This blog feature amusing and heartwarming stories about our late Leonberger dog Bronco, as well as other Leonbergers. It also has a lot of information about the Leonberger breed, the history, care, training, Leonberger organizations, etc. I also wrote a Leonberger book, which I am featuring in the sidebar.
Regarding the daily prompt “Who is the most famous or infamous person you have ever met?”, that is former President George W Bush. I met him during a book signing at the local Barnes & Noble here in Dallas. I bought four copies of his book “Decision Points” and he signed two of them. I should say that due to the long line, he only signed two books for all of us.
I’ve also met some other well-known politicians including Senator Ted Cruz, I’ve been in a meeting with Colin Allred, and I’ve been in meetings with a few other congressmen (Pete Sessions, Sheila Jackson Lee, and met Louie Gohmert). That was because of my volunteer work for the citizens climate lobby. I should add citizens climate lobby is bipartisan and talks to everybody. I spent a week in Yellowstone with Ross Perot’s son-in-law Patrick McGee. He is sort of semi-famous. That was related to my kid’s school, St. Marks School of Texas.
Front cover of the book Decision PointsBack cover of the book Decision Points
In the photo below Ted Cruz is standing immediately to the right of the American flag and I am standing immediately to the left of it. My daughter and wife are also in the photo (to the left of me).
Citizens Climate Lobby and coffee with Senator Ted Cruz
I’ve mentioned in other posts that I am a volunteer for a non-partisan organization called Citizen Climate Lobby, CCL for short. The name is maybe misleading insofar as we are not “normal” lobbyists, just volunteers, without money, who are trying to get politicians interested in climate change related legislation. We do many things, but one thing we do is meeting with congressmen, house representatives as well as senators, state legislators, including state representatives and state senators, and mayors and city council members, as well as corporations, organizations, and grass roots, that’s regular folks. Naturally we discuss different things with a US senator compared to a city council member. We discuss national legislation with a US Senator and local pollution issues with a city council member.
CO2 emissions dial. Shutter stock Photo ID: 1928699927 by NicoElNino
CCL has been successful
Overall, I think CCL has been quite successful. We are well known in congress, we have a good reputation, and people tend to want to meet with us. We have been instrumental in passing legislation and in 2016 a Climate Solutions Caucus was created in the house by one Republican congressman and one Democrat congressman. It was CCL that was behind this and who brought the two congressmen together. The first two years the caucus had an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Before the election in 2018 there were 40 Democrats and 40 Republicans on the caucus. After the election many of the typically moderate Republicans in the climate caucus lost and the numbers are no longer equal. I can add that I am the CCL liaison for Senator Ted Cruz office.
Senator Ted Cruz TXJR with Citizens Climate Lobby in 2017. The senator is standing immediately to the right of the American flag, and I am standing immediately to the left of the American flag. My wife and daughter are also there.
Be Organized and Polite
I think the reason that CCL has been successful is that the CCL volunteers are trained to be polite, to listen and ask questions. Politicians and their staff are flooded by angry, rude and toxic messages from opiniated people on both sides of an issue, and they have delete-buttons and trashcans for that. Protesting, screaming, insulting, threatening, showing your feelings, is not as effective as some people think. When you push people, they will push back or ignore you. You need to win people over, not alienate them.
We’ve had a few accidents when some volunteers lost their temper but otherwise, when someone acts dismissive or hostile to your message you still try to find common ground, or you can ask if you can get back to them with research articles or other information from reliable sources. You don’t argue and you definitely do not get angry. In addition, you need to listen, ask them why they believe what they believe, and write it down for future purposes. You also need to be well informed. If you don’t know something, promise to get back them, research it, and then give them the information by email once you have it. Keep all communication to the point and easy to understand. Don’t ramble. Respect their time. You have one issue. They have a hundred and one.
This photo is from the CCL meeting with Ted Cruz office June 2023. I set up the meeting, but I was not there because my son was getting married at the same time.
How to Set Up a Meeting
To set up meetings with congress, call/write to the scheduler the first time around about 2-4 weeks ahead of when you want to meet with them. If you already have the emails or phone numbers of a staff member then use that. Don’t just walk in and don’t try to schedule too far ahead. Keep the request simple, short and humble but clear, and don’t expect an immediate response. Suggest a time but be open to other times. Don’t start spamming them if they don’t reply. Give it a few days and then email them again or call them. Refer to / include your previous email to remind them that you have already tried to request a meeting. It is a little easier to get a meeting with a council member than a US senator.
The most common is that you will meet with one or more staff members. Don’t expect to meet the congressman, not the first time. If you are meeting with a state representative or a city council member you have a better chance of getting to speak to your representative. Don’t bring too few and not too many people. Five or six people is a recommended group size. Try to have at least one constituent in the group. A constituent is someone who lives in the congressman’s district or the city council member’s district. Ask how much time you have. At a congressional office you typically have half an hour. Respect that time. It is best to ask for two things. First, what you really want. That’s the “primary ask”. Then an easier version of the “primary ask” or an alternative. That’s called the “secondary ask”. The reason is that psychology has shown that if they are against the “primary ask” and have to say no, they’ll try to please you by saying yes to the secondary ask. Thank them for meeting with you before and after the meeting.
Be aware that requests that require the politician to spend money or raise taxes are more difficult for them to accept. The climate legislation that Senator Ted Cruz voted yes on, the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which was about supporting farmers and forest landowners doing things sustainably, required very little government assistance. Once when I sent an email to my Dallas city council member (a libertarian), whom I already knew, I asked him to replace diesel buses with EV buses. It was a Sunday. His immediate reply (within 5 minutes) to me was along the lines: Hi Thomas. The EV buses cost money and since I promised not to raise taxes, I’ve got to cut something else. I am at city hall right now working on the budget. Could you please come down to city hall and help me find which item to cut. I am having a really hard time with this. I thought that once you find the item to cut for me maybe you could volunteer to take the blame for cutting it.
A bit snarky maybe, but I got his sarcastic tone, and I dropped the subject. I told him “Never mind”. I should mention that he voted yes on another issue that we had asked of him, despite him at first telling us no. However, that issue required no tax money. I can also add that a few years later Dallas got EV buses.
Leonberger Life 