I thought these chumps were cringe

Then I became one…

I thought lobbyists were cringe. Then I became one and had to rethink my perspective. 😬

Lobbying is a dirty word in my book. It conjures images of political operatives paid to weasel corporate favors out of our politicians. I still believe that’s part of the community, but I learned a few weeks ago the label includes a much broader group of advocates, including everyday people like you and me (yep, you!). 😉

Lobbying in Harrisburg is easier than you think

Back in August, I got an email from Conservation Voters of PA (an organization that advocates for political solutions to climate change). Of course, I’m on their distribution list because I’m a big ol’ eco nerd. 🤓

They invited me, and anyone interested, to attend their first-ever Lobby Day in Harrisburg if we were “curious about environmental lobbying or wanted to learn how you could become more effective when advocating for the environment in your community.” I’m a curious cat, so I signed up!

I thought I was going to “watch and learn.” So naive, Jennifer. 💚 A few days before the event, I got my webinar training instructions and policy packet. I would be the lobbyist?! 🥸

Not afraid of a good challenge, I put on my big girl pants and drove to Harrisburg at 6 am to spend the day telling state legislators why it was important to pass specific pieces of environmental legislation. Conservation Voters of PA put us in teams with Team Leaders from the organization (i.e., professional lobbyists) and offered plenty of guidance throughout the day.

Guess what?!

• The professional lobbyists were not cringe.

• I was not cringe (at least according to me). 😜

• And it was not hard at all.

You know what I’m gonna tell you next. 🥰 You can do it, too. 💯

Conservation Voters of PA set us up for success. They scheduled the meetings, told us what to wear and where to go, and provided talking points to guide us through the meetings with legislators. We even got matching green t-shirts, which proved really helpful when I got lost a few times in the maze of the Capitol Building.

Shout-out to the building’s HVAC director ✨ who found me and some fellow lobbying newbies, very lost among the endless wings of echoing halls, and chaperoned us to a handful of offices to drop off our precious packages (of documents about the legislation, nothing fancy).

Professional lobbyists are important (and sometimes cringe). Everyday citizens as lobbyists are hot sh*t. The real deal. The meaningful voices who care so much that we show up for FREE! The professionals know the ropes, but we carry more weight.

Take action to calm anxiety and spark agency

Politics feels grim these days. The friggin’ President is posting AI slop of himself excreting diarrhea from the sky on everyday Americans. I’m used to his diarrhea of the mouth. I didn’t expect the propaganda to be so pathetic and stupid that it became poopaganda.

But here we are. ‘Merica is definitely not winning on the international stage of sane leadership and good governance. 🤡

Science (the real kind that we still believe in) confirms that taking action helps us feel better. It gives us agency and calms anxiety. No one is swooping down from the heavens to save us (the rapture did not happen on Sept 23 despite TikTok’s best efforts to will it into existence). We’re the saviors of ourselves and our communities.

Showing up to lobby for a policy you care deeply about is a great way to take action, meet others who share your passion, and lighten the mental load of the doom and demolition in DC.

As if unleashing a figurative wrecking ball on the structures, checks, and balances of government wasn’t bad enough, Poopypants Donold is taking a literal wrecking ball to the infrastructure of the White House. You can’t make this demolition sh*t up. 💩

Find the joy in fighting

Don’t let despair get you down. That is exactly what the dark side wants. Find joy in fighting for what’s important to you. Don’t be convinced you are powerless.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and our democracy won’t be rebuilt in a day either. Even the $200M ballroom the federal government can unsurprisingly build (while federal workers get fired, furloughed, or work for free) won’t be built in a day.

🙄 Pardon me while I dig my eyeballs out from the back of my head, because our wealthiest oligarchs build opulent ballrooms while our most vulnerable neighbors may lose access to food.

Reimagining the future of our country after this chapter will require all of us. It will take many hands, including ours, but it’s worth it. I mean that with all my heart. Our government is the East Wing of the White House, decimated to its foundation. We need all hands on deck to rebuild.

What can you do?

Vote. Protest. Meet up (+ shameless plug for the walking club). Get curious and ask questions. Volunteer for social change organizations. Build relationship bridges. Be informed. Sign up to be a poll worker on November 4 (seriously, democracy needs you!).

Find a group of IRL people to do this work with (it’s way better with buddies). Call your local representatives to tell them what’s important to you and which current legislation is relevant to your community. Show up in Harrisburg to be a cringey lobbyist. You won’t regret it.

Got questions for me? I’m far from an expert, but I can try. I can at least tell you where to park, what to wear, and not to forget snacks. Unfortunately, I still can’t give you directions through the Halls of State Budget Horror.

Even if you’re not ready for Harrisburg, there are plenty of options to get engaged in and around Chadds Ford.

Not political? 💖 Everything is political, babe. Our President made the poop emoji political. 💩

We’ve got this. 🫶🏻