In recent months, there has been a growing movement among progressives to "take back" democracy from entrenched corporate interests and return it to the people. At a recent HopeDance sponsored screening of videos featuring participants in the Bioneers, more than one visionary called for people to get actively involved creating the government they would like to see. While there has been visible success on the local level, with county or municipal officials, how many people are making the journey to the state capitol, the ultimate bastion of "local" politics? Granted, state capitols (as a rule) tend to be located away from the largest population centers, and somewhat inconvenient to access.
That is the advantage well funded corporate lobbyists have used to create a virtual revolving door for their special interest constituents beneath the golden dome rising above 15th Street in Sacramento — and it must be challenged.
On any given day, there will some representatives of the people present in the halls of the state capitol — Global Exchange’s Medea Benjamin, for example - but they are far outnumbered by the paid lobbyists making the rounds. In response to this, the Oaks Project, a volunteer democracy-building group founded by Harvey Rosenfield of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights ( FTCR) and Ralph Nader, offers training for the citizen-lobbyist.
I joined the Oaks Project in August, 1999, and in the subsequent years have worked on successful local initiative cam-paigns, as well as receiving training in lob-bying. Among the tools were role-playing sessions to help prepare for our visit. We learned about the dynamics of the meeting (for exampleówho sits and who standsóand the balance of power and use of body language). We learned how to rehearse our pitch and divide it among the participants so we make a balanced appearance. We also rehearsed our rebuttals to the most com-mon retorts, and, most importantly, made sure that we were all competent with our facts and ability to quote any studies. The last thing you want is to deliver any con-tradictory information, because a legislator will jump at the chance to discredit you and your colleagues. It also helps to know the geography of the capitol ... locations like "the pit" — a corridor outside the main chambers where the legislators are "funneled" when they leave a session. Usually the lobbyists lay claim to this privileged area — imagine how surprised and disenchanted they were to see members of the Oaks Project already occupying the few bench seats when they arrived!
A lobby visit to the state capitol is an eye-opener. I’ll never forget how shocked I was the first time I witnessed the "old boy" network in action. I had flown to Sacramento to meet the Oaks Project members and speak before a committee on reform-ing the actual initiative process: to request that those initiatives put forth by all volunteer effort (as op-posed to the "paid" signature gather-ers) be so labeled; and that adver-tisements for initiatives include the top three financial contributors (as opposed to hiding behind innocuous sounding groups like "Californians For A Brighter Tomorrow" which could really be PG&E, for example). On my Southwest Airlines flight from Burbank to Sacramento, I listened to the older man sitting ahead of me, and realized from his conversation that he was going to chair the committee before which we would be appearing the following day. I said nothing until we had landed and were disembark-ing, at which point I stood in the aisle and used that opportu-nity to clip (with notice-able exag-geration ) my Oaks Project name badge to my shirt. pre-tended to suddenly recognize him and said, "Good evening, I’m David Weisman from the Oaks Project, believe we’ll be speaking to your committee tomor-row." He furrowed his brow as if trying to remember something and replied, "Oh, the Oaks Project ... didn’t you folks pass some kind of initiative in Santa Barbara?" I cor-rected him, " That was San Francisco and Santa Monica, as well as Pasadena, Vista and Claremont." His reply was, "So, you’ve come up here to muddy the waters for us, heh heh ... " and then he gave me a playful, but patronizing punch on my shoulder. "No sir," I answered, "we’ve come to clear the air.
"Well, good of you to try," he smirked and then as he left the airplane was almost immediately surrounded by suited lobby-ists, who put their arms and his shoulders, shook his hands, and on a first-name basis began pushing their issues.
"So, this is how it’s done," I thought, still shocked, and disgusted. A citizen volunteer makes his own way to the capitol and is greeted with deri-sion, while the paid lobbyists get a warm embrace. Luckily, our training at the Oaks Project had prepared us for our work the following day. We donned our neat attire and made our way to the capitol. Although our efforts on that day did not bear fruit (witness the recent abuse of the initiative process and recall referendum viz. Gray Davis), it helped many of us on our first visit to develop confidence and skills.
The professional lobby-ists have many advantages: Their time-saving flights are paid for (while we have to carpool and split the cost for gasoline for the long drive); they stay at the posh and -- convenient Hyatt Regency (while we share rooms at the Motel 6 in a noisy-at-night part of town); they have the clout of being instantly recognized by legislative staffers (while we get to wait ... and wait ... in the outer office). Lobbyists may also be paid to promote several different issues on one day, with an accordion folder of files from industries as diverse as lumber and aerospace. But, in spite of these seeming advantages, there is one key factor the professional lobbyists don’t have: The Moral Imperative. They represent corporate special interests, and are, in effect, nothing more than mercenaries swathed in poorly tailored suits and badly designed ties.
This became shockingly clear when we Oaks volunteers went to Sacramento in September, 2001, to lobby against the proposed multi-billion dollar bailout of Southern California Edison. Our campaign included some theatrics such as wearing bright yellow armbands on our sleeves that said "Bailout Brigade" and the singing of "bailout carols" outside the offices of legislators (sample lyric: "Dashing through the halls, The energy lobby’s way, Room to room they go, Laughing all the way, ha ha ha.") These techniques did gain media and press coverage ... and even the wrath of a paid lobbyist, who smacked a video camera from the hands of one of our members who was videotaping his confab with a legislator. After the debacle, the Capitol Sargent-at-arms did verify that as citizens, we can videotape the activities in the halls of the Capitol, as long as our tripods or equipment do not block access or create a safety hazard. That makes a hand-held video camera an effective tool for letting lobbyists and legislators know that they are being watched. After intense pressure (we managed to visit all the legislative offices in a week!) I am certain that the actions of the Oaks Project strongly contributed to the defeat of bailout plan. And, two years later, the arguments of legislators that "fail-ure to bailout Edison would plunge portions of the state into darkness" have proven to be groundless.
People are often intimidated when meeting legislators — and while these officials certainly deserve the respect one would accord a colleague in business or academics — remember that they work for you! They don’t work for the corporate special interests — though they do take their huge campaign contributions.
Taxpayers and citizens need not be afraid, but it does take some chutzpah to break through the in-timidation factor. When I first walked into our local assemblyman’s office, I spent a few seconds surveying the well-appointed suite. He wondered what I was thinking, and I told him, "this is a nice office, I think I could be quite comfortable in here — yes,
I could get used to this" and I saw — albeit briefly — a furtive and nervous flicker in his eyes.
I have found it personally empowering to walk into my representative’s office and announce I am "visiting from the district" (that seems to be a key phrase that let’s them know you’ve made a great effort to journey to Sacramento). Sometimes you can schedule an appointment in advance; often you’ll be told that the legislator is "on the floor" or "in a meeting." Since we have planned the whole day in Sacramento (parking lots will cost $10-$20) we simply agree "to wait." If the wait is too long, we will ask for the legislative aide who deals with our specific issue (they have them for environment, education, etc.). We always have neat packets of our information, or a pile of petitions ready to leave with them, and cards with our contact information for follow up.
Thankfully, the busy staff members at the Oaks Project office in Santa Monica have assisted in preparing much of this material for us.
The rewards for this work are numer-ous: There is a camaraderie that develops when you lobby with a group of like-mind-ed colleagues; and it’s not just from singing folksongs as you speed up the I-5 towards Sacramento (world music, techno and jazz also prevail). It’s truly a chance to begin to develop the skills of participatory democra-cy (which includes developing a consensus on where to stop for a rest break or snack). If we accept that the top-heavy bureau-cratic structure of the Federal and state government may become so cumbersome as to begin to collapse on themselves, then it is those individuals who have developed this set of citizenship skills who will best be in a position to provide leadership and a true grass-roots form of organization, to "pick up the pieces" (so to speak!).
So, when you walk into the state capitol, walk in like you own the place ... because you do!
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government." Edward Abbey, naturalist and author (1927-1989) |
