Comments on: Blitzing specifics

By: Rand Simberg

Rand Simberg — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:30:28 +0000

Google “Space Activists Handbook.”

I used to edit it about twenty years ago–it’s updated every Congressional cycle.

By: Vladislaw

Vladislaw — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 02:35:44 +0000

“It’s also curious that a search for “Spaceflight Lobbying Tips” returns nothing;”

I plugged in a couple dozen words from climate change to guns and none of them returns anything either, so because spaceflight didnt bring a return is hardly a surprise because issues a lot higher on voters minds didnt get a return either.

By: Bill White

Bill White — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 18:03:07 +0000

During one of my visits, the staffer told me that she had met with space advocacy volunteers many many times over the last few years and that in her opinion it has helped solidify Congressional support for NASA funding.

She also said that she wished the science community would organize similar efforts because funding for places like FermiLab or Brookhaven often competes with space spending and in her opinion science too often gets neglected.

As for this:

“Gee that’s interesting and thanks for coming by” (admittedly my impression of Alex’s report) doesn’t strike me as a ringing endorsement for spending more on space or suggest even a passing belief in the possible need to refine space policy. Might there not be more effective means of convincing our elected representatives of the value of investing in spaceflight and of educating them regarding what we consider to be vital issues?

Become a bundler and fund-raise like a champion and yes your Congress-critter will pay more attention to you.

Anyway, can you define “effective” ??

I cannot prove my own volunteer efforts changed anything but I did have a great deal of fun and talking with 14 staffers in 2 days (as well as other volunteers) taught me a tremendous amount about how the legislative process works. Remember also that these efforts are “community building” for the advocacy organizations themselves (NSS, Mars Society and so on) and are useful in that regard.

As for this:

Or perhaps the solution doesn’t lie on the Hill at all; maybe we must first convince and educate the wider public through more effective means of engagement; then the politicians would be obligated to follow.

Long term, space activities need to be funded from revenue streams that are not taxpayer based. Once that happens, winning federal revenue becomes far less important.

Long term, space must find revenue sources that do not rely

By: Bob Mahoney

Bob Mahoney — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 16:58:57 +0000

This is great advice (be specific, not general), but isn’t it old advice? How many books have been written on how to lobby Congress? A quick Google for “Lobbying Tips” yields >5K sites. The first few pages are primarily those of specific organizations (none involving space), but almost all of them offer essentially the same advice. While none seems to say “be specific not general” they all say to stick with one issue at a time. It’s also curious that a search for “Spaceflight Lobbying Tips” returns nothing; perhaps an artifact of keyword choice…or an indication that we as a constituency don’t quite have a handle on the lobbying game.

But I’ve got to pose my question again, because no one has yet to offer an answer on the previous thread: Is there any data (even outside the space community) that demonstrates which lobbying techniques are most effective? Does blitzing the Hill actually accomplish anything beyond making us feel good because we’re “doing something” up close and personal?