More effective way to lobby congresspeople not in your district?

@Michael Holland
How is Mike Levin on permitting reform, fix our forest act, nuclear, carbon price ?

@Michael Holland
So, here are some suggestions for you:

• Find a Republican CA district and offer to help the Congressional Liaison follow the member's congressional activities via the member's website, newsletter, bill sponsorships, etc., or updating the member's biography. Follow the local newspapers to learn more about the district.
• If you go to Washington to lobby, volunteer to join the lobby team for a CA Republican member. It's often hard for folks from California to get to Washington, so lobby teams are seldom composed exclusively of constituents. Someone from CA who is knowledgeable about the district but not a constituent still makes a good lobby team member.
• If there is an “orphan” Republican district that doesn't have a liaison (I think CA-1, Rep. Doug LaMalfa-R may be one) ask about becoming the liaison for that district. When CCL was a smaller organization, I recall we had liaisons that were not constituents, on the theory, I suppose, that that is better than no liaison at all.

Hope this helps.

Deirdre Henderson, North Tahoe Chapter

@Rob Johnson
I just saw that Levin (D) voted yes on the Fix Our Forests Act.

@Michael Holland Alongside all the great suggestions already shared, another way to support efforts beyond your own district is through social media—if you’re up for it 😃 It’s definitely not for everyone (myself included). And there are states beginning to work together on print media.

@Charlotte Ward See Michael's question and let him know if there are media opportunities for him and his chapter outside of their district.

@Elissa Tennant What are some effective, constructive ways volunteers can use social media to boost each other’s messages across districts?

Lastly, the partisan nature of the reconciliation process runs counter to CCL’s ethos, which is rooted in respectful, bipartisan engagement. That’s why we’re looking forward to a return to regular order where CCL is positioned to advocate for solutions like permitting reform, climate-smart forestry, and foreign pollution fees, these are all opportunities for bipartisan support.

In the coming days, we'll reveal new policy specific landing pages which will help lay out how volunteers can engage at any time on various policies.

Thanks for reaching out and offering to be of service, Michael!

@Michael Holland Hello! Responding re: Ricky's comment on social media actions/lobbying.

Using social media channels is a good way to engage your network outside of your immediate district. People tend to listen to their friends and peers they trust, and social media is a good way to reach people who may be concerned about climate change, but aren't sure how to take action.

Here are three ways social media can work as a lobbying tool:

1. Follow your representative and senators and encourage others to do the same. Interact with positive comments when said representatives engage on climate action.
2. Share CCL's action links on social media to your network. The current one can be found at cclusa.org/iradefense. Share the link with a brief synopsis of who should write their representative and why.
3. Share personal stories of how climate change has impacted you and why you're concerned about it. I've seen people share stories of climate change and extreme heat impacting their golf tee times/dates, impacting their beekeeping hobbies, or canceling their grandkids' soccer games. Sharing your personal story is a good way to get the attention of your network and make it clear people who are concerned about climate aren't alone!

I always suggest starting with the channels you're most used to using. If you aren't a social media person, consider picking just one channel to get started. Most people see success on Facebook as a good starting point.

Another caveat: If social media isn't your thing (it's not for everyone!) there are many other helpful suggestions in this thread. Charlotte may also have some useful print media actions you can take. So please feel free to take this advice or leave it! Happy to answer any questions.

Elissa

@Elissa Tennant

Hi, Elissa, thank you for your input. I agree that your suggestions can be productive, and I plan to follow up with them.

Below, I outline my sources of frustration. I think that when important legislation, such as the pending budget bill, are imminent, we need to be prepared to maximize our possible impact on our representatives, especially those who might not represent our best interests.

1. Our congress is so polarized that they almost always vote as a block. At the present time, the Republicans are supporting many issues that most of us in the CCL do not agree with (too much deregulation, sale of public wilderness lands, focus on supporting carbon-based fuels over renewables, etc). Since the Republicans hold the majority in both houses, we can only hope to make an impact if we can convince some (a few) of them to vote for programs and laws that support clean air, water, conservation, retention and support of public lands, national parks and monuments and other important environmental issues. It would be a big win if we could some of them to admit that global warming is a serious issue that must be addressed now.
2. My experience is that congresspeople are only interested in the opinions of their constituents. In most cases, it is not even possible to contact them on their websites if one is not from their district. For those of us who have representatives who tend to be progressive, their voice and ours just won't matter.
3. We at CCL need to do whatever we can to make certain that Republican representatives hear directly from their constituents. If we are not in their district, then we need to have effective ways to work through others who are.
4. We also need to be sufficiently well organized that we can respond in a timely manner. The budget bill being negotiated among Republicans (the Democrats are being left out completely) is a good example. We need to have a loud, effective voice with Republicans in states that are directly affected to hope to influence that outcome.
   

@Patricia Holloway
In the case of a D, the mothership says permitting reform is the ask.

Hi @Michael Holland,
Some chapters in red states don't have the capacity to generate media as part of their advocacy and could use your help.

Would you be interested in adopting a sister chapter in a politically different location?

CCL chapters have already being doing this successfully with folks in blue states ghostwriting LTEs to be authored and submitted by those in red states.

We have created this spreadsheet to partner up red and blue state chapters. Please fill in the appropriate column to collaborate with other CCL volunteers and adopt a sister chapter.

Many thanks!