The One-Hour Activist E-Book

Christopher Kush

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 255

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

No matter what your political persuasion, The One-Hour Activist is your guide to influencing lawmakers, candidates, and reporters. The One-Hour Activist reveals fifteen powerful, proven grassroots actions that persuade lawmakers and candidates to see things your way. Each action is designed to grab the attention of your representatives and build relationships that serve your issues over the long run. And each action takes less than an hour to complete, so you can make a difference without giving up your life! The One-Hour Activist is packed with insider advice from elected officials, professional organizers, lobbyists, and journalists who share state-of-the-art tips for getting your message across. Real-life examples of effective letters, e-mail, phone calls, public testimony, and news story pitches from concerned citizens just like you illustrate the actions.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

PREFACE

Dedication

Acknowledgments

THE AUTHOR

Praise

Introduction

ISN’T MONEY THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS?

THE ONE-HOUR ACTIVIST

“THE PEOPLE’S HOUSE” REVISITED?

PART 1 - Gather Information and Strategize

ACTION 1 - Learn How Grassroots Advocacy Works

THE GRASSROOTS STAR OF INFLUENCE

WELCOME TO THE GRASSROOTS DRIVE-IN

EIGHT IMPORTANT GRASSROOTS CONCEPTS

ACTION 2 - Pick Your Issues and Your Angle

TO ARGUE OR TO SHARE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE AN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED PERSONAL STORY?

REASONS TO BECOME POLITICALLY INVOLVED IN AN ISSUE

YOUR PERSONAL ADVOCACY INVENTORY

ACTION 3 - Identify Your Representatives

HOW IS OUR GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED?

SO WHO REPRESENTS ME?

WHICH LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT HANDLES MY ISSUES?

THINGS YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS

WHY ARE COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS SO IMPORTANT?

ACTION 4 - Join an Interest Group

BENEFITS OF JOINING WITH OTHERS

YOUR ORGANIZED INTEREST GROUP BILL OF RIGHTS

WHAT IS AN ACTION ALERT?

ACTION 5 - Create a Legislative Agenda

WHAT IS A PERSONAL LEGISLATIVE AGENDA?

THINGS YOU CAN ASK A LAWMAKER TO DO TO HELP FIGHT FOR THE ISSUES YOU CARE ABOUT

ACTION 6 - Analyze a Bill

ADVANTAGES AND INSIGHTS PROVIDED BY BILL ANALYSIS

SHOW ME THE MONEY

ACTION 7 - Conduct Opposition Research

EASY WAYS TO CONDUCT OPPOSITION RESEARCH

TYPES OF OPPOSITION

HOW TO OPPOSE THE OPPOSITION

PART 2 - Contact Your Elected Officials

ACTION 8 - Write an Effective Letter

WHAT HAPPENS TO A LETTER IN A LEGISLATIVE OFFICE

WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE TIME TO INDIVIDUALIZE MY LETTER?

COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITING TO ELECTED OFFICIALS

TIPS FOR COMPOSING AN EFFECTIVE LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

WHAT IF MY ELECTED OFFICIAL DISAGREES WITH ME?

ACTION 9 - Send a Powerful E-Mail

CHOOSE E-MAIL CAREFULLY

TIPS FOR SENDING EFFECTIVE E-MAIL

ACTION 10 - Make a Compelling Phone Call

LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES OF MAKING GRASSROOTS PHONE CALLS

ADVICE ON THE PHONE CALL

ACTION 11 - Persuade Others to Act

ADVICE ON PERSUADING OTHERS TO JOIN THE FIGHT

OPPORTUNITIES TO PERSUADE OTHERS TO TAKE ACTION

PART 3 - Get Involved with Elections

ACTION 12 - Get Out the Vote

WHY VOTING IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS

VOTING IS ACTUALLY HARD WORK

VOTER TURNOUT AFFECTS YOU

SHOULD YOU REGISTER WITH A POLITICAL PARTY OR BE A POLITICAL FREE AGENT?

GET OUT THE VOTE

ACTION 13 - Contribute Money to Candidates Who Support Your Cause

HOW DO CAMPAIGN DONATIONS AFFECT THE AMERICAN POLICY PROCESS?

MAKE SURE YOU GET NOTICED

TYING YOUR CAMPAIGN DONATIONS TO THE ISSUES YOU CARE ABOUT

OPTIONS FOR CONTRIBUTING

PART 4 - Work the News Media

ACTION 14 - Start a Press Clippings File

ACTION 15 - Write a Letter to the Editor

PREPARING YOUR SUBMISSION

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A LETTER TO THE EDITOR AND AN OPINION EDITORIAL

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN WRITING A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OR AN OPINION EDITORIAL

PART 5 - Super-Powerful Actions That Take a Little More Time

ACTION 16 - Have a Face-to-Face Meeting with Your Representative

DON’T FORGET THE BASICS

COMMON EVENTS THAT PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR IN-PERSON MEETINGS

SCHEDULING A LEGISLATIVE MEETING

HOOK, LINE, AND SINKER: THE THREE PARTS OF A LEGISLATIVE MEETING

WHAT IF YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS NEGATIVE OR NONCOMMITTAL ABOUT YOUR REQUEST?

THE THANK-YOU NOTE

ACTION 17 - Testify at a Public Hearing

SOME WAYS IN WHICH PUBLIC TESTIMONY IS USEFUL

WHAT HAPPENS AT A PUBLIC HEARING

ACTION 18 - Participate in a Protest

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN A PROTEST

PERSONAL PREPARATIONS

PROTEST DON’TS

ACTION 19 - Volunteer for a Political Campaign

YOUR CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER BILL OF RIGHTS

WHAT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO AS A VOLUNTEER

ACTION 20 - Pitch a News Story or Interview

INTERVIEW TIPS

HOW TO KNOW IF SOMETHING IS NEWSWORTHY

SHOULD YOU SEND A PRESS RELEASE?

IT’S TIME FOR ACTION!

To aid you in your activism, the worksheets in this book are available FREE on-line.

If you would like to download electronic versions of the worksheets, please visit

www.josseybass.com/go/onehouractivist

Thank you,

Christopher Kush

Copyright © 2004 by Christopher Kush. All rights reserved.

Published by Jossey-Bass

A Wiley Imprint

989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741 www.josseybass.com

ISBN: 0-7879-7300-9

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Kush, Christopher.

p. cm.

1. Political participation—United States. 2. Political activists—United States. I. Title.

JK1764.K84 2004

322.4’0973—dc22

2003023197

PREFACE

This is a tactical guide, not a civics class.

This is a book of action—a book you will put down to write, call, or meet with your elected officials or to engage in any of the twenty powerful grassroots actions explained in this book. These actions take you well beyond the voting booth and into the creation of substantive, influential dialogues with the people in power who represent you.

I understand that inspiration can be fleeting, so I have presented the core information you need to quickly and easily begin to have an impact on the issues you care about. This is a book with as little political theory and history as I could get away with. This is also a book you can grow with—and the deeper you explore The One-Hour Activist, the more sophisticated your actions will become.

Your first action to take, whatever your previous experience with politics is, should be to review exactly how grassroots advocacy works . This is the subject of the first chapter, Action 1. Americans harbor all sorts of misconceptions about the mechanics of grassroots advocacy, for example, that clicking on a prewritten e-mail is just as effective as a written letter because the only thing elected officials do with such communications is count them. In fact, some of the letters do get read, and the ones that do have a distinct advantage over those that are merely counted.