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How to Watch the State of the Union -- January 27, 2003
Top Five Things Americans Should Know About Their Government -- October 16, 2002
EFFECTIVE ADVOCACY TIP - HOW TO WATCH THE STATE OF THE UNION
Tomorrow night, at 9:00pm Eastern time, President Bush will deliver his annual "State of the Union" address. No matter what you think of this particular president, a careful evaluation of the State of the Union is an important task for any effective advocate. Why? Because it represents one of the very few times that the president is formally required to make a report to the duly elected representatives of the people (that’s the US Congress, for those of you who are confused). According to the Constitution, the President shall "from time to time" provide information on the State of the Union to the Congress. This simple phrase is what’s behind the pomp and circumstance of this yearly ritual.
Following are a few tips for watching the State of the Union:
Who’s
Who: The State of the Union address is "hosted" by
the House of Representatives, in part because it’s large enough to
hold the slew of dignitaries and elected officials seeking to attend.
Before the speech, television cameras often focus on leaders of the House,
Senate and Cabinet, such as the Senate Majority Leader, House Democratic
Whip, key cabinet members and others. It’s always entertaining to
identify which cabinet member is not physically present at the speech.
Succession rules dictate that at least one cabinet member refrain from
attending the speech so that the government can continue to function if
something catastrophic happens at the U.S. Capitol. Representing both
the U.S. House and Senate are the Speaker of the House (Rep. Hastert)
and the Vice-President of the United States (Dick Cheney), who is also
the President of the Senate. They sit directly behind the platform where
the President speaks. Other attendees are, of course, members, of the
U.S. Congress, members of the President’s family and staff, and those
always exciting "real people" that presidents in recent years
have singled out either as national heroes, or as examples of the role
government programs can play in solving the problems of ordinary people.
What to Expect: Most presidents use their State of the
Union Speech as an opportunity to preview the budget proposal that will
be sent to the Congress. The budget is usually sent the week after the
address. This year will apparently be no exception -- although the President
is expected to lay out his rational for war with Iraq, those mysterious
"senior advisors" indicate that he will talk about his budget
plans first. You can read more about this prediction at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47040-2003Jan26.html.
Another always fun component of the speech is the response of the "other
side", in this case the Democrats. In a continuing movement toward
"outside the beltway" speakers, this year’s response will
be delivered by Governor Gary Locke of Washington State. Governor Locke
is expected to focus on economic problems at home as opposed to opposition
to the war in Iraq. Many pundits suggest that he was selected because
of the difficult economic pressures his own Washington state is facing,
particularly in terms of unemployment and budget shortfalls. They believe
he can best deliver a message of "It’s the Economy, Stupid",
to coin a phrase from previous Democratic campaigns…
What Not to Expect: Overwhelming bipartisanship or tremendous
support for any of the President’s proposals from the Democrats.
While there will no doubt be a few circumstances in which both sides will
leap to their feet in a standing ovation (I’m guessing mentions of
the military overseas will be the trigger), you will see many instances
where only the Republicans will rise in support of a particular statement.
The Democrats will remain seated, perhaps in stony silence.
How you Can Follow-Up: Your first responsibility, as
an effective citizen, is to watch the State of the Union, and jot down
a few notes about what you did or did not like. Second, check out the
video footage which will be available during and after the speech on a
variety of sites, including C-Span’s State of the Union page at http://www.c-span.org/executive/stateoftheunion.asp
and The White House’s own page at http://www.whitehouse.gov/stateoftheunion/.
You may also want to review the text of the speech, which will be available
through most major news outlets the following day, including www.washingtonpost.com.
Prepare a letter to your elected officials indicating what specific policy
proposals you supported or opposed, and ask your elected officials to
do something specific related to those proposal. For example, if the President
mentions a new program for education that sounds good to you, ask your
elected officials to support funding for that program.
Most important, be sure to follow-up by reviewing the President’s
budget submission, which is expected the week of February 3rd. Next week’s
Advocacy Tipsheet will offer advocates insights into how normal people
without degrees in economics or political science can effectively review
and comment on the budget. So stay tuned!
INTERESTING WEBSITES
If you’re a Democrat wanting to keep up to date on the latest news and information or a Republican wanting to keep an eye on the "enemy", check out democraticwhip.house.gov for the latest news and information from the House Democratic Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer. While you’re poking around the House site, be sure to check out the new features on the overall House site at www.house.gov. Not to be outdone, the Senate has also redesigned its site at www.senate.gov.
As if you don’t have enough opportunities to comment on U.S. Congress activities, now the Executive Branch is getting into the act. At www.regulations.gov, citizens have an opportunity to review and comment on Executive Agency decisions and forthcoming regulations.
Moveon.org, the highly creative website that first came into prominence over the Clinton Impeachment debate, is making a name for itself again. This time, the site is collecting the news and views of those opposed to the war on Iraq. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, you have to give them credit for having a highly effective and innovative approach to online campaigning. I mean, what other cyber-advocacy organization bought ad time during the Super Bowl?
INTERESTING EVENTS
January 28th, 2003 – State of the Union Address, coming to a television near you
Week of February 3rd, 2003 – President Bush submits his budget proposal to the US Congress
February 17 – 21, 2003 – President’s Day District Work Period – take this opportunity to meet with elected officials at home!
In Honor of Columbus Day: Whether you consider Columbus to be the discoverer of America, the bane of the Native Americans' existence, or just a guy who gives us another reason for a federal holiday, the Columbus Day holiday offers an opportunity to consider the founding of America and how it's governed. In that spirit, this week's tip sheet offers the "Top Five Things Americans Should Know About Their Government."
Number Five: Know How a Bill Becomes a Law
All effective advocates should have some sense of how a bill becomes a law, whether you gain your knowledge from the school house rock version (http://www.school-house-rock.com/Bill.html), or from a more comprehensive source, such as the Library of Congress (http://thomas.loc.gov/home/lawsmade.toc.html). And believe me, the school house rock version is absolutely fine, and, frankly, a lot more interesting.
Number Four: Know the Differences Between the Branches of Government
You wouldn't ask a plumber to repair your roof, would you? Then why would you ask elected officials to solve a problem with an executive agency? Or ask a federal official to deal with an essentially local problem. While elected officials are always good to turn to for advice, effective advocates will familiarize themselves with who does what, and will begin their efforts at the proper level and with the proper people. This can be confusing (of course), but you can track down more information in a variety of locations. First of all, Vanderbilt has put together a great Government Information Reference Site at: http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/govt/ref.html. You can also read about the branches of government at www.usconstitution.net. Another great resource is This Nation at www.thisnation.com.
Number Three: Know Where Your Tax Dollars Go
Anyone who hates writing checks on tax day should try to get a sense of where tax dollars are being spent. That way, you'll know what to policies to oppose (and support). The National Priorities Project continues to improve its database site that allows users to assess how federal and/or state dollars are spent in a variety of areas. Check it out at database.nationalpriorities.org. Other interesting sites for expenditure data are: The Center for Budget Priorities at (http://www.cbpp.org/) and The Congressional Budget Office at www.cbo.gov.
Number Two: Know How to Find Government Information on the Internet
Fortunately, this is pretty easy. In addition to the sites I've listed throughout this newsletter, you can also check out the First Gov site at www.firstgov.gov. This site serves as a portal to all things governmental. If you're looking for alternative perspectives on a particular issue, I suggest running a Google search (www.google.com) on your terms of interest. Hey, that's what I do to find all these sites -- if I can do it, you can too.
Number One: Know Who Your Elected Officials Are
In addition to knowing who is on the electoral ballot (see my election guide at www.advocacyguru.com/electionguide.htm), effective advocates know who actually won the races and represent them at the local, state and federal levels. For the local level, check for local city council websites at the National League of Cities (www.nlc.org), county sites at the National Association of Counties (www.naco.org) and Mayors at the U.S. Conference of Mayors (www.mayors.org). At the State level, look for State legislatures through the National Conference of State Legislatures (www.ncsl.org) and the Governors at the National Governors Association (www.nga.org). National elected officials can be tracked down through www.congress.org.
After all, if you don't know who represents you, you don't know who to complain to when things go wrong (and thank when things go right!).
Let me know if you think there are OTHER important things American's need to know about government. Maybe I'll include them in another edition of the tipsheet.
INTERESTING WEBSITES
Maybe it's just because I live in Washington, DC and I do occasionally pump gas, but I've been following the sniper attacks in the area pretty closely. If you'd like to keep up to date, both CNN (www.cnn.com) and MSNBC (www.msnbc.com) have ongoing coverage. The local perspective can be found on the Post at www.washingtonpost.com
For anyone interested in reducing the role of money in politics, check out Democracy 21 at www.democracy21.org. This is Fred Wertheimer's site devoted to campaign finance reform.
Democratic efforts in the US and across the world are highlighted on Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now show (www.democracynow.org). Not for the faint at heart, this show and site focused on those the producers believe are "marginalized" in our political system. If you think that's you, take a look!
Whenever I want to know anything about anything, I turn to the Federal Statistics homepage at: http://www.fedstats.gov/. Frankly, the links to the kids pages on agency webpages are the most useful (I wonder if that says anything about my mental state). Another fun resource is the Harper's Index at www.harpers.org
If you're trying to keep track of the end of the session madness, especially the ins and outs of the appropriations process, you might want to consider talking to the good folks at Gallery Watch (www.gallerywatch.com). While their legislative monitoring program isn't free, it is darn well near free considering the value you get (and no, I don't get any kickbacks!)
INTERESTING EVENTS
Nov. 5, 2002: Election Day. Make your plans now to vote in person or via absentee ballot – your vote matters!
Nov. 7 - 29, 2002: The Advocacy Guru (that's me) goes on vacation! If you are going to have any advocacy-related emergencies, please try to do so before then. Thanks!
