Numbers Game
Why bother writing to Congress at all?
by Jim Babka, Downsize DC
 Most Dispatches ask you to write Congress. Many people naturally assume that DownsizeDC.org's Educate the Powerful (ETP) System is designed for you to plead with your legislators -- maybe even "reason" with them.
As such, the ETP System has become a commodity. Sure, our system is the best at what it does. No other system make it so easy. But so what?!
And why bother writing the District of Criminals? You're not going to change their minds!
We've heard that objection a lot. And we're hearing it more, lately. And it might shock you to learn that...
I AGREE!
I don't think the eloquence of your letters to Congress will make a difference. I NEVER thought that.
I ALWAYS thought that the NUMBER of letters Congress received would make a difference.
And I still do.
"Politics Is War, by Other Means"
The purpose of the ETP System has always been to mobilize an army.
Our STRATEGY was never to beg or bargain with Congress. The ETP System was ONLY a TACTIC, designed to...
- Attract like-minded people,
- Obtain permission to keep communicating with them, and
- Provide an easy and compelling way to invite others to participate.
The point is, we're under attack from the Federal State. Our wallets, our property, our liberties, and in some respects, even our very lives, are threatened. DownsizeDC.org is about self-defense.
But we have an untapped, unexploited advantage. Let me be blunt...
Politicians, as a general rule, are narcissists. Their number one talent is...
...making enough of the right people like them.
But it goes deeper. Again, generally speaking, politicians can't stand being DIS-liked. One reason is that if too many of the right people don't like them, they lose their cushy jobs and the accompanying status.
This is why politicians spend so much money on public opinion polls. THINK ABOUT THAT!
Why would they PAY MONEY for opinion polls, and NOT pay attention to the NUMBER of people sending them letters that take a position on an issue.
The fact is that they do pay attention to what you send them, and they DO CARE about it, but MUCH more so if... the NUMBERS ARE LARGE ENOUGH TO SCARE THEM.
The more "successful" a politician is, the more likely it is that the above character analysis fits him or her. Exceptions are few.
Both our strategy -- pressure -- and our tactic -- the ETP system -- are designed to exploit the average politicians' need to be loved. We do this in a number of ways... First, we withdraw consent. This is akin to withdrawing love. And it hurts. I can confirm this because . . .
I recently met some former Congressmen. Interestingly, they volunteered the insight that people on Capitol Hill understand and are motivated by one thing... PAIN
This is good, because pain is the main motivation we seek to provide.
- We have always aimed to inflict the pain of non-approval.
- Step one was letters, and occasional phone calls.
- Step two was, and is, WAY more of the same.
- Step three will come when we can organize on a local level to inflict even more discomfort. Maybe you could...
Visit their offices in person, with a GROUP of DC Downsizers Hold events - rallies, press conferences, etc., demonstrating your dissatisfaction to the entire community Maybe you could coordinate advertising And more. And that's why, right now, our focus has been on building tools for you!
Step four has DownsizeDC.org using advertising and other broadcast methods to get YOUR message out everywhere, every day. Why?
Repetition makes good ideas familiar, instead of strange. When ideas become familiar, people become comfortable enough to adopt them. I call that "changing the political environment."
Under this scenario, eventually, your local politician will feel overwhelmed and surrounded. This is part of what has made the Tea Party successful, but we think we can carry it even further. We think we can expand your toolbox to the point where, with very little effort, YOU can make the pain come from all directions, all the time, with NO ESCAPE for statist politicians, EXCEPT... SUBMISSION to YOUR will.
In review, we are in a war, fought through the remaining peaceful means available to citizens of a republic. We need...
- First, to build the army for our MUTUAL defense.
- Second, to change the political environment.
- Third, to make statists uncomfortable in office.
If you want to send letters to Congress, and you think that will change things, we have a tool for you. BUT... If you want the statists to feel pain that comes from all directions, without relent, then we need more numbers, and more tools both to recruit those numbers, and to inflict the pain.
We are working hard to build the kinds of things we need for this purpose, like the feature in Your Downsize DC Toolbox, and the new non-registration sytem we just launched. But there are many more to come -- things that will let you lobby the media, and even other organizations, and local candidates, and even to help educate your neighbors!
And all in that unique Downsize DC way -- with just a few keystrokes and mouse-clicks. Please help us build these new tools to torture the statists.
Right now is an especially good time to do so because we have a matching pledge from Bill Haynes of CMI Gold & Silver. Your contribution will be DOUBLED by Bill, up through September 30. And if you provide the match, we successfully attain our budget goal. So... Please show your support for this bold experiment we call DownsizeDC.org. Everything you need to do so is on our secure web form.
And then, let's all kick a member of Congress where it hurts them the most -- right in their inflated ego.
Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.
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2011 October 10
Posted by The Coffee Coaster™ Copyright Downsize DC
Letters to Congress | Educate the Powerful | Politicians' Vanity | Power |
