Over my nearly 50 years of political involvement, including over 70 election campaigns and lobbying work in multiple states, I have learned that politicians hate pain.
Of course, the pain I refer to is political pain. The last thing politicians want to see is a group of their constituents riled up. With that in mind, it must be understood that majorities do not rule… rather, well-organized minorities (and I don’t mean racial) rule. It is far easier to organize a few thousand people than a few million.
So how does this work? Well, you can write letters to your congressmen all day long. “Ho-hum…” they yawn. Indeed, it is unlikely your representative will even see your letter or email. One day, while visiting my congressman’s office in Washington, DC, I watched him sign dozens of letters to constituents, one after the other, in rapid succession. I doubt he hardly read them. Rather, some college-age staffer, typically referred to as a “Hill Rat” will respond to your mail… if they respond at all.
However, when a politician receives a mass of mail, emails, or even postcards, on a specific issue, their ears perk up. Now they are facing an organized constituency, a group that might vote as a block on that issue, especially if the politician goes against them. After all, people more often vote against something, rather than for it. Politicians do understand this, because they desperately want to be loved. Yet, they fail to understand that their constituents will rarely, if ever, love them. I once helped a candidate for State Senate who remarked, after looking at one of the mail pieces I designed for him, “this is great Russ, but you say nothing about why people love me.” I snapped back, “listen Joe[1]… you’re a politician. Nobody loves you, save for your family. Get over it.” He followed my advice and won his race.
Politicians are not the sharpest tools in the shed. They are by and large charming and cunning, but generally quite stupid… literally. I’ve only known a few really smart people in public office and I don’t call them politicians. I call them statesmen.
Being vapid, politicians need their egos stroked. So, when they receive a pile of organized mail on a given issue, they panic. They don’t want to lose an election, which is the culmination of serious pain against their ego. “Oh no! The people don’t love me!” When lobbying to stop a bad bill regarding child abuse reporting, I was invited to attend a confab with then-New Hampshire Governor Steve Merrill.[2] However, I was told I couldn’t speak at the meeting. Forget that! I walked out of the Governor’s office and promptly got 3,000 postcards from voters dumped on his desk. He subsequently vetoed the bill which he had publicly supported… a move that puzzled the local media.
So, as we move into this election season… and beyond, think of how you can get involved with a locally-oriented political group. Forget those that deal with the federal level, and focus on state and local issues, for it is there that you can maximize your impact at the least cost in sweat and treasurer. Focus on issues that limit the intrusion of government, reduce government spending, and increase the latitude of citizens to live their lives in a peaceable manner. And avoid groups that openly threaten politicians, even if the threat is just “we’ll get you at the next election!” After all, if a group makes that kind of threat and fails to deliver, they lose credibility. And especially avoid groups that make direct threats of violence. You can be a leftist and usually get away with that; but as a conservative, you will get hammered by the authorities for even a minor infraction.
In particular, work with groups that can win. They don’t need to win all the time, but there must be a consistent trendline of progress in the right direction. If you start working with a group that consistently loses, whether lobbying on proposed legislation or working elections, walk away. It is not worth your time trying to convince stupid people to work smart.
Russ Rodgers has several books published on Amazon.
If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.
Substack: American Free News Network Substack
Truth Social: @AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA
[1] Not his real name.
[2] Typically, I avoid naming names of politicians unless they are deceased. Merrill passed away in 2020.