainly stronger after what they went through.

More importantly, they are also all the wiser. So after the rally we all put our heads together, taking it all in from one end to the other. And the path they have chosen is clear. It's time to break out of the cycle.

Most MROs do the same thing over and over. Work their tails off all year long, only to find themselves right where they started from. So they try harder the next year, and end up back at square one.

Bikers in Oregon are different. With all that rain, you know they're persistent. But they also know how to adapt. And that's exactly what they're doing.

It was good timing that I finished writing the Repeal Machine Handbook in time for my trip up to the Beaver State. And once they took a look at it, they understood that it was the most direct path to repealing the helmet law, once and for all.

The good news is that you don't have to be from Oregon to get on the path to freedom. Anyone can use the Repeal Machine Handbook. And by using it, you will find your self hot on the trail that leads to freedom.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

PS: Special thanks to Don and Al, Nic and Mel, all the Hub City members for their hospitality, and especially to the girls up there who know how to get things done.

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

California Helmet Law

The bill to repeal California's helmet law (AB695) failed again. While it was a good bill, there wasn't enough political will to get it past the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Some folks believe that if bikers had written more emails, it might have passed. Others may think it failed because it was a party-line vote. But the plain truth is that California bikers don't have enough political power to get the job done.

So how do California bikers get that kind of power?

In the world of politics, there is no power greater than the ability to win elections. If you have that kind of power, no amount of letters, protests, or even an army of lobbyists can stop you. Self-preservation is the most convincing argument there is. In fact, it's the ONLY convincing argument there is.

One person has the power of one vote. Just one. But on the campaign trail, each volunteer can generate one vote per hour. So each weekend, during the campaign season, each biker can produce 10 votes. And a dozen bikers (times ten) equals 120 votes.

Every year, there are a few races that come down to less than 500 votes. Our task is to find those close races, and take down the most vulnerable nanny-crats. If we can do that ... win one or two close races ... during each election cycle, the results will be different next time.

Our campaign efforts will pay off, and in more ways than picking up a couple of seats. We will be sending a clear message to our legislators:

We will be waiting on the campaign trail ... that you must travel.

Only then will our voices have an impact on the legislature. Only then will we be worth listening to. Only then will we change the way the game is played.

Now that's something to write home about.

- Ride2Repeal@gmail.com

Dear Santa

Politics is not a matter of who writes the most letters. It is a matter of who gets the most votes.

The campaign volunteers who get behind candidates and help them win are the ones who get what they want. Because they help send their legislators to the capitol, their wishes are granted.

If you only rely on writing to everyone at the capitol -- without helping anyone win elections -- don't expect much more than a lump of coal. The reason is that you can't expect to get something without first giving something. Your pleas will otherwise fall on deaf ears.

Might as well be writing to Santa.

Which side do you want to be on? Our campaign volunteers chose to make a difference instead of hoping for a miracle. They are walking the walk, and not just talking the talk.

Do you want to get rid of the helmet law, or just write about it? Click on the red  SUBSCRIBE  button at the top of RepealMachine.com to get started. And if there's a biker-friendly candidate near you, you'll know what to do. WIN.

-Ride2Repeal@gmail.com