#003 - 7 Steps to Political Empowerment

Welcome to the podcast Change a Law. This is John Thibault, the founder and CEO of iLobby and the author of the book how to Change a Law, where we discuss politics, policy and, well, political persuasion because we want to empower voters to start thinking about changing laws. So join us. Seven Steps to Political Empowerment. If you feel overwhelmed and frustrated by our government leaders and apathetic about our own partisan destiny, there is a way out of your political malaise. Here are seven simple steps you can take to refresh yourself and participate in our democratic republic. 1. Register. Number 2. Learn. 3. Vote 4. Commit 5. Engage 6. Lobby 7. Run. Let me go through these number one register to vote show up. There are 45 million unregistered eligible voters in the country. Don't be one of them. If you're eligible to vote, register 215 million US voters can't be wrong. Locate the Registrar of Voters in your state or county. Fill in the form. Here's a tip. An absentee ballot makes things simple and easy. How long does this take? One hour Frequency. You just have to do it once, usually, and the cost is generally free. Number two Learn. Get informed and stay informed. Find out who your congressman is, your assemblyman, your senators, your mayor. Go to their websites, get on their email lists and follow their progress. Follow other political websites. Read political and opinion articles in major respective newspapers. Listen to talk radio. Watch cable and network television debates. The tip? Compare and contrast all these information sources and then decide for yourself. Time 4 hours frequency maybe once a year. And the cost? Well, let's say could be $50 for cable TV and a few newspapers. Number three vote. Make a decision. Choose. Vote in every election you qualify for. Read the campaign materials and gather independent, non partisan information. Read the candidate statements so you are as informed as possible. Then vote. Vote for the best candidate, not the ticket, not the party. Remember, voting is private. If you have an absentee ballot, you can vote ahead of election day without looking for a polling station or or disrupting your life. Think for yourself. Time takes two hours. Frequency every two years and the cost is free. Number four Commit. Put your money where your mouth is. Make a small donation to your congressman's campaign. $5 to $20 is fine if you believe in what he's doing. Support his campaign. If you don't, support the opponent or challenger. Remember, donations are public information, so follow the rules. Donate small amounts to several candidates. Time one hour frequency every two years. Cost as little as $20. Number five engage. Take a stand. Engage where you are. Identify the laws you want to change. Talk to your friends, then convince others to join you. Comment on a blog and sign a petition to support a cause or an issue. Write your representative and voice your opinion. Attend a town hall meeting, attend city council meetings or a fundraiser. Serve on a local committee. Volunteer to help out on a campaign. Visit city hall, your state Capitol or Washington, D.C. take a tour. Ask questions. The TIP volunteer, but only if you really enjoy it. The time 2 hours frequency maybe every 3 months and the cost to volunteer is free. Number 6 lobby build a coalition. Start by focusing on the top three issues that personally affect you. Write up your issue, your position, your arguments and your facts. Resolve your position, clarify your arguments and win support from your network. Expand your base, increase your reach and share the cost. You can lead it on your own. Lobbying used to be only for the rich, powerful and the connected, but now anyone can do it. Grassroots activism does not require you to join a single issue organization, a trade association, pay union dues, or contribute to a pac. You can drive costs down by sharing resources and costs with thousands of other people focused around a single common issue. With increased purchasing power, you can have the same influence as a special interest. The benefits will include less time, less money, greater mobility, ubiquity, increased control and getting laws changed every day, everywhere. Lobby on the go. Be honest and straightforward and you'll be amazed at your results. Time 15 minutes frequency monthly cost maybe $25 and finally, number seven run lead the world needs leaders. Run for office. Now that you've learned a lot and decided that you're tired of someone less competent controlling the agenda, you should run for office. If you are willing to serve and help other people, then you will find that this is something that will become your life. You will want to do it all the time. You will know this is for you because you listen to your supporters, you have the facts about solving real world problems and you are able to implement policy solutions. At this point you will know if you have the political bug or not. If you have issues and friends and family that support you, then this could be your ticket to political empowerment. Charisma and good speaking skills can come later. Once you're in, there'll be many people to help you on to the next level. So good luck. Don't stay in longer than you need to. Eight hours frequency daily cost maybe $5,000 or more. And here's a warning. All the estimates of time required, frequency and cost are minimums only and completely wild guesses. This has been the podcast Change a Law by John Thibault to learn more, just sign on to our website at www.ilobby.co or you can also visit www.changealaw.com. thanks for listening.