http://showaltergroup.com/blog Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/12/12/campaign-2012-who-will-win-the-post-cain-republican-race/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/12/12/campaign-2012-who-will-win-the-post-cain-republican-race/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:04:54 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=1088 here.]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/12/12/campaign-2012-who-will-win-the-post-cain-republican-race/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/11/01/underdog-edge-book-review/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/11/01/underdog-edge-book-review/#comments Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:00:33 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=1080 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/11/01/underdog-edge-book-review/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/10/27/occupy-wall-street-do-they-have-the-underdog-edge/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/10/27/occupy-wall-street-do-they-have-the-underdog-edge/#comments Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:30 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=1074 K Street Cafe Blog.]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/10/27/occupy-wall-street-do-they-have-the-underdog-edge/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/09/30/single-voice-on-steroids-sinks-coast-guard-rule/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/09/30/single-voice-on-steroids-sinks-coast-guard-rule/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:40:25 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=1068 Roll Call entitled “Single Voice Sinks Coast Guard Rule.” It told the story of Susan Balistrei who  “single- handily” caused the Coast Guard to rescind a regulation relative to life jacket design. The article was also featured in the September 27 edition of the K Street Cafe blog: http://www.kstreetcafe.com/ The Coast Guard issued a new rule regarding life jacket design without providing for public comment because it “considered this rule to be noncontroversial and did not expect any adverse comment.”   Balistreri wrote to the Coast Guard that aspects of the regulation could enable currently approved inflatable products to be marketed to teens, and that these life jackets weren’t safe for teenagers. ...]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/09/30/single-voice-on-steroids-sinks-coast-guard-rule/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/02/14/may-i-help-you/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/02/14/may-i-help-you/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:30:25 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=85 One technique for building relationships is to find ways to help the “big dog” you want to influence. Joel Ulland, who represents the Minnesota Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society before the Minnesota state legislature, built a relationship with an unlikely person of power long before he needed the relationship. Ulland is a member of several coalitions for Minnesotans with disabilities. In the spring of 2005, Minnesota was reeling through three years of budget cuts. Ulland knew this meant tough times for people with disabilities. “The state was facing a deficit for the third straight year, and the Republican governor refused to raise taxes. The question became not if the state would make cuts in state programs, but where the cuts would...]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2011/02/14/may-i-help-you/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/12/01/invest-in-political-careers/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/12/01/invest-in-political-careers/#comments Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:00:03 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=90 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/12/01/invest-in-political-careers/feed/ 1 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/11/10/avoid-the-issue/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/11/10/avoid-the-issue/#comments Wed, 10 Nov 2010 15:58:04 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=92 When they meet with the big dogs, smart underdogs don’t always talk about their causes. In July 2005, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned a 10-year cap on noneconomic damages in medical liability cases (also known as “pain-and-suffering” awards). The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) began an intensive lobbying and grassroots campaign to get the cap restored. Brad Neet, the chief operating officer of St. Michael’s Hospital in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, identified not one but two state lawmakers on record against WHA’s position: Senator Julie Lassa and Representative Louis Molepske. He describes how not talking about the issue directly with them worked for him. “It’s important to get to know these individuals as people before you talk issues, before you make any request....]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/11/10/avoid-the-issue/feed/ 0 http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/03/08/befriend-the-gatekeeper/ http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/03/08/befriend-the-gatekeeper/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:48 +0000 Amy Showalter http://showaltergroup.com/blog/?p=87 So how do you start to build a relationship with someone you actively oppose? First, you have to get out and about. Many sincere grassroots influencers want to remain comfortable. That’s a problem, because you can’t build the kind of relationships that powerful people require from behind your computer. They want to see you in person. Bob Bonifas, an Aurora, Illinois, owner of an alarm and locksmith company, has been involved in politics for 20 years. As a member of the National Federation of Independent Business, he made friends with a member of Congress years before that person became the most powerful legislator in Washington, DC. It was an early friendship that paid dividends later. Bonifas’s goal was to change the mind...]]> http://showaltergroup.com/blog/2010/03/08/befriend-the-gatekeeper/feed/ 0