grasstops: an excerpt from "persuading congress"

8/9/2019 Grasstops: An Excerpt from "Persuading Congress"

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~ S P E C I A L ~ F E A T U R E ~

"Grasstops"

an excerpt from the new book

PERSUADING CONGRESS:

A Practical Guide to Parlaying an Understanding of

Congressional Folkways and Dynamics into Successful

Advocacy on Capitol Hill

by Joseph GibsonPublished by TheCapitol.NetReprinted with Permission

INTRODUCTION

In his new book,Persuading Congress, JosephGibson says that "grassroots efforts have limitedutility for most issues," due to the difficulty ofmobilizing large numbers of personal responses tomembers of Congress. Members respond topersonal stories but are numb to mass mailings,duplicate emails, or scripted phone call campaigns.

Gibson offers an alternative strategy in thisexcerpt. "Grasstops" refers to getting VIPs to pitcha member of Congress for you. TheCapitol.Net hasmade this excerpt available for free use. Moreinformation about the book, "Persuading Congress," and author JosephGibson, follows the excerpt. Thank you.

"Grasstops"

by Joseph Gibson

You may not be familiar with the term "grasstops." In the lobbying world, itrefers to efforts to influence Congress through contacts with corporateCEOs and other VIPs. In this context, though, VIP is a loose term. Forexample, if the American Medical Association seeks to persuade Congressof something, the VIPs may be the members' personal doctors. Or amember may have a friend whom the member believes knows more thananyone on the subject. The member may listen to that person and no oneelse on a particular issue.


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Like grassroots efforts, grasstops efforts can persuade members and staff.Like most of us, members and staffers like to meet and talk to VIPs. It ispart of the fun on the job.

But grasstops pressure can also be hard to activate. CEOs are busy peopleand they do not have time to call members unless the issue matters a lot to

the company. If the situation involves personal doctors or friends orsomething of that sort, it may be difficult to identify who those people are.

In most cases, however, the organizations have an easier time applyinggrasstops pressure than grassroots pressure because organizations controltheir own leaders. Those leaders will usually know who within their sphereshares their interests and what other prominent leaders may be interested.

Basically, you face three issues when you are trying to activate grasstopspressure. Which members are you trying to influence? Whom do they listento? And within that group of people that those members listen to, who has

sufficient interest to make the contact? Once you have thought throughthose questions, they way forward will usually be fairly clear.

If you have decided which VIP should contact which member, then youneed to work out the time and place. A personal meeting works best if thetiming of the issue allows it and the VIP can get to the member. You can dothis in the member's office if that is convenient, but it need not necessarilyhappen there. It can take place at a social event, a charity dinner, orwhatever they two may happen to meet. If time is short or the VIP is acrossthe country, a phone call is the next best option. Most members will maketime for a short conversation with a VIP within a day or two.

However the contact occurs, the principles discussed in Chapter 35 onmeetings apply even more forcefully in this situation. Hone the VIP'smessage to the bare essentials and get right to the point. Members are busypeople and you will waste the opportunity if the VIP spends too much timedawdling over pleasantries.

VIPs can have a significant impact on members. Organizations should usethem when and where appropriate.

About the Author

JOSEPH GIBSON has worked in the legislative, executive,and judicial branches of the federal government. He haslobbied members of Congress and their staffs, advocated onbehalf of the executive branch, and argued cases in federal andstate courts.

He grew up in Waycross, Georgia, and then attended Yale University,


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where he received a bachelor's degree in political science. After graduation,he spent a year working as a staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Hethen went to Yale Law School, where he earned his JD degree.

After law school, he clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson, III, of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Macon, Georgia.He then returned to Washington where he spent the next six and a halfyears as a litigator with private law firms.

Although he was not particularly interested in politics at the time, theRepublican takeover of Congress in 1994 led, through a series ofconnections and circumstances, to his getting a job as an antitrust counselfor the House Judiciary Committee under Chairman Henry Hyde of Illinois.From there, he rose to chief antitrust counsel for the committee. In 2002 hebecame a deputy assistant attorney general representing the legislativeinterests of the Department of Justice.

In 2003, he returned to the House Judiciary Committee as its chieflegislative counsel and parliamentarian under Chairman Jim Sensenbrennerof Wisconsin. After two years there, he became chief of staff toRepresentative Lamar Smith of Texas. After the 2006 election, he becamechief minority counsel of the committee. He has now returned to the privatesector where he lobbies on antitrust, intellectual property, and otherbusiness issues at the law firm of Constantine Cannon LLC.

About the Book

PERSUADING CONGRESS:A Practical Guide to Parlaying an Understandingof Congressional Folkways and Dynamics intoSuccessful Advocacy on Capitol Hillby Joseph GibsonPublished by TheCapitol.Net(ISBN 978-1587331732, Hardcover, $27;ISBN 978-1587331640, Paperback, $24)Available through this site or directly from thepublisher: http://www.thecapitol.net/

Persuading Congress, by Joseph Gibson, is a verypractical book, packed with wisdom and experiencein a deceptively short and simple package.

What happens in Congress affects all of our lives and extends into everycorner of the economy. Because so much is at stake there, businesses andother interest groups spend billions of dollars each year trying to influencelegislation.

Yet, most of these efforts are doomed to futility from the outset. Only a


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small percentage of the bills introduced in Congress actually become law,and most interested parties do not fully understand why those few billssucceed. More importantly, how to get Congress to do what they wantremains a mystery to them.

This book will help you understand Congress. Written from the perspectiveof one who has helped put a lot of bills on the president's desk and helpedstop a lot more, this book explains in everyday terms why Congressbehaves as it does. Then it shows you how you can best deploy whateverresources you have to move Congress in your direction.

Because you have limited time, this book sticks to the basics and itschapters are short so that it can be digested rapidly.

Praise for PERSUADING CONGRESS:

"We are all -- every one of us -- members of several 'special interests.' By

providing a practical guide to lobbying,Persuading Congress demystifiesthe ways in which citizens can influence legislation and achieve their publicpolicy objectives. Anyone who wants to make a difference throughlegislation -- not just executives -- needs to read this book, master itslessons, and keep it handy."-- F. Christopher Arterton,Dean, Graduate School of PoliticalManagement, The George Washington University

"This revealing book pulls back the curtain on the Congressional decision-making process and, best of all, provides invaluable advice to corporateexecutives on effectively influencing not just national and local legislation

but the corporate environment as well."-- Robert Clements,Chairman & CEO, EverBank Financial Corp

"InPersuading Congress, Joseph Gibson, a longtime veteran of CapitolHill, offers masterful counsel to anyone who wants to work well withCongress. In Washington, there are well over 10,000 registered lobbyists.Very few grasp and convey the keys to successful advocacy as well asGibson does."-- Martin Gold,Covington & Burling, Washington, DC

Copyright 2010 by TheCapitol.Net. All Rights Reserved. Please feel freeto duplicate or distribute this file as long as the excerpt has not beenchanged and this copyright notice is intact. Thank You!

grasstops: an excerpt from "persuading congress"

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