Call to Action!

VL: I think a poster over at the GLP forums put this together (not myself), and it has some very useful information.  Don’t sit there and take this mess anymore!

 

Contact your Congressman, Senator, and Governor! How-To inside and info!

In order to change things, you must voice your opinion. Either run for the position, your influence them. Write them, call them, fax them, e-mail them. Don’t just read this and the other threads and bitch and moan. You NEED to do this. What going on here is great. The internet is the best and fastest way to inform millions or even just your neighbors about political issues.

Build a coalition by talking to conservative groups, churches, business and civic groups, home schoolers, and many other groups to gain their support for your issue. Ask these groups to pass resolutions or to write a letter on their letterhead supporting your issue, and to send copies of their resolution or letter to the local media and to Congressman & Senators. Their members can each do many of the action items on this page, amplifying your efforts. 100 phone calls to a Congressman’s office will be noticed. 1,000 calls might switch his vote!

First, study the issues! The internet is at your fingertips and you can find out almost anything and everything.

Second, know how congress works. Learn the rules of the legislature so you can better understand–and thereby be better equipped to influence–the legislative process. Know what is happening, for example when a bill is referred to a committee or how the differences between a House and a Senate version of a bill are resolved. Find out the status of your bill, because bills are only referred to a committee after being introduced, so asking your Congressman to simply “vote for the bill” is meaningless as no vote will occur until subcommittee and committee action has taken place. Check out the following links:

How Our Laws Are Made: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html

Enactment Of A Law: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/enactment/enactlawtoc.html

Senate “Reference Desk”: http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/virtual.htm

Glossary of Congressional Terms and Slang: http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/glossary.htm

House Rules: http://rules.house.gov/

House Ethics Manual: http://ethics.house.gov/

The White House Comments Desk can be reached at:
    Phone: 202-456-1111.
    Fax: 202-456-2461
    White House e-mail form: http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

The easiest way to phone a Senator or Congressman, is to call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and the operator will connect you to the desired office. The operator can find your correct Congressman from your zip code if you aren’t sure. It is more effective to talk to the Legislative Assistant, or “L.A.” in Capitol Hill slang, about your issue or concern than to leave your opinion with the receptionist: just ask to speak to “the L.A. who deals with (your subject)”. I’ll also post individual numbers.

If want to voice your views on a certain bill about a certain bill, do not only give a bill number (H.R. 1234), but also describe the bill you are calling about or give it’s name–Congress considers thousands of bills every year and most bill numbers are not well known even to the staff. You can describe the bill by it’s result or action: “S. 2611, the amnesty bill which allows 100 million immigrants over 20 years.”

To write a letter, here are the addresses and how to formally address them:

The Honorable Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C. 20500

or

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President

The Honorable ______
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator (Last Name)
The Honorable ______
U.S. Congress
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr./Mrs. (Last Name)

Please note that postal mail to these offices can take a few weeks to arrive due to security screening. Fax, e-mail, call or visit for fast communication.

Mailing Labels of House Member Addresses: http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/index.html

 

Speaker of the House – Nancy Pelosi:
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-0100
E-mail: Nancy@mail.house.gov

House Majority Leader – Rep. Steny Hoyer:
H-107 Capitol Building,
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-3130

Minority Leader – John Boehner:
Office of the House Republican Leader
H-204 The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: 202-225-4000
Fax: 202-225-5117

House Republican Conference Chairman – Adam Putnam:
442 Cannon House
Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-0912
Phone: 202-225-1252
Fax: 202-226-0585
E-mail: GOP@mail.house.gov

 

“Personnel is policy”. You may find that many staff have different political views than their Congressman or Senator, thus a good conservative representative can be somewhat neutralized in his effectiveness on our issues by staff not loyal to his philosophy. Lobbyists and advocates for big government also seek to befriend representatives and their top staff to convince them that “business-as-usual”, more spending, taxes, pork projects, special laws and exemptions, and of course campaign donations are the way to go. That makes YOUR job as a citizen lobbyist all the more important to overcome these layers of protection and often false information.

Email Rules: Remember that Congress is swamped with email and that they will never read or respond to emails from out of their state/district. They use computerized filters to automatically detect and delete multiple-addressed or BCC emails, and most now have stopped using real email addresses in favor of website contact forms. Because each representative’s votes affect the entire country, and committee members have incredible power, we agree that it is not right for them to limit their email and letters in this way, but it is a fact of life. Thus it’s generally a better investment of your time to email just your own Congressman and Senators, then ask your friends and family in other states and districts to contact their representatives. If you are a representative of a group which has members or customers in another state/district, you can write a (postal or faxed) letter on that letterhead and it should get some attention.

Congress may sometimes seem reluctant to hear comments from their voters–this is partly a reaction to the great volume of comments they receive, but also a reflection that many do not want their voters to know how they really vote, nor do some want to encourage voters to take effective action to disturb ‘business as usual’.

Attend town meetings, candidate events, debates, etc…

Here’s how to take advantage of town meetings and other public appearances which are often arranged by your elected representatives or civic groups; and in election years by the various candidates and debates. You can learn about them on the representative’s or candidate’s websites, mailings, in the media; or call their offices. Sign up at the websites of candidates and elected officials to receive emails or text messages and you will get advance notice of such meetings.

News Conferences: If you learn of a news conference by your elected official (or any government official–they all work for you), attend and ask the questions the liberal media won’t dare ask. Some may restrict attendees to media with official credentials, but if you’re a blogger, your ARE the real media today. News conferences rarely however ask for ID, they will just ask you to write your name and contact info on a sign-in sheet. Arrive in the rush just before starting if you want.

Put Them on the Spot: These meetings are an excellent opportunity to ask important questions in front of the media and other citizens. By publicly asking them about their stand on the issues, you can hold them accountable for their votes and put them on the spot if they do not want to take a stand or if they do not want their big-government votes known.

Know How They Vote: You can research their voting record in advance so you can ask why they voted liberal or to thank them for voting conservative. Thomas is a good starting place because it lists all recorded Congressional votes; though it doesn’t analyze them for their effect so check with various conservative or even liberal groups who rate Congressional votes.

Educate the Audience: You can hand out information about your issue to the people and media attending such meetings so more people will learn about it. Ask candidates or representatives to take a stand on the issues in our Federal and State candidate questionnaires. Ask if they will take a pledge to limit their terms, to never raise taxes, to stop illegal immigration/build the 2,000 mile fence, to stop the North American Union, or to stop funding abortions, as examples.

Make it Public: If they give you any answer, lock in their commitment or condemn their refusal by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and calling local talk shows, and adding comments at newspaper sites/blogs/websites. “At a town hall meeting, Congressman Smith refused to support building a border fence to stop Mexican drug-gang violence.” Email everyone you can as well. You may get a vague “we’re studying it” answer or even have them try to ridicule you, but at least you’ve forced them to publicly avoid the question and you let them know people want an answer.

Record It! It’s a valuable idea to take a video camera to such events or at least an audio recorder (you can get a cheap MP3 player which has a voice recording function or use a cassette recorder, but video is always so much better). You may get a great video or audio recording to post on YouTube and to send to all local TV and radio stations (call or email them, tell them you’ve got a newsworthy video for them. Even a cell phone video can get the idea across if you can hear what the candidate or representative said. Sit close to the PA system speakers to pick up the sound better. In hotels the loudspeakers are often in the ceiling, scout them out before your sit down. Remember how videos like Joe the Plumber or Obama bowing to the Saudi leader and grinning with Hugo Chavez all made the news and got America talking? A video of the right moment is worth 1,000 pictures!

Call the radio station!

Radio talk shows are an excellent way you can bypass liberal media bias to educate or rally to action thousands or even millions of people with one phone call.

Call the local talk shows in your area, the national shows such as those hosted by Rush Limbaugh and Mike Reagan, or set listeners straight on liberal shows! It may be a little easier to get on the air when a substitute host is running the show, and local shows are much easier to get on than the national shows. Sometimes they will invite more calls saying “we have a line open” or by repeating their call-in number. Keep the talk show call-in numbers near your radio, in your car, or programmed into your phone so you can instantly call when they discuss an issue to which you wish to add your comments.

Email your Comments: You can e-mail or fax questions, comments and articles to talk shows, and some hosts do read e-mailed and faxed questions and comments on the air–saving you the struggle of getting through on the phone. They are only likely to use your comments if they relate to the issue they are discussing, but you can alert the host about other issues and ask them to discuss the issue on a future date. Some talk shows have a separate telephone voice-mail line where you can leave a brief comment for possible broadcast to avoid waiting on hold to talk on the on-air line.

Important note: email your message only to that one show because if they see other shows on the email address lines or receive it as a ‘BCC’, they will just delete it without reading it–they want an “exclusive” comment or question.

Be Prepared: Work out what you want to say or what questions you want to ask. You’ll have some time on hold waiting to go on the air, so use that time well. You may find that writing down and/or rehearsing what you want to say will make it easier; or just write down a few talking points.

Stay Focused: Talk show hosts can sometimes be condescending (try getting on Rush Limbaugh’s show and talking about abortion, the North American Union, or the loss of American jobs to China!); they may try to steer you into agreeing with their (possibly different) views; try to embarrass or belittle you; try to make you sound like an extremist (be prepared to be accused as a “conspiracy theorist” or “nativist”–the invented “insult” for anyone who believes in America and is proud to be an American); or try to get you off of your subject. So be determined not to get distracted or to agree with other views than your own–but do it politely to avoid being cut off. Praise of the host, or thanking the host for their show may help pave the way to get your opinion across without too much interference–Rush proudly states he wants calls that “make me look good”. Humor works too.

Don’t Get Ambushed: If they ask you a question that is not what you want to talk about, just say what you were planning to say regardless–that is, don’t answer their (sometimes leading) question at all, and don’t sound defensive.

Be Concise: Even friendly shows have a limited time per call (some shows are very fast paced), and you may have only a few seconds to make your point before they take another call, so be very concise and say your most important points immediately: “Thanks, Rush; did you know Congress is going to vote next week on HR 1234, the bill which would (describe bill)? “Every American must call their Congressman today in opposition to HR 1234.” Don’t bother with introducing yourself unless you are calling as a representative of an organization, as that takes away from your precious seconds to give your message. If you have more than one question or statement, say so at the start: “I’ve got two quick points”, otherwise the host may hang up after you make your first point, assuming you were done.

The Call Screener: Virtually every talk show has a call screener, who will ask what you plan to talk about, and you should be prepared with a very brief but interesting sounding summary of what you want to discuss.

The screener will decide if you go on the air or not, so you have to sell the screener on the idea that your comment, statement or question will add to the discussion. The more calls they have waiting, the more tightly they may screen them (selecting only the best or most interesting questions/comments), and national talk shows will screen more tightly than local shows. Be sure to sound confident and prepared or you will lose the first test of a screener: “Uh, I’m calling to, uh, ask about, you know…” will guarantee a hang up. Depending on the host, you should plan and have a question to ask the host even if your major goal is to make a comment or to ask people to call their elected representatives. The question you will ask is what you want to tell the screener, don’t feel obligated to mention the comment or call-to-action because some hosts do not like comments, they want questions which they can answer, but once on the air you can usually get away with a quick comment or call-to-action. You will get a good idea of whether the host is a “question-only” host (like Rush) or likes comments & statements (like George Noory) just by listening to the calls that do get past the screener.

Once your call has been screened, you will be put in a queue, which the host will usually take in sequence of calling or ranked by how interesting the calls are, though the show may well end before the host has talked with every waiting caller. If the screener is particularly impressed with you, he may signal the host who may take your call sooner than earlier callers: “Caller on line 4 sounds interesting”; or the host may be looking for a particular type of comment to compliment his discussion. Here is an screen shot from talk show software showing the type of information a host may see when you call.

Topics Matter. If you are calling to discuss a different issue than the host is discussing, the screener won’t be interested in putting you on the air; and if you lie to the screener just to get on the air and then talk about something else, the host will likely hang up on you and may even ridicule you for lying–Rush is famous for doing this. So what CAN you do? Link issues: depending on the topics (your’s and the host’s), you might be able to show how one relates to the other. If you want to warn people about an amnesty bill and the host is discussing a state tax hike, you can effectively make the link that massive numbers of illegal immigrants are responsible for heavy burdens in the state budget for police, welfare, health care and other expensive services; and that they certainly don’t pay their share of income taxes. You can also ask some interesting question about the host’s current topic and then introduce your different topic: “Here’s something else you may be interested in…” Be creative. Some shows, including Rush, offer an “open microphone” day or hour where they will take calls on any topic.

Timing Your Call. Some talk shows can be very difficult to reach, particularly the nationwide shows, as well as local shows when discussing a hot topic. Stations have a limited number of phone lines and hosts can only take a limited number of calls in a hour. Here are a few tips which might help you get through.

Use the “7-second delay” to your advantage: dial or re-dial the number several seconds before a call is over–listen for the clues from the caller and host–and you may connect just as the caller hangs up. The “7-second” delay is not a standard, many stations use up to a 30 second delay. Call during ads. Some stations clear the phone lines when they change topics or hosts–they hang up on everyone who is on hold, assuming they are still waiting to discuss the old topic–giving you an opportunity to near the end of the hour. You may also try calling before the show even starts; you won’t know what topics the host wants to discuss yet, but if the screener is already answering the phone, go ahead and ask. Stations may put all lines on “busy” to prevent people from calling too early, so keep trying every few minutes. Remember each redial on your cell phone will use a full minute of your monthly minutes, but if it takes you 50 redials (and an hour on hold!) to reach Rush’s 20 million listeners, you can look at it as a good investment to educate so many people about your issue.

Be a Guest. If you are particularly knowledgeable and articulate on your issue, you may want to ask talk shows if they will let you be a guest on their show. Whether for a few minutes or for an entire show, you will have an opportunity to educate a great many people about your issue in detail. Call the radio station’s regular business line and make your pitch to the show’s producer why you would be an interesting guest. They may want your biography and any credentials as an expert on your topic, and do mention if you have on-air or public speaking experience of any kind. Broadcast experience can include being a caller or guest on talk shows, or perhaps you were a radio or TV announcer in college. Public speaking experience can include school debates, complaining about taxes at city council meetings, and speaking to groups at business or civic meetings. They want to make sure you’ll be comfortable talking on air and won’t have stage fright. Being a representative of an organization, a recognized expert, or published author helps, but there are many reasons a non-credentialed expert in a field may win the interest of a radio station. If interested, the host or producer may do a screening interview or mock broadcast discussion to see how you would sound on air. Many shows appreciate guests willing to field questions from the audience.

Record It: Record your time on the air and make it into an MP3 which you can email to other shows as proof of your on-air talents. The station may be able to give you a copy on a CD after the show. Once you have one show under your belt, you’ll find it easier to get on other shows or to make a repeat appearance on the same station. Search the internet or ask your local stations to find the producers and syndicators of the regional and nationwide shows; for example Premiere Radio syndicates Rush, Glenn Beck & Noory; Radio America syndicates Liddy & Reagan. Rarely would you need to go to the studio: most talk show guests go on-air via the telephone.

Guest Host: If you become well-known to a talk show as a guest or a frequent and articulate caller, you should suggest they consider you as a guest host–to be a substitute host when the main host is on vacation or ill. Previous broadcast experience is most valuable; but especially at small stations you might just get an opportunity if the host is impressed by you and they really need a guest host. That can start a radio career.

Internet Radio: The internet offers unlimited opportunities to do a ‘radio’ or TV show at little or no cost. It could be live or pre-recorded. You can host the show on your own server or with a large internet radio company or a Youtube type site. An internet radio show focusing on local politics may attract considerable numbers in your city. A laptop with a wireless connection will let you host the show most anywhere.

Write letters to the editor

Your letter to the editor of a newspaper can reach thousands or millions of readers to influence public opinion, expose or praise Congressional voting records, alert the public on key issues, correct media bias, and more. Many newspapers and news websites accept letters by E-mail and fax.

Length: When writing letters to the editor or calling talk shows, keep your message brief (letters should usually be 200 words or shorter), easily understandable to someone who is not familiar with the issue (avoid or explain any jargon and specialized terminology because most readers won’t understand such terms), and stay focused on one subject.

Topics: Letters which respond to a story or commentary in that paper often have the best chance of publication; and if you email it the morning you see the story, the paper may print it the very next day. You can alert readers about important issues, correct liberal media distortions, and even praise or expose a Congressman’s or Senator’s vote on an issue in their home state paper!

Take Action: You should take the opportunity to ask readers to take action such as contacting their representatives.

Important note: newspapers, talk shows and other media only want “exclusives,” so be sure to send your letter to only one newspaper or show. While it is easy to send with one click your proposed letter to 40 different papers; ‘BCC’ or multiple addresses on your email will ensure they won’t consider your letter regardless of the importance of the message. Send one email to just one newspaper. Wait a few days and send it to another. If one paper publishes your letter and you want to send it to another, then rewrite it so it is quite different. If you do send it to several and one wants to publish it, be sure to tell other papers it got published if they call, and offer to do a re-write for them that is unique–otherwise you may get “blacklisted” for not giving them exclusives.

Verification: Include your home address and daytime/cell phone number because if the paper is interested in printing your letter, they will need to call you to verify you are the writer; that you only sent it to them (remember they want an exclusive in exchange for giving you space on their page); and to discuss any possible edits they plan to make (usually to shorten it, correct grammar, or make it more concise).

Newspaper Blogs: Many newspapers have blog-style reader forum sections on their websites, where you can instantly post a comment about a particular news article or commentary, usually located at the bottom of the page for each article. People read these–so use them! Visit such websites often and add the conservative viewpoint to each article, but stay focused on responding to the issue in the particular article to assure your response won’t get deleted as being ‘off-topic’.

Op-Eds: An “op-ed” piece is a longer commentary on an interesting or particularly timely, in-the-news subject, usually published on the opposite page from the editorials, hence the name. Check your paper for the average length and style of the op-eds they do publish, usually no more than 600 words. Papers prefer op-eds to address hot issues in the news, so write and submit it quickly before the issue becomes “old news”. Email, fax, or hand-deliver it to the paper to save time. You can write an op-ed in advance on an issue which you know will be a front-page story in coming weeks (such as an expected Congressional vote) so you will have it ready to submit the day it breaks into the news. Your writing and research should be of high quality for an editor to want to give you this much space on their page. Being a representative of an organization or having a specialized knowledge of the issue can help win the publishing game. Include a brief bio with your op-ed. Getting a well known person to agree to submit it in their name can increase the chances of publishing as well.

Read the Rules: Call or email newspapers to get their rules regarding letters to the editor and op-eds, such as the maximum length, how often they will print a letter from the same person, and any editorial suggestions they may have. Some papers have their rules on their website.

Distribution: Once published, use it to further boost your lobbying efforts: send copies to elected officials, talk shows, and anyone else who may be of assistance on your issue. Post the text or the link to the newspaper’s webpage with your letter on blogs and websites. A letter in print enhances your credibility.

Use petitions to show citizen support

Write up a petition requesting your representatives take action on your issue. Sign your name and ask friends, relatives, and co-workers to sign too. To create the biggest impact, gather large numbers of signatures. Circulate the petition on the web via email, blogs, and websites.

Get signatures on petitions around your community too. Some very effective locations at which to collect signatures are outside the doors of shopping centers and grocery stores, or roaming around their parking lot (grocery stores and “big box” stores usually are more willing to let you collect signatures than malls), at subway & rail stations, bus stops, post offices, airports, downtown parks during lunch hour, long waiting lines such as at a stadium or outside a theater, and busy downtown street corners. Festivals, fairs, and other special events are good too, particularly if held on public property where they can’t stop you from exercising your 1st Amendment rights.

Mail the petitions to your representatives–or to maximize impact, visit your representatives’ local office, either giving them to the staff or arrange to meet the representative in person. Inform the media that you delivered the petitions either by writing a news release and emailing or faxing it to all media in your area or by calling news editors directly. Take some digital photos and video footage at the delivery to include with your news release and to post on your website.

Elected officials who are scared of the liberal media or even their own party leadership may particularly appreciate having many petitions to show that their constituents want them to vote in opposition to the liberal or party line.

Educate the public

Video-sharing websites like YouTube offer great opportunities for conservatives to spread the message. You can record educational videos on particular issues, record conservative meetings (with permission), make humorous skits or fake commercials, record city council meetings, or interview taxpayers or candidates. Stand outside a post office on April 15th and ask people if they want their taxes cut (remember Tea Party Day!). Interview people on the street. Ask elected officials to recite any part of the Constitution–shouldn’t they know it better than anyone else? (even their refusal is worth recording: “Well, I, uh, couldn’t be expected to know what the 10th Amendment says…”!) Even your brief comments on the day’s news can make for a good YouTube video. Production values for such video websites are much more flexible than broadcast television–the amateur look can work well, but make sure your lighting and sound are good. If you are talking to the camera, look right at the camera and try a close-up shot. Use simple, easy to read titles.

You can even video left-wing demonstrations to show their real agenda–show viewers the un-sanitized truth the liberal media always leaves out. At such rallies, you’ll often find plenty of Communist and radical banners and signs, offensive t-shirts, Communist and Mexican flags, signs or t-shirts promoting drug use, people burning our flag, people shouting anti-American slogans, etc. It can be funny to see people at a “peace” demonstration shouting-down anyone with an opposing opinion or carrying signs with incredibly hateful messages for their opponents. Interview the participants! Get a signed release from anyone you interview.

Copyrights: Be sure all videos you post online or distribute in any way are ones which you made or have rights to distribute to avoid copyright problems. Post links to videos from other sources.

Make a statement for newspapers, radio, or tv

Ever see newspaper, TV or radio reporters covering an event or looking for footage for the evening news? You may see them outside of city council meetings, candidate debates, a Congressman’s town meeting, at the scene of anything bad, or just on busy streets; and they often are looking for “man-in-the-street” reactions regarding the event or some issue in the news. When you see them interviewing people on the street, ask them if they would like your comments too.

Note however that they are only looking for reactions to that specific event or issue, not your views on other topics, and here’s the vital part:

Particularly on controversial issues, you must be very careful how you say what you want to say, because an editor with an agenda can make it sound like you are on the liberal side.

Bad Example: Reporter on the scene: “Tell us why you are against the mayor’s city tax hike–aren’t you for a balanced budget?” (leading question) Your answer: “Yes, I agree we must have a balanced budget; but the mayor must cut spending, not raise our taxes!”

What goes on the air: Anchorman: “At today’s city council meeting, several local citizens expressed support for the mayor’s tax increase, understanding how important it is to balance the budget and protect vital services:” You: “Yes, I agree we must have a balanced budget”.

See, it was easy for them to cut out the most important part; they used just part of what you said, and they put your “answer” alongside the anchorman’s opposite statement–and everyone watching thinks you’re supporting the tax hike! This actually happens, whether on controversial issues, issues where they want to “create” artificial support for their liberal agenda; to make conservative candidates “appear” to say the wrong thing; or to make something decent and honorable appear to be controversial.

This is one of the dangers in talking to the liberal media, so we offer this section to give you the concept of how to make an “un-editable” statement that can’t be taken out of context. Practice it some, it’s a good skill to have!

Better Example–Your answer: “The mayor’s outrageous tax and budget hike must be cut, not the take-home pay of our residents”. (Don’t say another word, that’s a good “sound bite”.)

Note that there’s no way to cut it to make it sound like you are on the liberal side. They’ll either use it as-is or not at all–and they may well use it to present “the other side”.

Demonstrations, Marches, Rally

You’ve seen demonstrations of various types on TV, and they can popularize issues and attract additional supporters while also bringing your group closer together in a common purpose. The left is very successful in organizing and staging demonstrations, and you can learn much from them. Whether you have a dozen people in front of city hall to protest a tax hike, a group in front of an abortion chamber, or a thousand people gathered at the Capitol, you are giving the media great visuals. Bring your kids too.

A Demonstration should include hand-made signs that are large and clearly readable from a distance, a variety of simple chants or slogans for people to loudly repeat, and people walking. Don’t just stand still or be silent, everyone should continually walk back and forth at your location, being sure to keep the signs always facing the street, the media or the public. This creates lots of motion which will look good on television and attract spectators. A megaphone is very helpful. With a crowd and/or media watching, your spokesman can speak for the group, stating the purpose of the demonstration and what you want to be done. Have some signs or a banner with your website on them so people can easily find out more information. Signs encouraging drivers to honk in support works very well! Music can help attract a crowd.

Counter-Demonstrations work because the media enjoys creating controversy or wish to present “the other side.” Even a handful of people holding up signs in opposition to a left-wing rally may get you some media coverage, sometimes you’ll get fully half the coverage! Keep your distance and avoid getting baited into a fight or argument by the leftists. The media will cover a fight but it will destroy your message and credibility; and beware infiltrators from the other side or even the government who might instigate a fight to make your side look bad.

A March differs from a demonstration only in that your group gathers at one location and marches to another. Generally you will need many more people than a stationary demonstration to pull off a good-looking march, and permits may be more complicated to obtain because you will be crossing streets with a large crowd. Lots of signs, many people, and continual chanting of slogans makes it work. The police will assist you with permit information and may provide escorts and block traffic on streets during the march.

Every January on the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision, the March for Life holds a wonderful march with 500,000 or more people in Washington DC, perhaps the best organized and attended annual march of any kind.

Having a well-known person lead the event will help attract the press, spectators and participants.

Campaign Events: In an election year you’ll see various groups demonstrating at candidate debates, speeches, etc. Never disrupt a speech–the left does this and it is a sad totalitarian attempt to suppress opposing opinions. Freedom of speech is what makes America great. You can, however, have people hold up signs outside the event on public property where the media are likely to see them, or hand out fliers to people as they arrive.

Media: Always have someone delegated to talk to the media–and to call, email & fax the media in advance with a pre-event news release. A public event without even local media is not very effective. Have a news release at the event and handouts with your contact information. Always take photos, shoot video, and write and distribute a post-event news release–send the video and photos to the media immediately after the event. You can put your photos onto a laptop at the scene and burn CDs for any interested media or transfer to the reporter’s USB memory stick. Post the video on video-sharing sites like YouTube, and make a digg.com posting to promote it. Even if the media doesn’t cover it, the video will get your message to the public via the web.

Getting in the picture: Television crews may cover your demonstration or a left-wing event where you are counter-demonstrating, and all you may need is a few signs held in view of the camera to make extra news. Note that the camera will usually be zoomed-in to just a small area, but you can hold signs everywhere the camera may be aimed. A typical shot will be framed to include just the reporter’s head and chest, so your signs must be directly behind his head to be in the shot. See example photos for details, and note that this reporter is standing on a foot-high stand to be above the heads of the pro-lifers. Don’t shout or try to disrupt the reporter–that defeats the whole purpose of being in a usable piece of footage.

Fliers: Make plenty of fliers to give to spectators which include the purpose of the demonstration, what action you want people to take (such as contacting Congress regarding a particular bill), and contact information for your group (be sure to have a website, if only a simple one-page site or blog.

Security and Permits: Delegate sufficient people to handle security: to make sure there are no clashes with people on the other side (who may try to provoke your people); to keep your people from blocking the sidewalks and streets or other areas which must be kept clear; to make sure everyone follows any permit or police restrictions, to handle any health emergencies; and to make sure everyone cleans up the area afterwards. Always discuss your plans with the police in advance and get all needed permits. Be on the watch for anyone who may get violent or try to advocate your people get violent. Violence always destroys your message. The message you want is you are protesting something bad or supporting something good, not “police arrested violent rioters.” It is an old tactic for those on the side of evil to plant people in your crowd who’s purpose is to discredit your demonstration by instigating violence–keep an eye on total strangers, and call the police if someone starts inciting violence.

While laws requiring permits for demonstrations or marches are a direct violation of the First Amendment (“Congress shall make NO law…”), the police and courts will enforce them until we have truly Constitutional courts and legislators. As long as you have all needed permits you will usually find the police very helpful and supportive, but if you try it without permits they will just order your event to end, and could even threaten arrests if you resist.

Property Rights: You are generally free to exercise your First Amendment rights on any public property, however if you wish to demonstrate at an event held on private property, be sure to stay on public property such as the sidewalk outside, both out of respect of the property owner’s rights as well as to avoid trouble with the law.

Just the Facts: Never exaggerate the number of people present or make any other misrepresentations to the media. The left may get away with names like “million (fill in blank) march”, but that will only invite the media to carefully report on the discrepancy should you try it.

Success: 10 seconds of television coverage and a newspaper photo can make it all worthwhile! 1,000 YouTube views and a top digg.com posting would be great bonuses.

“One man with courage makes a majority” – Andrew Jackson

 

Help get MORE people involved!

Encourage people and conservative groups to be more involved in lobbying for Constitutional government. America has strayed far from a government which strictly follows the Constitution, and our freedoms are endangered by every such departure, large or small. Restoration of the Constitution must come from citizens demanding a return, otherwise our leaders will see no reason to oppose the powerful interests promoting big government.

Ronald Reagan was famous for saying “If not us, who? If not now, when?” Our Founding Fathers warned that our freedom must not be taken for granted; that it must be defended continually and fought for when attacked; that Americans must be taught their responsibilities; and that government will not keep the people free–the people must keep the government free.

Don’t get even, get video! -cveitch