Biggfoot44
Ultimate Member
- Aug 2, 2009
- 32,877
The Hearings have been done for this year, but the session is not over . As long as the Bills are in play we need to keep up our efforts.
The next phase is to keep pressing our points with the Committee members . Email, phone calls and Faxes are all good, most powerful is office visits in person. If you are in the area, or can make it Annapolis for a few minutes stop in. Not everybody is at their most comfortable with larger groups such as Committees, maybe they're better one on one or just a cpl people. If you have a family member, or 2A buddy you can team up. One person can do all or most of the talking, the other can nod their head, or just add an occasional detail. Then you guys( gals, or etc) can switch off for the next visit.
Yes, the actual members are hard to catch up with, and they're usual busy and in a hurry. But frankly talking with a Chief of Staff is even better than a Member. You have better chance of catching them in the office when the member is in session or another Committee. A C of S will more often have the time to sit and have a real two way conversation, and they will have the ear of the member . If you can't get a C of S, ask for a Legislative Assistant, they will (usually) be up to speed on the Bills, and have a decent amount of input to the Member.
Keep focused on one, at most two related Bills at time . Aproach the Bill from an angle that relates to the intrests of their constituiants, or the areas of personal interest to the member. I.e. if their interest is based in Civil Rights, make points about due process, or how certain groups would be disporportionatly effect.
But be aware the MDAs are working the halls too. I was frequently up in the Offices today, and I was seeing the pink shirts in force. I don't know how well they do with it, but the know enough to be doing it. We need to do it, and do it better than they do it. Since we have the facts on our side, we can do it.
The next phase is to keep pressing our points with the Committee members . Email, phone calls and Faxes are all good, most powerful is office visits in person. If you are in the area, or can make it Annapolis for a few minutes stop in. Not everybody is at their most comfortable with larger groups such as Committees, maybe they're better one on one or just a cpl people. If you have a family member, or 2A buddy you can team up. One person can do all or most of the talking, the other can nod their head, or just add an occasional detail. Then you guys( gals, or etc) can switch off for the next visit.
Yes, the actual members are hard to catch up with, and they're usual busy and in a hurry. But frankly talking with a Chief of Staff is even better than a Member. You have better chance of catching them in the office when the member is in session or another Committee. A C of S will more often have the time to sit and have a real two way conversation, and they will have the ear of the member . If you can't get a C of S, ask for a Legislative Assistant, they will (usually) be up to speed on the Bills, and have a decent amount of input to the Member.
Keep focused on one, at most two related Bills at time . Aproach the Bill from an angle that relates to the intrests of their constituiants, or the areas of personal interest to the member. I.e. if their interest is based in Civil Rights, make points about due process, or how certain groups would be disporportionatly effect.
But be aware the MDAs are working the halls too. I was frequently up in the Offices today, and I was seeing the pink shirts in force. I don't know how well they do with it, but the know enough to be doing it. We need to do it, and do it better than they do it. Since we have the facts on our side, we can do it.