If anyone has any suggestions on resources for how to present to *lawmakers*, I would greatly appreciate it. Especially if they are willing to talk about how they target their messaging based on party / area of government. I've yet to find a good piece article or book that goes beyond platitudes, ideally with specific language that I can iterate on.
A specific, concrete examble might be how to express "look I know you cant vote for this, but I suspect you are secretly with us, even if you wont say it during this meeting cuz you dont know us well enough to trust that we wont leak it, but can you at least get us meeting with x other lawmaker who might also agree with us, and is in more of a swing district but we cant get ahold of because they have a shit schedular that if they vote our way we can help them out in the primary?"
I've been in the "part time citizen lobbyist" game for a while now and I suspect that just saying the above (even without the "we cant get ahold of" part) would be to much a specific / blunt ask. But none of my attempts at soft balling a "can you introduce us to X?" has worked thus far. And I am not sure if its just that I am an untrusted newcomer who needs to build up more relationships, or if its an issue with the language / tone, or if its the nature of the ask itself.
I really wish there where more leaked audio recordings of meetings between lawmakers and hired lobbyists. that would be helpful.
A specific, concrete examble might be how to express "look I know you cant vote for this, but I suspect you are secretly with us, even if you wont say it during this meeting cuz you dont know us well enough to trust that we wont leak it, but can you at least get us meeting with x other lawmaker who might also agree with us, and is in more of a swing district but we cant get ahold of because they have a shit schedular that if they vote our way we can help them out in the primary?"
I've been in the "part time citizen lobbyist" game for a while now and I suspect that just saying the above (even without the "we cant get ahold of" part) would be to much a specific / blunt ask. But none of my attempts at soft balling a "can you introduce us to X?" has worked thus far. And I am not sure if its just that I am an untrusted newcomer who needs to build up more relationships, or if its an issue with the language / tone, or if its the nature of the ask itself.
I really wish there where more leaked audio recordings of meetings between lawmakers and hired lobbyists. that would be helpful.