1. LOBBYING BASICS AND
MOBILIZING YOUR GRASS ROOTS
COMMUNITY FOR CHANGE
Nat Bender
April 22, 2012

2. What ‘Change’ are we looking for?
Increase biofeedback’s visibility and get
treatment to more people, while expanding our
individual practices and the field.

3. What does this mean?
Increase biofeedback’s visibility and get
treatment to more people, while expanding
our individual practices and the field.
• Favorable legislation
• Insurance coverage
• Acceptance of validity/efficacy

4. How do we
get there?
Let’s review
related
campaigns

5. ‘Real’ Peoples’ Campaigns
• Arab Spring
• Wisconsin labor/community
• Occupy Wall Street / 99%

8. “’REAL’ PEOPLE’S” CAMPAIGNS
ARE NOT ASTROTURF CAMPAIGNS

9. Remember these two?

10. Who created Harry and Louise?
The Coalition for Health Insurance
Choices (CHIC) was a front group for the
Health Insurance Association of
America. It led the insurance industry's
campaign to defeat the Clinton health
plan in 1993.

11. Who funded Harry and Louise
CHIC received major funding from the
National Federation of Independent
Businesses (NFIB) and the Health
Insurance Association of America (HIAA), a
trade group of insurance companies.
According to Consumer Reports, "the HIAA
doesn't just support the coalition; it
created it from scratch.”
-http://www.sourcewatch.org/

12. WHO IS THE NEW
HARRY AND
LOUISE?

14. Who Funds the Tea Party?
Three heavy hitters rule. You’ve heard of one of
them, Rupert Murdoch. The other two, the
brothers David and Charles Koch, are even
richer, with a combined wealth exceeded only
by that of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett among
Americans.
The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party, By
Frank Rich. New York Times, August 28, 2010

15. Who Funds ALEC
More than 98% of ALEC's revenues come from
sources other than legislative dues, such as
corporations, corporate trade groups, and
corporate foundations. Each corporate
member pays an annual fee. […] ALEC also
receives direct grants from corporations. It has
also received grants from some of the biggest
foundations funded by corporate CEOs in the
country, such as the Koch family.
http://alecexposed.org/

16. Lobbying by
industry
1998-2011
1. Pharma $2.3
billion
2. Insurance $1.6
billion
9. Hospitals $1
billion

17. Hospital advertising spending
• In the first six months of 2011, advertising by American
hospitals, clinics and medical centers rose 20.4 percent, to
$717.2 million, from $595.5 million in the same period in
2010, according to the Kantar Media unit of WPP.
• Patient testimonials have become so popular in the last
decade that some hospitals get their hearts — and their
heart clinics — set on the approach.
• A Healing Touch From Hospitals, New York Times,
September 12, 2011

18. Pharma Advertising spending
• According to new figures from Nielsen, spending on television
advertising fell 23 percent to $2.4 billion from the beginning of 2007 to
the end of last year. Spending in 2011 dropped 2 percent from 2010, and
last year was the fourth consecutive year that such spending fell. Drug
companies in the United States spent more than $3.1 billion on
advertising pharmaceuticals on television in 2007, Nielsen said.
• The decline is in sharp contrast to the decade-long drug-industry
advertising spree that began in 1997, when the Food and Drug
Administration loosened its regulations and allowed direct-to-
consumer advertising of prescription drugs on TV.
Drug Makers Dial Down TV Advertising, New York Times, February 2, 2012

19. Tracking legislation
• Protective against potentially harmful
legislation
• Advancing a legislative agenda
• Know the competition

20. www.nj.gov
Allows multiple methods of
searching

21. www.govnet.com
Alerts, bill tracking (paid service)

22. Finding Your Grass Roots
• What is your community?
• This weekend, you have discussed:
– Vets
– Schoolchildren
– Pregnant women
– Autistics sufferers (families)

23. Can you mobilize your grass roots?
• Getting past patient confidentiality concerns
and legalities
• Voluntary activism

24. Advocacy plan (with agreed upon
goals)
1 • Specific Legislation
2 • Mobilizing goals
3 • Timeline

25. Tactics to influence legislators
• Big contributions Legislative visits
• Letters to legislators
• Online activism
• Rally/demonstration
• Petitions
• Testify at hearings
• Media placements

26. Legislative (and media) outreach
• Develop themes
– Safe, innovate, effective treatment
– Natural alternatives to overuse of medicines/drugs
• Highlight success stories from personal
testimonials.
• Provide generic examples (not as good)
• Hold Press conferences/media events. (show
and tell with friendly/champion legislators)

27. Identify internal resources
• Who is going to do the work?
– Paid
– volunteer
• Budget

28. Putting it all together (tech)

29. Putting it all together
• Organizational partners/allies
• Reinforcing a sense of urgency
• Measuring outcomes and planning for next
steps

30. Other benefits of a campaign
• Developing committed advocates
• Public discussion of benefits of biofeedback

31. QUESTIONS?