Lobbying 101

Short of giving them money, what is the best way to influence lawmakers?

Yesterday was the first official "lobby day'' at the Capitol since Gov. Paterson presented his budget last week, and at least one group was going by the tried-and-true formula.

Advocates for the mentally ill (full disclosure: they gave me an award yesterday) first held a mid-morning meeting with all of the people they had persuaded to come to the Capitol from as far away as Long Island and Buffalo, many of whom had boarded buses long before dawn. A series of speakers fired up the crowd, which the organizers put at 1,500.

They also learned a slogan, "Don't stop our recovery. Don't cut the (safety) net.''

Then after being further convinced of the rightness of their cause (more money for the mentally ill) they adjourned for a box lunch. Then they met for another rally, this one outside. They wore yellow hats and carried signs organizers had issued as they heard more speakers champion their cause. It was a made-for-TV event, and the cameras seemed to like it.

Then in the afternoon, groups split up into contingents to visit their local lawmakers. They were briefed first on being polite, on-point and insistent, then sent off to the Legislative Office Building.

After their meetings, they boarded buses and headed home.

Does it work? Hard to tell. But one of the organizers, Harvey Rosenthal, pointed out that as the groups' rallies and organizing efforts have grown so has their influence. This year, for example, the governor proposed no cut in the aid the groups are getting, when many other programs do face cuts.

Still, Rosenthal told the group, "We need a COLA'' (cost-of-living increase.)