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Grassroots advocacy: applying lessons from the campaign battlefield

Campaigns & Elections, Feb, 1999 by Buddy Gill

There are infinite issues and constituencies fighting for finite pieces of a legislator's time ... Personalized, precisely targeted communications are more effective than depersonalized methods.

Political professionals are increasingly involved in public policy battles. But often the skills used to disembowel political opponents in a candidate election must be recalibrated to work effectively in the legislative arena. Here are a few lessons worth remembering when working with lobbyists:

1. If a lobbyist asks you "What works best?" answer: The best grassroots lobbying effort is a cumulative one. It's a strategy, not a single tactic.

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In an ideal election campaign, we want voters to see our candidate in TV commercials, televised debates, on the news. We want them to hear our radio commercials, get our direct mail, read about the candidate in the newspaper and see editorial endorsements. We also want them to meet the candidate at a forum or in a neighborhood canvass and to receive persuasion and get-out-the-vote phone calls. We aim to surround voters with our message from multiple information sources. And we hope the cumulative impact is that we get their vote when decision time comes.

So it is with legislators targeted in issue advocacy campaigns. Surround them with messages about your issue from multiple sources they know and trust. Like a political campaign manager, pick weapons from the arsenal of campaign-style tactics and seamlessly integrate their use. Like orchestra conductors, modulate the intensity, volume and timbre of different instrumental sections to create crescendos or build toward finales on cue.

2. A whip list is the legislative version of a public opinion poll. Like polls, they are snapshots in time. At the campaign's outset, ask the lobbying team to jointly rank each legislator as a potential target on your specific legislation. Stay in the room. Be sensitive: Some traditional lobbyists are squeamish about going "on record," or deciding who actually gets to lobby whom. Use a 1-to-5 rating scale (1 - solid supporter, 5 - solid opponent). Track your joint progress with periodic whip list meetings. Are votes steadily moving into your camp over time? You can't do your job supporting the lobbying team without a valid whip list - because the tactics you'll implement may differ for a legislator ranked 2 versus one ranked 3.5, just like targeting base and swing voters in an election.

3. "It's my district, stupid. "Learn from the lobbyists. Hands-on lobbyists continually monitor how legislators interpret various initiatives. Legislators first ask lobbyists how the issue specifically affects their district constituents or impacts politically influential groups. As in elections, all politics is local. Reverse the telescope and look at the world through that lawmaker's eyes. What messages and local messengers best position and connect your issue to their district?

4. Smart grassroots lobbying campaigns wield scalpels; they don't bludgeon indiscriminately. If a lobbyist tells you "Here are 30 targets, hit each of them with all you've got" and then walks out of the room, watch out. What works for Speaker Bob doesn't necessarily work for Chairwoman Mary. Personalized, precisely targeted communications are more effective than depersonalized methods. Start by asking your lobbyists who are the people this legislator will have the hardest time saying no to? Of them, who can we realistically recruit to advocate for our cause?"

5. Unlike elections, don't go negative first if you start out behind. Always dangle carrots before brandishing sticks. Elected officials want to feel good about supporting you. Find ways to help the lobbyists demonstrate to legislators the upside of constituents supporting them if they vote your way, such as generating positive earned media. Let legislators infer for themselves bad things that might happen if they vote against you. While Machiavelli said it's better to be feared than loved, in grassroots lobbying, it's best to be both.

6. Sustain one key message throughout your campaign, or you'll have mass confusion when legislators hit the floor. Messages that focus on the legislative process itself ultimately fail (e.g., a constituent is more credible saying "Please pass SB 369 to protect my family" than "Can you get Senator Smith off his butt to amend SB 369 with Wesson's new language?"). Grassroots campaign operations can send a message about what needs to be done and why, but not how. Media consultants don't let amateurs write their TV spots. Legislators don't like being told how to run the floor or their committees.

7. Understand that a lobbyist's word is his or her livelihood. Unlike do-or-die elections, resist the urge to burn down the village to win. Keep bridges intact. Never employ tactics that permanently damage a lobbyist's or client's relationship with a legislator. If the door stays open, a lobbyist can always come back later to fix a problem from a prior round.

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Grassroots advocacy: applying lessons from the campaign battlefield

Campaigns & Elections, Feb, 1999 by Buddy Gill

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