Posted by LostBoyinNC45 on February 23, 2014, at 22:09:06 [reposted on February 24, 2014, at 16:51:45 | original URL]
In reply to Re: THE root cause of TRD is, posted by baseball55 on February 23, 2014, at 20:33:49
You know WHY the NRA is such a successful pro-2A lobbying group? Outsiders think its some big secret or something. Or outsiders will always claim "its the big money spent on guns and ammo that keeps the Second Amendment alive."
Neither speculative claim is correct.
The reason the NRA is so successful as a pro-2A lobbying group is very simple, so pitifully simple that a lot of people refuse to believe it. The reason is, the NRA tells its membership to get off their duffs and vote consistently. The NRA also tells it membership to get off their duffs and write their elected officials when critical issues come up periodically.
Thats all it is. Simple. Voting and sending out some emails or letters one to three times a year.
I used to be a member of NAMI myself. Im a member of NARSAD now. I like NARSAD more than I like NAMI. However neither advocacy groups is a well oiled machine like the NRA is and routinely reinforces their membership to "get off your duffs and vote." Nor does NAMI routinely encourage a lot of communications between constituents and elected officials on mental illness advocacy issues.
Ive never been impressed by the effectiveness of NAMI as a mental illness advocacy organization. Compared to the NRA, NAMI is kind of like second string JV in terms of quality and effectiveness. NAMI simply is not aggressive enough. NAMI does like to ask for a lot of donations, however.
NAMI also is more for the parents and family of the people afflicted with severe mental illness. Rather than trying to directly involve the people who have the illnesses. I'd be willing to bet you are either more a caretaker or a doctor who helps to treat these people, than a patient yourself, based upon your writing.
I dont agree with you about relying totally on advocacy organizations. The membership of the advocacy organizations has to vote consistently on the issues for the advocacy organization to be effective. As I stated earlier, that very simple reason is the reason the NRA is so effective. And it is very effective.
If 95% of sufferers of these illnesses voted consistent and also emailed their elected officials once or twice a year about these issues, severe mental illness would be much higher priority than it is. Its as simple as that.
Eric
> >
> Maybe we should move this to politics, before vitriol spill into the med board. Excuse me. But I always vote and always contribute to NAMI and follow their campaigns. So I am way above the curve here. But, for whom to you vote? I really want to know? The NRA candidate who wants to defund government? Or...? And I bet that legislators are really, really responsive to the rare email they receive that asks them to fund mental health.
>
> In MA, I have the luxury of knowing that my legislators actually care about this issue. I leave it to NAMiI to vet candidates. To vet candidates and lobby on my own would be more than a full-time job. That's why we have lobbying, advocacy groups like NAMI. I donate to NAMI. I read their literature. I know the state NAMI director and ask her about candidates.
>
> The idea that politics is all individual - I study A, vote for A, call A's office, etc -- is not workable. That's why we have advocacy organizations. I rely on them to do the homework and vote their slates.
poster:LostBoyinNC45
thread:1061206
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20120327/msgs/1061229.html