I have always been told you can get more with sugar then you can with vinegar.
That's true if you are trying to attract flies. But if you are trying to influence public policy, it's about money and power. And the closer you get to the rooms where the rules are written, the more important money and power becomes.
The following is a true story that illustrates my point.
In 1998, I became a speaker on the political circuit because of the pioneering internet work I did that helped elect Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (see
my bio for details). One of the speaking engagements was at Harvard University where I was a pannelist, seated with a few others in front of a room filled with professional campaign workers, lobbyists, congressional staffers and activists of various stripes; or as some of them called themselves, capitol rats and political operators.
Use of the internet in campaigns was new back then and one of the things we did in the Ventura campaign was post his public policy views. People in the audience questioned this. They were concerned that if you put your candidate on record, his or her words can be used against you later on. I responded that if you had a candidate who actually believed what he said, that would not be a problem because he or she would always be consistent.
What happened next surprised me and broke my heart. A spontanious debate broke out on the floor about the value of truth telling by people who hold public office. Some thought it might be a good idea, others did not. But for almost every one of these political operators who worked in Washington and various state capitols, truth telling was at best an option to be considered like any other part of a campaign plan. Truth telling, if it was good at all, was good only to the extent it could help their guy or gal get elected (or appointed) and acquire more power and influence when seated.
When a naive honey believer like you is present with people like that, they have long ago developed the skills to win you over. They stroke your ego. They make you feel important. They use well rehearsed phrases that makes it seem you are listened to and that you matter. They leave you feeling really special and then go on to do what they had planned all along.
How do you fight people like this? You use the same weapons they do; money and power. That is why I support OOIDA as a lifetime member and send in extra contributions to OOIDA's PAC and litigation funds.
