Step-by-Step Organizer Toolkit for the People's Campaign for the Constitution
Questions and Tools for Assessing Your Power
No matter how well a group states its demands, a representative has little reason to consider them unless numerous constituents demonstrate active support. As you begin the campaign, it is helpful to have a clearer picture of who makes up your representative's power base. Once you have a coalition, you'll analyze your own power base to prove to your representative and your members that you can affect the political support your representative enjoys.
Your Representative's Power Base
To get a picture of your representative's power ask these questions and consider these avenues for further action:
Who funds your representative? Visit OpenSecrets.org for information on campaign contributions to federal elected officials. The money that funds your representative's campaign is an important aspect of his or her power base.
- If these funders might support your demands or are vulnerable to pressure, try to get them on your side. If you can get their political or financial support, you can draw from your representative's power base for your own purposes.
Who supports your representative politically? Who endorsed your representative in the last contested election? Are you in a position to make an alliance with any of them?
- Appeal to these people to publicly endorse your organizing effort.
How politically entrenched is your representative? When was the last time your representative faced a contentious election? How wide was the margin? If an election is coming up, is there a challenger? If so, is that challenger more or less aligned with your demands than the incumbent?
Who surrounds your representative personally? What kind of associations has your representative made? In what town did she or he grow up? Who are your representative's former teachers and business colleagues?
- If you can get your representative's current or former colleagues to publicly (or even privately) state support for your effort, you can use your representative's personal ties to make your arguments, which can be very effective.
Who advises your representative? Who makes up your representative's key staff and advisors? Which of them relate most specifically to your demands?
- Establishing a relationship with your representative's staff is part of what it takes to move your representative because s/he relies on them when making decisions.
Who is your representative already serving? What is your representative's voting record and how does it match up with your demands? How far does he or she have to go to meet your demands in the next Congress?
Your Coalition's Power Base
To get a picture of your own coalition's power and broaden your base:
Map out your congressional district. Then, start mapping out potential ally groups active within it. What parts of the district are you strong in and able to mobilize people? For congressional district maps:
- http://nationalatlas.gov/printable/congress.html
- http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/cd109n/FF_cd109n_mainPage.htm
Contact members of the other potential ally groups you’ve identified. Ask if you can make a presentation on the organizing effort so that they can get involved. (See Reach out to local groups and individuals about the PCC strategy.)
