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Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials (Softcover)
Citizen Advocacy in State Legislatures and Congress

A Guide for Citizen Lobbyists and Grassroots Advocates
Includes U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence

By Bradford Fitch

Practical guidance how to prepare for and meet with elected officials and staff, how to write effective letters and emails to elected officials, strategies for influencing legislators face-to-face, best practices for communicating with Congress and state legislatures, and how to write persuasive "letters to the editor".  Includes the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

2010, 136 pages

Softcover, $9.95
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.3
ISBN 10: 1587331810 
ISBN 13: 9781587331817

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Ebook: $2.99
eBook ISBN: 9781587332326

 




Available from your bookseller or online 
POL043000 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / Political Advocacy
POL017000 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Affairs & Administration
POL006000 POLITICAL SCIENCE / American Government / Legislative Branch
POL003000 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Civics & Citizenship

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Softcover    $9.95
Ebook         $2.99
  

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Each U.S. citizen has 3 elected representatives in Congress: 2 Senators in the Senate and 1 Representative in the House. To find out who your congressional representatives are, see "Congressional Directories" below.
More Information
SynopsisTable of
Contents
The AuthorRelated
Resources
Details

  Synopsis

This book is one part research studies, one part interviews and focus groups, and one part experience.  It uses available research on Congress and its decision making. Dozens of elected officials, including members of Congress, and their staff agreed to off-the-record interviews and discussed the factors that contribute to their decision-making process. 

  • Strategies for Influencing Legislators Face-to-Face

  • Best Practices for Communicating with Congress and State Legislatures

  • Practical Guidance How to Prepare for and Meet with Elected Officials

  • How to Write Effective Letters and Email to Members of Congress

  • How to Write Persuasive Letters to the Editor that Get Published

  Table Of Contents

 

Table of Contents

About This Book
Introduction


Part I. How Government Really Works

Ch. 1. How Congressional Offices Work

1.1 Dominant Role of Constituents
1.2 Offices Are Like Small Businesses
1.3 Representational Work for Constituents
1.4 Legislative Work for the District, State, and Nation

Ch. 2. Congressional Culture
2.1 Working Environment of "The Last Plantation."
2.2 Congressional Hierarchy
2.3 Committees - Where the Real Work Is Done
2.4 Congressional Staff Descriptions

Ch. 3. How Legislators Make Decisions
3.1 Heart
3.2 Head
3.3 Health (political)

Ch. 4. People Who Can (and Can't) Influence Legislators and How They Do It
4.1 Family and Friends Have the Lawmaker's Ear
4.2 Knowledgeable Acquaintances Can Make a Difference
4.3 Legislators Pay Attention to Respected Colleagues
4.4 Legislative Leaders and Arm Twisting
4.5 The Real Influence of Lobbyists
4.6 Campaign Contributor Are Less Influential Than You Think
4.7 Are Legislators Driven by Polling?
4.8 How Paid Advertising Affects Legislators' Thinking
4.9 You Are Competing with Everyone, Even Though You Don't Know It
Chart 1 - Influence Factors of Undecided Legislators

Part II. How to Influence a Legislator


Ch. 5. Strategies for Influencing Legislators

5.1 Get to Them BEFORE They Take a Stand
5.2 The Personal Story Trumps All
5.3 How to Build Long-term Relationships with Legislators
5.4 How to Leverage Your Affiliations to Magnify Your Power
5.5 How to Map Your Economic and Political Footprint
5.6 How to Influence Legislators Who Don't Represent You
5.7 How to Influence Congressional Committee Staff

Ch. 6. Face-to-Face Meetings
6.1 Tips for Meeting with Legislators or Staff
6.2 How to Influence Legislators at Town Hall Meetings
6.3 How to Turn a Chance Meeting into a Legislative Victory
6.4 Influencing Staff, and Why It's Important

Ch. 7. Communications
7.1 How to Write Letters and Email to Legislators that Influence Decision-Making
7.2 What Kind of Mail Do Lawmakers Really Read?
7.3 How One Letter Reached the Oval Office and Fed a Million People
7.4 Effective (and Ineffective) Phone Calls to Legislators
7.5 Why Petitions Usually Fail to Influence Congress
7.6 How to Write Letters to the Editor that Get Published
7.7 Thank or Spank: After-the-Vote Communications
7.8 The Magic of Combining Advocacy Tactics

Appendices
A. U.S. Constitution and Amendments
B. Declaration of Independence
C. The Advocate's Pledge
D. How to Analyze a Legislator's Perception of Our Issue
E. Information about Congress and Washington, DC

Capitol Switchboard
202-224-3121

House of Representatives
www.house.gov

Senate
www.senate.gov

White House
www.whitehouse.gov
202-456-1414

Resources from TheCapitol.Net

Congress Seating Charts
CongressSeating.com

Congressional Leadership and Committees
CongressLeaders.com

Current party numbers in Congress and Differences between the House and the Senate At-a-Glance
CongressByTheNumbers.com

Congressional Glossary (of legislative terms)
CongressionalGlossary.com

Pay and perquisites of Members of Congress
CongressPay.com

Terms of Congress
TermsofCongress.com

Visiting Washington, DC page
https://www.thecapitol.net/VisitingDC/

Publications from TheCapitol.Net

Congressional Deskbook, The Practical and Comprehensive Guide to Congress, by Michael Koempel and Judy Schneider
CongressionalDeskbook.com

Congressional Operations Poster
CongressPoster.com

Lobbying and Advocacy, by Deanna Gelak
LobbyingandAdvocacy.com

Persuading Congress, by Joseph Gibson
PersuadingCongress.com

Testifying Before Congress, by William LaForge
TestifyingBeforeCongress.com

The Federal Budget Process
FederalBudgetProcess.com

G. State and Local Resources

Index

  The Author

Bradford Fitch, author of Media Relations HandbookBradford Fitch is President of the Congressional Management Foundation. He is the author of Media Relations Handbook for Agencies, Associations, Nonprofits and Congress (TheCapitol.Net) and Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials (TheCapitol.Net).




 Related Resources

Citizen's Handbook mug mug
Citizen's Handbook mug by TheCapitolNet

Live Courses

  • Congress in a Nutshell: Understanding Congress

  • Congressional Dynamics and the Legislative Process

  • Capitol Hill Workshop

  • Advanced Legislative Procedure 

Custom On-Site Training

  • Capitol Hill Day / National Advocacy Day

  • How America Governs

How to Organize a Capitol Hill Day, Audio Course on CD

C-SPAN 1 Viewer's Guide: Making Sense of Watching the House of Representatives, Audio Course on CD

Capitol Learning Audio Courses

Audio CD  and Print Materials

  

Capitol Learning Audio Courses

Online download with MP3 audio and materials in PDF

Capitol Learning Audio Courses

Capitol Learning Audio Courses are a convenient way to learn about the legislative process, federal budgeting, media relations, business etiquette, and much more.  Each course is between 1/2 hour and 2 hours long, and includes the course materials. 

  • C-SPAN 1 Viewer's Guide: Making Sense of Watching the House of Representatives: Legislative Procedure, Congressional Jargon, and Floor Plan

  • C-SPAN 2 Viewer's Guide: Making Sense of Watching the Senate: What's Behind the Classical Music

  • What Your Member of Congress Can Do for You: Gallery Passes, Flags, Presidential Greetings, and Help with Federal Agencies

  • How to Organize a Capitol Hill Day

  • Understanding the Path of Legislation

  • Congressional Committees and Party Leadership: Who Controls the Congressional Agenda

  • Senate Scheduling and Floor Procedures

  • Senate Amendment Procedure

  • House Floor Procedures

  • The House Rules Committee: Gatekeeper to the Floor

  • and more

Our Capitol Learning Audio Courses can be customized with your logo in quantities of 250 to 10,000 copies.  Contact our Client Liaison for details.

Also see these related publications

  • Congressional Operations Poster

  • Persuading Congress

  • Congressional Directory

  • Pocket Guide to Advocacy on Capitol Hill

  • Pocket Constitution

  • Pocket edition of Common Sense, by Thomas Paine

Congressional Pay and Perks       How Our Laws Are Made

  Congressional Directories
  • On the web, member directories are here: House, Senate. 

  • Capitol Switchboard - 202-224-3121

  • See our list of the Congressional leadership.

  • See our Congressional Directory.

  • The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (1774 - Present) is here.  You can also search from the search form below:

Search for a Biography of a Member of Congress (1774 - Present)  Enter desired criteria and click Search
Last Name:
First Name:
Position:
State:

   

Have a suggestion for the Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials?

If you have a suggestion for a change or addition to a future edition of the Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials, please contact us or complete our online suggestion form.

 

 

TheCapitol.Net is a non-partisan firm, and the opinions of its faculty, authors, clients and the owners and operators of its vendors are their own and do not represent those of TheCapitol.Net. 

 

 

  URLs:  www.TheCapitol.Net/Publications/CitizenAdvocacy.html
CitizensHandbook.com
TCNCitizenGuide.com
TCNCH.com


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Rave Reviews

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"This is a well designed and well written guide book for those who really care how our government works and how we can implement much needed change!"

-- Grady Harp, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer


 

"Citizen's Handbook to Influencing Elected Officials is a choice read for those who want to make a difference with today's hard to reach politicians."
-- Midwest Book Review

 

See more rave reviews of our publications.

 

Also see

Congressional Directory
Congressional Directory

 

 

Pocket Constitution

Pocket Constitution


 

Persuading Congress: A Practical Guide to Parlaying an Understanding of Congressional Folkways and Dynamics into Successful Advocacy on Capitol Hill

Persuading Congress

 

 

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