Advocacy Primer.
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For the next year, Donald Trump and congressional Republicans will control the federal government. But they will depend on just about every Member of Congress ("MoC") to actually get laws passed. And those MoCs care much more about getting reelected than they care about any specific issue. By adopting a defensive strategy that pressures MoCs, we can achieve the following goals:
Before anything else, take the following five steps to arm yourself with information necessary for all future advocacy activities.
- Stall the Trump agenda by forcing them to redirect energy away from their priorities. Congressional offices have limited time and limited people.
- Sap Representatives’ will to support or drive reactionary change. If you do this right, you will have an outsized impact.
- Reaffirm the illegitimacy of the Trump agenda. By objecting as loudly and powerfully as possible, and by centering the voices of those who are most affected by their agenda, you can ensure that people understand exactly how bad these laws are.
Before anything else, take the following five steps to arm yourself with information necessary for all future advocacy activities.
- Find your three MoCs, their official websites, and their office contact info at callmycongress.
- Sign up on your MoCs’ websites to receive regular email updates, invites to local events, and propaganda to understand what they’re saying. Every MoC has an e-newsletter.
- Find out where your MoCs stand on the issues of the day and review their voting history at VoteSmart.org. Research their biggest campaign contributors at OpenSecrets.org.
- Set up a Google News Alert (http://www.google.com/alerts) — for example for “Rep. Bob Smith” — to receive an email whenever your MoCs are in the news.
- Research on Google News (https://news.google.com/news) what local reporters have written about your MoCs. Find and follow those reporters on Twitter, and build relationships. Before you attend or plan an event, reach out and explain why your group is protesting, and provide them with background materials and a quote. Journalists on deadlines appreciate when you provide easy material for a story.