A basic briefing for state association volunteers on effective government relations activities.

1. Politics 101: How Washington
Works
(And your state is about the same
too!)
Mark J. Golden, CAE
Executive Director & CEO
NCRA T.E.A.M. seminar
August 4, 2010

2. “It’s all just Politics”
• Politics – Defined
– From the Latin
• Politics – The Reality
– Balancing between conflicting and
competing interests

3. Special Interests
• We would all like to think
– our own motivations and needs are entirely
altruistic and pure
– Conflicting interests are entirely venal and
corrupt
• The truth of the matter
– We are all special interests … including
the elected official

4. What drives your Member of
Congress?
•Money
•Power

5. The Money Chase
• The very first day s/he arrives in Washington,
your representative needs to start preparing
for his/her next campaign
– Cost of Winning a House Seat
• 1976: $90,000
• 2008: $1.1 Million
– Cost of Winning a Senate Seat
• 1976: $590,000
• 2008: $6.5 Million
– President Obama spent $514 Million in the 2008
General Election
• $7.39 per vote cast in his favor

6. Political Power
• Much like money
– It’s about banking favors to secure future support
– Choosing when to spend political capital and on what
• Banking enough clout to get your legislative
priorities accomplished also means moving up the
food chain
– Committees
– Leadership
• That requires showing your value to party leadership
– Raising campaign funds
– Voting consistently with your caucus

7. But money and power are just
means to an end …
• The ultimate goal is do the right thing
for their constituents as well.
– In monetary terms, that means getting the
most they can for their district or state.

8. The Circular Dilemma
• I can’t deliver for my constituents if I don’t get re-
elected.
– I can’t get re-elected if I don’t raise money.
• I can’t deliver for my constituents if I don’t acquire
power and use it wisely.
– To get support for what matters to me, I need to
support the priorities and policies of allies.
– I need to compromise on some issues.
• Politics is the art of the achievable not the ideal.
• Raising money and acquiring Hill power distracts me
from focusing on my constituents ! ! ! !

9. When push comes to shove, it’s
about GRASSROOTS
"Votes beat dollars every time."
(Dick Armey)
When they are hearing from the folks back
home, it doesn't matter how many $5K PAC
Checks they're getting from Washington
associations.

10. But does that mean “ALL” their
constituents?
• Less than 4% of the districts’ voting
population write or call their legislators.
• It is the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.
– Being persistent is the key.
– You must work harder and smarter and
make people on the Hill believe that you
will never go away.
– Only then will they take you seriously and
work to make your issue “go away.”

11. We in America do not have
government by the majority. We
have government by the majority
who participate.
Thomas Jefferson

13. What is your biggest legislative
obstacle?
• The opposition?
• Money?
• Time?
• In fact, it is inertia
– in·er·tia (ĭ-nûr'shə)
• A body at rest will tend to remain at rest.
• A body in motion will tend to continue that
motion

14. Every one of these steps is an opportunity to
lose momentum and become bogged down

15. Current environment on Capitol
Hill
• Changes in the political landscape have completely
restructured the priorities on the Hill
• It is marginally more friendly to our issues, as most
of NCRA’s issues appeal more to Democratic
legislators
• Things like the unemployment, healthcare and the
upcoming mid-term elections are pushing
EVERYTHING else to the back burner.

16. But more than anything else …
It’s the Economy, Stupid

17. And remember . . .
The party in the minority today might be
the party in the majority when your Bill
finally makes it to a vote on Final
Passage!
• The Stage Door philosophy does not
work in politics:
“There is no reason to be nice to the people you meet
on the way up unless you plan on coming back
down”

18. Effective Politics
• Identify WHO
– Makes the decisions that will drive the outcome
• NOT who you think will be most sympathetic to your
pitch
– Can influence the key decision maker
• Identify WHAT
– They want and need out of the decision
• Identify HOW
– To align what you want and need with what they
want and need

19. Can I make what I need and what
they need the same thing?
• If yes: work with the decision maker
• If no: work with whomever might be
able to move the decision maker

20. One Day in the Life of a Congressman
8:00am Breakfast – w/General Scowcroft
8:30am Breakfast Briefing- Republican Pro-Choice Coalition
9:00am GOP Conference
10:00am Ways & Means Bipartisan meeting w/Secretary of Trade
10:15am International Relations Committee hearing- re. Russia’s Policies
Toward the Axis of Evil: Money & Geopolitics in Iraq and Iran
10:30am Ways & Means Committee Hearing – re. President's Bush’s trade
agenda w/Secretary of Trade & Markup re. Views and Estimates Letter to
the Committee on the Budget
12:00pm Ways & Means Lunch
12:30pm Lunch Tuesday Group (Moderate Republicans)
1:00pm Meet w/Representative Boelhert – re. environmental legislation
1:30pm Desk time w/Bonnie and Laura
2:30pm Meet w/Director of Elmira College – re. appropriations
3:00pm Meet w/Congressman Quinn, Sen. Clinton, Tom Reynolds, Louise
Slaughter – re. Budget requests for Western NY
4:00pm Members Only Briefing – re. War on Terrorism- Iraq w/Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld
5:00pm Bipartisan Retreat meeting
6:00pm Gym
6:00pm Stop by – Party in honor of Connie Morella
7:00pm Speak at Awards Dinner for Women in Business
7:00 -- ? Votes until early morning (possibly 2:00am)

21. The Messaging Challenge …
• I’m busy
• You’re busy
• Who has time for this?

22. The Elevator Speech
• In the length of time you would
normally have in an elevator ride, can I
communicate:
– Who am I,
– Why am I here, and
– What do I want?

23. But what about MY ISSUE?
• Now that you have seen a Congressman’s busy schedule
how do you get your member’s attention?
– Be early.
– Keep it short and sweet.
– Have your message down.
– Be polite and gracious.
– Give them back up material.
– Mention your key contacts that they might know.
– Show them the need, bring a CART provider with you. (You
will blow them away!)
– Thank them for their time.
– Follow up with a thank you letter and remind them of
your issue.

24. Don’t forget the staff!
• So how do you get the staff’s attention when they sit in
meetings all day long as well?
• Be on time. (That’s 10 minutes early)
• Be polite and courteous.
• Make sure they are aware of the impact your issue will have on
the district.
• Keep your message short but to the point.
• Try to build a relationship with the staff.
• Have your message down.
• Give them back up material.
• Show them the need, bring a CART provider with you.
• Thank them for their time.
• Follow up with a phone call.
• Keep a dialogue going with the staff.
• Your relationship with the staff will determine your success
since staff does the leg work for the member.

25. Profile of a Hill Office
• Average size of Hill office
– House
• 9 staffers
• 50% of time answering constituent mail
• Senate
– 22 staffers
– 5 of those exclusive for constituent mail
• Overall Congress receives 18 million pieces of mail each year
– Sending a letter will take 2-4 weeks for a response
– Post 9/11-Anthrax scare: physical mail can be delayed days, weeks or
even months before it even arrives
• AND over 182 million emails!
• Staffing profile has not changed from 1970 format

26. Pyramid of Influence
Member
AA or Chief
of Staff
Legislative
Director
Legislative Assistant
Legislative Correspondent

27. Roles of Congressional Staff
• Administrative Assistant (AA) or Chief of Staff (CoS)
– He/she usually has overall responsibility for evaluating the political
outcomes of various legislative proposals and constituent requests. This
person is also usually in charge of overall office operations. He or she is
the boss of the office under the member.
• Legislative Director (LD)
– The LD is usually the staff person who monitors the legislative schedule
and makes recommendations regarding the pros and cons of particular
issues.
• Legislative Assistant (LA)
– The LA handles specific legislative issue areas that they concentrate on in
particular. They advise the member on the legislative issue and closely
monitor any legislation in that area.
• Press Secretary or Communications Director
– The Press Secretary’s responsibility is to build and maintain open and
effective lines of communication between the member, his/her
constituency, and the general public.

28. Roles of Congressional Staff
• Scheduler or Appointment Secretary
– The scheduler is responsible for keeping the schedule for the
Congressperson. Every minute of the Congressperson’s day is
planned out by the scheduler. Various other tasks fall on this
position as the member’s personal assistant.
• Legislative Correspondent
– Legislative Correspondents answer almost all of the constituent
mail that comes into the office. They must have a wide range of
knowledge on a great many issues.
• Office Manager
– The Office Manager runs the administrative side of the office.
• Staff Assistant or Receptionist
– The staff assistant answers phones, greets visitors, gives tours, and
performs a multitude of administrative tasks.

29. Let’s look at that again
Member
AA or Chief
of Staff
Legislative Director
Legislative Assistant
Legislative Correspondent
Who is most important?

30. Things you may not know about
Congress …
• Many Members never read the bills before they vote
on them
– Members very rarely know what they will be voting on until “the
walk.”
• Most Members think more about issues that affect
their constituencies than they might about “big
picture” issues
• Members focus on people that vote.
• Members work very hard, often from early a.m. to
late into the night.
• Congress actually passes very few bills in a year.
• For example, in a recent year, 5,514 bills were introduced and
only 300 actually became law.

31. Final Words on Understanding
Washington
• Persistence pays off.
– In politics, sometimes “no” just means “not now.”
• Make friends with everyone.
– You never know when they may be in a position to help
you.
• Understand that politics are everywhere
– You don’t have to like it
– You don’t even need to compromise on your values
– But to get what you want, you have to play the game.
• Most legislators and their staffs really want to help
and they need you to assist them in assisting you.
Be flexible --- shift happens!

32. Thank You!
Questions and Answers