Tag Archives: Resolve

Lobbying is fun!

Making History

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For the past few weeks I’ve been pestering Senator Jon Kyl’s legislative aide, Peter, about the senator’s co-sponsorship of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act.  A couple of weeks ago, he assured me that Kyl had co-sponsored (something he rarely does), but we had no proof.  I bugged him again. Yesterday, he told me it was officially reported to Senator Russ Feingold’s office (one of the two original sponsors).  I was elated! And I was even more elated to hear this. In short, Kyl was the bill’s 51st co-sponsor in the Senate, making this the first sub-Saharan Africa-related bill to be supported by a majority of the Upper House since at least 1973 (maybe even earlier, that’s as far back as electronic records go).  Four senators got together to announce this landmark, showing unprecedented bipartisan support. If you’re interested, you can find some good excerpts from their announcement on Feingold’s site here.  The support in the Senate is great, but we’ve still got a ways to go:

Bad news is, the bill already would have passed the Senate if it wasn’t for one fiscal conservative. A while back, Senators Feingold and Brownback hot-lined the bill for passage, meaning it would automatically get 100 yeas unless a senator specifically blocked it. Right before the deadline, an anonymous hold was put on the bill. We now know that Senator Coburn is standing in the way of the best chance to end the longest-running war in the most conflict-heavy continent. In addition to that, the House is stalling.  150 representatives have co-sponsored, but we’ll keep pushing.  I’m trying to set up meetings with Mitchell’s and Flake’s district offices, so we’ll see. Got to keep fighting the good fight!

Against All Odds

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So, I’ve been a part of Invisible Children for several years now. But even before then, I have always been a big fan of the 60s.  I’ve always wanted to make a big impact but could never figure out how. Sure, the 60s look fun and impacting but they didn’t make any kind of direct influence on what was going on. Protests prevented escalation but the Vietnam War ended because Nixon (and Johnson) made mistakes. With Invisible Children, my goal has always been to directly influence what’s going on and really make a difference.  Is it possible?  Why wouldn’t it be possible?

Right now, I’m diving headlong into the We Want Obama campaign along with the work I’ve been doing over the passed six months to get the Bill through Congress.  What does all of that mean?  Well in May I e-mailed the heck out of McCain’s district outreach lady – she is not so good at her job. From there I went to Washington in June and met with staffers from the offices of McCain, Kyl, and Flake (Rep. Flake himself made a pleasant, positive appearance at that meeting that was a great boost for all of us!). When I got home I went to a meeting with Rep. Mitchell’s district outreach staffer, who was very nice and encouraging. All of these meetings went really well and gave me a sense of success.

None have co-sponsored the Bill.

So, I’m redoubling my efforts. I’m e-mailing every person I’ve met with in person and telling them my story, giving them my point of view. Arizona has two Congressmen who have co-sponsored, so I’m going to tell them thank you and ask them to bug their colleagues. I’m promoting the We Want Obama campaign which is a petition – which you all should sign at wewantobama.com – to achieve something the 24-year war hasn’t seen: a sitting American President to make a public statement about the LRA. I’m not going after him because he’s a Democrat. I want him to do something because he is the President of the United States. The Bill I mentioned would make him do something too. It would be wonderful if the two went through by the year’s end.

I know what most people say when I rant about this. Why this cause? Yes, I do have my opinions on Iraq and healthcare and prayer in schools and immigration. Yes, I know that the children and schools here are suffering to – I want to be a teacher specifically to help them. But why does it have to be one or the other? Why couldn’t a person advocate for a better life both abroad and at home? I do my community service to help Arizona in one club at school, I raise money and awareness of a war in Africa in another. I am majoring to help give American students an education, but I’m also studying why conflicts occur in hopes of stopping them. So I’ve taken November as a fresh start and am contacting everyone I need to contact.

To my readers: go sign the Citizen’s Arrest Warrant at http://www.wewantobama.com or learn about the Bill at http://www.resolveuganda.org/legislation

To my elected representatives: watch out! I’m writing e-mails and making calls and setting up meetings!

Here’s to everything working out.