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| Courtesy of Brandeberry McKenna |
This case study outlines lobbying as activism by highlighting
Jennifer Mello’s work in the Denver area. Her work entails three main activist principles;
seek common ground, shift the spectrum of allies, and team up with experts.
Along with “for the people, in the system” a new principle which emphasizes the
unique role lobbyists have interacting with the American populous as well as
the elite.
Lobbying
as activism
A lobbyist is a person who
seeks to persuade members of the government to enact legislation that would
benefit their client (group, organization, non-profit, cause, etc.). To achieve
their goals lobbyists research and analyze legislation or proposals, attend
congressional hearings, and educate government officials or corporate officers
on important issues. Some lobbyists work to change public opinion via
advertising campaigns or targeting influential people, often donating to a
specific political party or candidate.
Lobbyist encompasses a large variation of people and
advocacy topics. The typically assumed lobbyist is that who represents the interest
of the elite (i.e. pharmaceutical, oil, big business, coal, etc.). Although
these lobbyists have a grand amount of power in how our democracy functions
they are not the only type of lobbyist. Other lobbyists and their firms, like
the ones featured in this case study, have specific issues (i.e. abortion
rights, teacher wages, free speech, the environment, etc.) that they advocate
for – often for little pay. In a larger sense, anyone who petitions the
government or contacts members of Congress to advocate for themselves is
lobbying.
Jennifer
Mello
Ms. Mello is a lobbyist (roughly 90 hours a week) at
one of the largest firms in Denver, Brandeberry Mckenna. Here, she specializes
in healthcare and education. Her prior experience includes lobbying, government
relations, electoral politics, fundraising and donor support. She spent
significant time working on initiatives that increase women’s presence in
politics as steering committee member for Electing Women. Along with being the
Policy Director for the House Democrats where she spent the 2005 legislative
session in a successful effort to pass legislation improving the integrity of
Colorado’s elections.
Ms. Mello shifted her interest to lobbying because she
believes that this way she can make tangible change. She states that protesting
and grassroots project are important (particularly for networking) and have
their place in democracy, although, it does not influence policy in the way she
would like. Her largest critique on these activist tactics is that they are too
theoretical or idealist, often explaining to her clients that “it’s like a great
college thesis but it won’t pass through the first committee”. Instead,
lobbying is more incremental change, but its noticeable change.
She believes that lobbying gives her a unique
prospective and diverse resource to effectively advocate and successfully pass
legislation. Constantly working with peers that have opposite opinions she can
analyze topics from multiple perspectives and in turn advocate in a way that
appeals to the voting bloc.
Allergy
case
Ms. Mello defended the
Children’s Magic Alliance, a non-profit organization advocating for nutritional
assistance to kids with sever allergies. Due to sever allergies the children
can only eat about 11 food items therefore requiring a special high in protein
formula to survive. However, insurance companies do not cover these pricey
formulas as they considerate “food” not “medicine”. Ms. Mello was able pass a
bill (in a Republican-controlled Senate) that would mandate insurance companies
to cover these expensive.
Why
it Worked
She was effective in passing the legislation for three
main reasons:
1. She
was able to convince her customer to have realistic expectations.
2. By
interacting with members of Congress she could foresee their stance on the
issue.
3. Therefore,
she constructed a compelling and informed case that would resonate with the voting
bloc.
Key
applicable principles
1. Seek
common ground (page 170): Search for allies and points
of agreement and adopt rhetoric or world views that we might otherwise oppose.
To accomplish this, refrain from
making any narrative attacks but instead focus on narrative insurgency. Narrative
insurgency analyzes the opposition’s framework, learning the basic arguments,
and looking for areas of agreement. Instead of attacking the opponent’s argument
you are rising from within (meaning of insurgency), while holding your allies’
beliefs. This approach can be extremely effective long-term as it draws out unexpected
allies and solidifies a common theme in complex communities.
Ms. Mello must remain a seemingly
neutral entity while reaching across party lines to pass the objective of her
client and allies. She wouldn’t be effective if she were to disregard or ignore
the voting populous – republicans/insurance companies/big business/etc.
Therefore, when constructing and lobbying her case, she must use language and
ideals that appeal to the mass voting bloc, regardless of whether she agrees.
Lobbying, as Mello puts it, is “building long term relationships and finding
common ground”. Therefore, it is essential that she stay adamant, reliable,
accountable, and compromising.
2. Shift
the Spectrum of Allies (page 172): Determine the social
blocks at play on a given issue and work to shift them closer to your position.
Movement-building is
reliant on being able to see a society in terms of specific blocs, networks, or
institutions (unions, churches, gun owners, etc.). The next step is to acknowledge
your active and passive allies, while simultaneously aiding these people.
Ms. Mello spends most of
her time at the Capital, building relationships with Congress members. Here,
she asks them to vote in favor for her clients. Over time and via relationship
building she is able to identify those who support her agendas (both actively
and passively) along with those who do not. She then works to aid her allies
and persuade the remainder of the voting bloc.
3. Team up with experts (page 184): Cultivating
a symbiotic relationship with between activists and experts is key to
organizing effective interventions.
An expert can be a great source of power
as they offer valuable information and can point out flaws in your existing
approach. They also can expand your audience – impacting more people. However,
the main differences between an activist and expert are that experts tend to
work within established institutions that limit risk taking. Inversely they are
good at maintaining a long-term sustainable plan. Ms. Mello, compared to most
activist is an expert, as she is familiar with the interworking’s of
government.
New
principle
1. For
the people, in the system: building off the existing principles,
Ms. Mello is a middle- (wo)man for the client and the existing governmental
institution. She is both an expert on the interworking’s of government and an
activist as she reaches out to other experts for assistance on a specific
cause. She is able to provide a look inside the elite institution while
simultaneously advocating for those who are fighting against the system. In
this regard, lobbying serves as a mouthpiece for the people reframed in a way
that appeals to those with contrasting opinions.
It
is important to note that this new principle is particularly unique to activist
lobbyist (and lawyers). This is because Ms. Mello serves to introduce the
general populous to an elite and complex society in order to pass legislation which
benefits the people. Of course, she receives a salary and prestige by getting
bills passed but overall the people are those who benefit. When we look at
other elites in government if they try to include the general populous it is
typically to gain support, votes, or personal gain – not to check the existing
powers.
Conclusion
To conclude, Jennifer Mello’s work is vital for a
represented democracy as it presents the peoples’ needs in a constructed,
effective, and realistic manner. She is an expert in governmental systems,
which allows for policy to be implemented. More importantly, it gives the
average citizen an opportunity to interact with the elite system – the very
system they may be fighting against.
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