What the Politicians Don’t

Want You to Know

And How You Can Effectively Influence

Public Policy

We need to understand what motivates politicians, why they

govern the way they do and how we have to change the way

we deal with politicians

Politicians are ruled by their ambition and principles are subordinated to their

ambition.

Use their ambition to manipulate them.

Nature of Politicians • Nice – they don’t like confrontation.

• Get along with people – apt to compromise.

• Most have an ideological position – but are

swayed when they believe they can lose an

election.

Politicians react to two types of stimuli:

Pleasure and Pain

Good press

Public praise-Being center of attention

Endorsements/Attacking opponent

No challengers in elections

Volunteers

MONEY for their campaign

The liberty movement cannot compete with the big money special interest

organizations that pour tons of money into the campaign coffers of politicians.

Money is the biggest form of pleasure for the politician.

Unless we can raise millions of dollars;

WE MUST INFLICT PAIN

Bad press Public embarrassments Being ignored Challengers (esp. Primary) Political party opposition No volunteers Lack of money

BIGGEST – Angry VOTERS

Letter’s to the editor

Press releases

Radio shows

District Flyers

Legislative Town-hall Meetings

By doing as little as possible and claiming that they took action to

solve the problem.

Have you ever Heard The Following?

“We will hold a Committee Hearing”

“We wrote a stern letter to the Governor”

”We will pass a resolution”

They want you to go away – and

give you as little as possible.

I’m really with you, we have to play the game

You don’t understand how things work up here

Baby steps

Maybe next year

Won’t get through the other house

The governor won’t sign it

We might get something worse

It won’t pass

This is the best we can do

If a politician tells you how to behave or how politics works –

Ask yourself –If I believe them and do what they say…

“how would it benefit them?”

If this is how politicians

operate, what do we do?

Unless you are politically feared you will not be politically

respected.

RULE: Organized efforts create fear. Individuals do not create fear.

What is making them mad?

Will they vote against me?

HOW MANY OF THEM ARE THERE??? (MOST IMPORTANT)

WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO MAKE THEM GO AWAY?

What do politicians need to know to influence them?

Your serious Backed by numbers Will inflict pain You will be back next year We will hold them accountable

The price for bad legislative behavior could be the loss of their seat.

There will be pain – even if we don’t defeat them.

It’s time for the politicians to be intimidated by the citizens and not the other way around.

Force politicians to act the way you want or

REPLACE THEM!

If we fail to follow through on holding Politicians accountable in

the next election

During legislative season, it sounds like shots were fired but they were not defeated after the

election.

Politicians think “Oh good, they are shooting blanks.”

Ignore you

Try to sound reasonable

Whine

Threaten

Have others threaten you

Buy you-ACCESS-Give you their cell #

You are not trying to make friends. You are trying to influence policy.

Politicians will give you access, when you accept access, you no

longer represent your group, you become a mediator between the

politician and your group.

Instead of being the grassroots’ representative to the politician, telling him

what he must do, you become the politician’s representative to the

grassroots, telling them what they must settle for.

Game Over

You have traded your chance for POWER for ACCESS

Do Not Confuse Power with Access

There is a difference – and if you confuse the

two you might as well go home now.

Be Feared and Be Respected

OR

Be Loved and Be Manipulated

If you say something nice about a politician, they have license to do anything FOREVER.

Accept the reality that if you can’t say something mean about a politician, don’t say anything at all.

Politics is the art of compromise.

NO, once a politician knows you will compromise, they will expect you to compromise FOREVER!

Ask for what you want and settle for nothing less.

We are obligated to vote for the lesser of two evils.

NO, Lesser of two evils is STILL evil. It rewards bad behavior. You cannot achieve victory by rewarding

politicians who vote against you.

Never ask good people to vote for bad people because it demoralizes our own people. They will see no difference

between the parties.

This is one of the main reasons why non-voting is on the rise.

Education of Politicians

“If we could just get them to understand _____

then they will support us.”

Praise Politicians

“If we are really nice, say nice things and give them awards, then they will support our cause.”

Now you can influence public policy. So here are some tips when meeting with your legislator:

Prepare how your going to approach the issue you are going to be addressing. Always do your homework prior to meeting with your legislature.

Fact check any information that you communicate to Politicians, Verify, verify, verify. Fact check your information from several sources to insure the accuracy of the statements being made.

When talking to the legislators stay on single issue topics. If you are communicating your

concerns, do not get into other universal problems. Stay on specific topics.

When possible bring small groups with you. Legislatures are more apt to listen when they

believe there are numbers of constituents that are supporting the same issue.

When you are having a meeting with a legislator, make them stay on topic. They will try everything to avoid the issue at hand. They will start talking

about some fishing trip or the weather, anything to run the clock out

on your appointment.

When you are done with the meeting, ask the legislator where they stand on your issue.

They will tell you that they need time to study the issue. They never want to commit.

If they ask for time, then tell that is fine, when will you have an answer. We will contact your

office next week, and the next week, and the next week.

At Liberty First Network, we know that things can’t change without dynamic action. The current political landscape in the state Capitol is controlled by the big money and powerful special interest groups. If we don’t meet them head-on, our liberties will continue to fade away.

We will share with you the inside information on how and why politicians in Tallahassee create legislation. You might be surprised what really happens behind closed doors. Only when we understand what motivates politicians, will we be able to systematically restore liberty.

Our Liberty Lobbyists know the real workings of the legislative process in

Tallahassee and they have learned what creates an impact and what doesn’t.

We will share with you proven techniques on how to be an effective citizen lobbyist and be a countervailing force against the special interests lobbyist who pressure

legislators for bigger government and loss of liberties.

We will share with you the inside information on how and why politicians in Tallahassee create legislation.

Our Liberty Lobbyists know the real workings of the legislative process in Tallahassee and they have learned

what creates an impact and what doesn’t.

We will share with you proven techniques on how to be an effective citizen lobbyist and be a countervailing

force against the special interests lobbyist who pressure legislators for bigger government and loss of

liberties.

Be a countervailing force against the special interests lobbyist who pressure legislators for

bigger government and loss of liberties.

Research, track and report proposed legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

Provide up-to-the-minute legislative alerts to keep you informed and ready to take action, including; Bill Summaries, Bill Sponsors, Committees, Staff

Analysis, Legislator and Committee profiles

Organizing and scheduling “Day-at-the-Capitol” events

Fill out the Liberty First Network Constituent Survey: This will assist us in getting you the information you want to know on the issues that are important to YOU. Sign up for the Liberty First Network Action Alerts: These alerts will let you know when action is needed to make the most of your time and allow you to make the largest impact. Support the Liberty First Network: Your financial contributions allow us to continue our liberty lobbying effort in Tallahassee. We are not paid by the special interests. We are paid by YOU!!!!

Questions?

Contact Information The Liberty First Network

1334 Tampa Road #6,

Palm Harbor, Florida, 34683

http://www.LibertyFirstFL.org

info@LibertyFirstFL.org

(727) 424-9530