How to Gain Political Power
If you want to know how lobbying influences policy in Washington, ask Michael Dunn. In an excellent session this morning, he explained some of the difficult realities that Realtors® must understand if they are to continue to have their voice heard in Washington. Here’s the breakdown:
Elected officials only represent a very small percentage of those in their state or district. Realtors® want to be in that small percentage.
To understand how this works, take the total number of people in a district, then eliminate all those who:
• Cannot vote
• Aren’t registered to vote
• Are registered but don’t vote, and
• Those who voted for the opposition
The only ones left are those who voted for the right candidate. But it breaks down further. Out of this group, who actually has the ear of that candidate? The answer is: Those who can help him or her get reelected—and who can do that? Those who volunteered to help with the campaign, and those who gave money.
The only ones more influential are those who organize the volunteer efforts, and those who hold fund-raisers, because they can accomplish these activities on a larger scale. These are the people who the official will keep happy.
Therefore, if Realtors® want to be influential, they need to not only give and volunteer, they need to become organizers of these activities.
Campaign ethics laws are changing the way lawmakers are influenced
NAR can no longer buy an elected official a cup of coffee and talk about issues that Realtors® care about, and there are limits on the amount of campaign contributions it can make. As NAR’s power to develop personal relationships with elected officials is diminished, Realtors® must take this into their own hands.
To get things done in Washington, Realtors® need to use persuasion and political power.
To be persuasive, NAR presents the facts to elected officials, but without political power, the representative may accept the arguments of NAR’s opponents instead. The reality of the system is that elected officials serve only those who have the power to get them reelected. That power is political power.
Here’s how Realtors® can build their political power, and that of NAR as a whole, by getting involved in campaigns.
• Contribute more than $200 to a campaign. Anyone who contributes more than $200 to a campaign must give their personal information to the government. When candidates are elected, they get a copy of this list, and you’re automatically noticed. The more you give, the higher you rank on the list. If you give $2,300, the legal limit, you’ll really get noticed.
• Get involved in the campaign by volunteering to work at a function, or at the phone bank. It’s much better, however, to arrive with 12 fellow Realtors® to work. Someone who can organize others to help with the campaign gets a lot more notice. Remember, this puts you in that very small percentage of people who gain the candidate's attention.
• Do both. Give and volunteer. Organize campaign workers and fund raisers. This is how to develop influence.
Remember, things don’t happen because you want them to, they happen because you act. You’re either a player in the political system, influencing your own future, or you’re a victim of someone else’s involvement.
More information on Michael Dunn is available at www.dunnassoc.com
