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Lobby Days Critique

A Disappointment in Washington

(Professionalism. Or Lack Thereof)
By Anne Casebeer

Another Lobby Days event has come and gone, and my feelings are mixed indeed. That's not because I lack any belief in the need to tell our elected officials what we think. Not because I didn't enjoy doing it, and certainly not because I know that passage of anything we lobbied for is unlikely this year. You see, I don't like attacking people that I respect, because I'm just a soul whose intentions are good, and, oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood. Prior to leaving, I was somewhat dismayed to read JoAnn Roberts' negative comments about the '98 Lobby Days in Renaissance News and Views' March and April issues, but her comments that GenderPAC is unfocused and that attendance would be less than before were dead-on correct, and so I must give credit where credit's due. So, just as JoAnn always does, I'm going to call things the way I see them. I will add this disclaimer: the views I'm expressing here are mine alone, and I am not speaking for the group.

There is a fundamental need to change the way we plan and execute Lobby Days, and I wonder if Riki Anne Wilchins is kidding herself about what we accomplished there. In fact, I question whether anyone associated with GenderPAC can quantify any legislative progress from this year's lobbying with any sort of solid data. That is the problem. In business, you quantify everything with numbers and statistics, and I don't think Dana Priesing or Riki Anne Wilchins can quantify much statistically about this lobbying effort. In fact, I'm convinced that nobody knows for certain how many people even lobbied, from what states, and who visited what members of Congress. Following this article, I've published a press release from Dana Priesing which states that over 100 lobbyists were on the Hill this time out. Sorry, but last year there were 60, and the group gathered for the Monday morning group shot looked more like 30-40 to me. At the Sunday night meeting, there were a number of people from Brown University that were ostensibly supposed to lobby with us. In fact, a Brown student who lived in Louisville was introduced to Amy McCorkle, Angela Bridgman, Marjorie Demaille, and I; we asked him to join us at Rep. Baesler's office at 10AM. Not only did we never see him, we didn't see any of the Brown people on the Hill at all. That's right, we never ran into them in the halls, cafeterias, or anywhere else on Capitol Hill. Anyone who has lobbied before in a group can tell you that you are always running into your fellow lobbyists in the House and Senate office buildings. To be fair, I've contacted some of my fellow lobbyists in the weeks since, and nobody else seems to have remembered them being there, either. So, where'd they go?

Professionalism?

I checked in with Dana twice to let her know who I'd talked to, and she commented that "it's impossible to organize transpeople", and that "practically nobody's been checking in". On Tuesday morning, I checked in with her to see if there were any particular members of Congress that needed to be visited, since I'd exhausted the Kentucky and Tennessee delegations, and found out that Dana not only didn't even have a list of who had been seen, but didn't even know who was there lobbying from what states! Her mood seemed to be one of dejection and frustration, rather than one of optimism, and I could well understand why. I kept my thoughts to myself at that point, but found the whole situation to be ludicrous. It indicated to me that there was no strategy, no organization, no direction, just a "now go do something" attitude.

This is a problem that originates with the Sunday meeting, when we were treated to inspirational speeches from Riki Anne and Nancy Buermeyer of HRC, but not much organization. Regardless of Ms. Buermeyer's apparent hospitality, the presence of HRC in our meetings, which actively opposes transgender inclusion in hate crimes and employment rights legislation, still seems roughly equivalent to allowing KGB officers into a CIA meeting. In my humble opinion, the priority of the Sunday meeting should be the following: Find out who is here, from what state, what appointments do we already have, and who is left over that must be visited; then, explain the pending bills, their status, who the key people are, establish talking points, and practice and polish our presentations. What does kowtowing to a lobbyist from HRC, an organization that is as much our enemy as the Christian Coalition, do to help us organize a TG lobbying effort?

I'm quite aware that Riki Anne Wilchins and Phyllis Frye, former head of ICTLEP, are not apt to be spotted sipping martinis together at the College Park Applebee's. Because of that, I hate to make comparisons between the ICTLEP and GenderPAC lobbying efforts in 1997. I highly respect each of these individuals, but the differences in level of organization are so vivid that they can't be avoided. Phyllis' priority was to organize the lobbyists, find out where they had appointments, and then made sure that we covered as many important Senators as possible. Decisions were made at the Sunday session as to who was going to see what Senator. Monday and Tuesday night, we were asked to complete a short questionnaire on each appointment for future reference. I feel that there is no question that Phyllis can tell you what was accomplished in each visited office. The effort went like clockwork, and 20 lobbyists did a massive amount of fact-finding. At the GenderPAC days in May 1997, in contrast, there was little effort to assign offices, determine who was there and seeing whom. Worse, many of us made appointments with our local legislators on the basis of a lobbying effort for passage of a trans-inclusive ENDA, then found that the thrust of the lobbying effort was for hate crimes. Hate crimes legislation is important to our community, and is probably the most likely issue we can get legislation passed to address, but to many of us employment rights is THE most important issue. Most importantly, I fear that it made us look like bait-and-switch artists, not to mention that in many offices a different legislative assistant handles the two issues. This could have made us look like fools.

Professionalism?

What is needed to make next year's effort a viable one? In a word, organization. The Sunday session is the key to the effort. On Sunday night, we need to explain what is being lobbied for, determine who has come and from where, take note of what appointments have already been made, and prioritize the remainder. If you are in Washington lobbying, you should see your state's legislators, but if you come from a small state like Kentucky, you can see many other states' officials, too. There were many states that did not have lobbyists in attendance, and some of their Senators and Representatives are very important. In a related effort, copies of the bill being lobbied need to be disseminated a couple weeks before the Lobby Days to allow study time, along with a statement of what the status of the bill is. I was told by Congressman Scotty Baesler's (D-KY) LA about the status of HCPA in the House (stuck in Rep. Hyde's House Judiciary Committee). Had I been organizing this, I'd have made certain that every Representative on the House Judiciary Committee was lobbied. This goes into the organizing of this event: prioritizing who we use our limited number of lobbyist-hours to visit. First priority should be the lobbyists local representatives and Senators; second, their previous years' contacts; third, the members of the House and Senate committees that hold the keys to a floor vote; and fourth, possible and probable supporters and swing votes. This recognizes that there are a limited number of lobbyists with limited time, and uses them the most effective way possible.

Professionalism.

As I said earlier, I am uncomfortable in the role of attack dog. I don't like to be a whistle-blower, to be the one to tell the empress that she forgot to wear her clothes. One reason is this: if I suggest that change is necessary, then I believe that I have the duty to volunteer to make the changes reality. On the other hand, I don't have all the time in the world, and have obligations to my family and career, and cannot say what will be going on in Spring of 1999 in my life at this writing. Despite this, I've made the decision to offer my managerial and organizational skills to whomever may plan a lobbying effort in 1999, because I believe that since I wrote this, I must put up or shut up. To make these statements and not be prepared to back them up with action would be cowardly and unfair to all involved. To that end, anyone who wishes can find me at agc@MCI2000.com., if you want to call my bluff.

We are transpeople, and our appearance in offices is a curiosity already, to be honest. The image we need to be putting forth is one of absolute professionalism, informed expertise, and crisp businesslike presentation. I'm not sure we appeared that way this time out, nor last year. Lobby Days are vitally important events that need to happen every year without fail, and with as many lobbyists as can attend. Lobbying is an effective tool, but like any tool, needs to be executed in an organized, competent, and professional manner. Despite the fact that this year's effort was disorganized to a fare-thee-well this year, I wouldn't have skipped it. Our elected officials, locally as well as nationally, need to see us, meet us, talk to us, learn about us. That, my friends, is why I go to Washington every year. For all the good works that we may do locally (and, as a board member of It's Time, Kentucky, I recognize the need to pursue local political action), the Federal Government represents our best hope for protecting the rights of most transgendered people. Our elected officials need to see that we aren't fresh from the green room of the Jerry Springer Show. We have real lives, careers, legitimate concerns, and people who care about us that are endangered by their very association with us. The fact is, rights for transgendered people are not just for transgendered people, they're for our friends, our families, for the entire GLBT community, for our very survival, and for the sake of our nation as we approach the millenium. Our job must be to make the annual Lobby Days more effective and always learn from our mistakes. To do that, to be truly effective, to finally get the rights and protections that we deserve as American Citizens enacted into law, guess what we have to exhibit?

Professionalism.

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