Today’s post comes from Congressman Loomis Beechly, representing Minnesota’s 9th district – all the water surface area in the state.
Greetings, Constituents!
A lot of people say politics is an art, but I happen to think there’s a bunch of science mixed in.
I regularly get together with a group of friends in our “bipartisan politics lab,” and we look at everything that happened in the past few days through an unforgiving microscope. There are all sorts of linkages and influences to measure.
That’s why I wasn’t surprised yesterday when Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann announced she would not run for a fifth term in her conservative Minnesota district. In a cold, hard scientific light, the numbers were not in her favor. Neither were the letters, once intimidating ones like F.B.I., F.E.C. and O.C.E.started showing up.
I have long admired Representative Bachmann for her many abilities, not the least of which is the power to set an anything-can-happen tone, and another is simply the ability to draw attention. In political science, that quality alone is as good as gold.
People think if you’re in Congress you have already hit the heights of fame and influence, but I can tell you from personal experience it can feel very lonely and quite invisible to be a member of the House of Representatives.
Especially if, like me, the institution doesn’t recognize you as a legitimate member.
Getting even a fraction of the attention Representative Bachmann received would have made me feel like a real success – like I had finally arrived. Unfortunately, I would have to serve 100 terms to come near the level of fame she collected in her soon-to-be far-too-short eight years.
In this way, Representative Bachmann gave us a yardstick to measure ourselves and our constituents!
Just like a scientific compound that gets a reaction out of other metals, exposure to even a little bit of pure Bachmann would trigger a profound change in every element that came near. I don’t have to tell you that! And her powerful influence made it possible to “read” individuals quite quickly.
That’s a valuable tool in the fast-paced world of politics.
For example, we discovered a clear and direct one-to-one ratio links any individual voter’s Bachmann Allegiance Tendencies (B.A.T.) and that same person’s Conspiratorial Reasoning Acceptance Profile (C.R.A.P.)
Meaning the more an individual donor liked Congresswoman Bachmann, the more likely they were to believe that the government had covered up the truth about the President’s birthplace, or downplayed data about Islamist infiltration in the State Department. Or believed that there are flying saucers and mummified aliens in the New Mexico desert!
So if you knew someone’s BAT, you instantly had their CRAP, and vice-versa. We had Congresswoman Bachmann to thank for that! And We were able to measure it more easily whenever she made a widely distributed public statement, meaning every time the Congresswoman opened her mouth on TV, we were hip deep in BAT/CRAP back at the lab.
Those were golden days. The days when an ordinary person would walk a mile out of his way to tell you a joke, even if wasn’t very funny or didn’t make sense. Old fashioned? Yes! And I think we live in a very different America today!
Your Servant,
The Hon. Congressman Loomis Beechly, Esq.
I have nothing to add.
How do you measure your influence?
Trail Baboon 
Good morning, Baboons! The friend I always write to in the morning has computer problems and cannot get or send letters, so I now have a hole in my mornings that used to be devoted to the task of writing.
I used to have influence as the editor of a popular magazine. I was able to use that power with carefully calculated political stands. In particular, I helped the cause of wolf restoration and the battle to make the BWCA into an official wilderness.
Having power is interesting because when you lose the power you learn which of your friends are still friends and which were just hanging around pretending to like you because you had influence. Some people that I assumed enjoyed my company just disappeared when I was no longer an editor. I found that amusing.
Recently I have had no influence beyond those rare moments when I could offer useful advice to a friend. I don’t even have a dog to boss around now! Years ago I had some influence on a friend whose life had gone badly. She has now outgrown any need she had for good advice, which means we are now just great friends. And that is the most beautiful outcome we could have hoped for. It was nice to have some influence–both personal and professional–but all in all, I don’t miss it.
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i suggest you continue writing steve. the writing is more important than the recipient. keep the ritual going. i always loved the color purple where alice walker had the daily letter start dear god…
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Thanks, tim. And that’s just about what I’m doing.
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Good morning. Whatever influence I have been able to exercise has come mainly through providing support. As the coordinator of a farmer’s network, I supported educational work done by farmers. If given a chance, some farmers can be very effective at educating other farmers. It was rewarding to see these farmers take on the role of educator and help other farmers find better ways to do farming. As a member of the Sustainable Farming Association I continue to promote agricultural educational work done by farmers and I still see this as a good way to encourage improvements in farming practices. The farmers I worked with seemed to appreciate what I was doing. However, you don’t get much recognition from other educators for doing this kind of work.
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god luck in your new venture with the seed stewards jim. i think you cna make a real difference. look into some of the new social media options. i recently signed up for a perrenial plant groups linkedin daily group and they have more stuff to throw at you than i can keep track of. all great ides by knowledgable people. maybe thats a way to grow the recognition of the cool benifits to the old classic seed vs the monsanto hybrids.
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We might be going with the name Grassroots Seed Exchange and we have the support of some of the top seed saver activists. We are not turning our back on the Seed Savers Exchange. However, SSE is not set up to respond to in put on important issues from the people who are exchanging seeds as members of SSE and that is the reason for the effort to form the grassroots group. We recognize that SSE is still an important resource for seed savers and some, like me, will continue to be members of SSE while also belonging to the new seed network.
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Go man go
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
One woman, one vote. My power to spend money, maybe. Let me tell you, if I had any influence on old lady fashion choices, the choices available would not be my taste. No influence there.
What influence? I wrote Eric Paulsen once. He did respond to the letter, or rather his staff responded to the letter stating how important it was to hear from me; however, it was clear this was a form letter because the issues his response addressed (budget, traditional marriage, opposing health care) were different than what I addressed in my letter. I had no influence there either.
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Jacque, I’ve received a number of those form letters when I contacted some of my representatives. Recently I have been signing some of the petitions for various things that come to me by email. I don’t usually get any response directly from the people at which these petitions are directed. The authors of these petitions will sometimes send updates and at times they are able to collect a large number of signatures which it seems do, in some cases, get the attention of the people that receive these petitions.
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if you are interested in being influential in letter writing i have a spot for you. i happen to be personally involved in your district and know they are looking for people to send thought to the newspapers editorial pages and politicians. any interest? as much or as little as you care to get involved would be appreciated.
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I have been at my employer long enough that I occasionally hear, “oh – *you’re* Anna B…” and once, “this is where Anna B sits if you need to find her…” (the latter from someone I knew mostly from exchanging emails – she wasn’t on my team, nor did she stop to actually introduce me, so I introduced myself). That’s a little scary sometimes. What did I do? Was it good or useful? Gosh I hope so…
The other influence I know I have is very narrow: I have some sway in the third-grade set at my daughter’s school. It was especially gratifying at my last music lesson with Daughter’s class (and the second class I worked with this year) to hear what they remembered from the year, and in a couple cases what they remembered from prior years I had taught Bravo music lessons. Knowing that there are about 50 third graders who understand the Rondo music form and that it is not unlike the repeating patterns in a standard pop song, well, that’s pretty cool. And they like Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Libby Larsen, Duke Ellington, John Adams and The Go-Gos…all music we have studied together. Yeah, I think that’s a pretty good circle of influence.
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Well done Anna. Most third graders have good taste.
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Good job, Anna!
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i was involved in the music program at my kids school too. the same program with the class studies and the presentations but the district decided to dump it because the teachers were complaining that it ate into their time to ge tthe required balderdash hammered into the munchkins brains to meet the state requirements for teacher bonus pay. i get it but the things you have to fight in order to get a good thing done have become insurmountable. i hate the red tape involved in committees and have been very successful avoiding the ones i want to because of the bad experiences i have been through. the influence some people seek is so self serving i have decided to let them do it. at our school the carnival, cookie dough sales and one other fund raiser furnish the pto with somewhere win the neighborhood of a zillion dollars and the people in charge seem to be able to furnish each room with a box of pencils and a black barbie doll. it drives me nuts. influence scminfluence. let em have it but not with my added two cents. i will offer other stuff and listen to why it cant be done then move on.
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I looked on my work as a substitute teacher as being volunteer work in the school system although I did get paid. I was willing to go any place they needed me. Some of the teachers appreciated my willingness to fill in for them. The students generally liked my approach of doing my best to maintain order without being heavy handed. I liked getting a chance work with the students.
I recognized that school is very boring most of the time for most students and tried to allow for less than perfect behavior and provide as much freedom as possible without letting things get out of hand. I was even willing to hang in there and not go too crazy when I wasn’t able to keep things under control. Some of the more strict teachers didn’t like the way I did things and thought I should had been harder on the students.
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I had considerable influence in one very small area, as an editor for a local semiprofessional science fiction/fantasy magazine. I chose all of the poetry, gave feedback on and helped line-edit the fiction, and assisted with the layout. Unfortunately, I did not have influence over the art 😦 . We have been on hiatus for a couple of years thanks to acute financial woes, as in not only did we not have money for the next issue but were in debt from the last one, so my sphere of influence has contracted sharply. However, I and another colleague have finally influenced the chief editor/founder to at least consider e-publishing in the future, though he’s clinging to the idea of one last all-dead-tree edition, IF he can find the money. He’s one of the old school “print it and they will come, what are these words ‘publicity’, ‘fundraising’ and ‘networking’?”, so we’ll probably have plenty of time to work on him.
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I have been working on the magazine for the International Wolf Center, and they faced the same dilemma. There are so many advantages to publishing a digital magazine. Yet the members of the IWC are extremely fond of the dead tree paper magazine. I once thought they would have switched to digital by this time, but if anything they seem more committed to paper. I don’t know your situation, but my experience suggests a lot of people are wedded to paper magazines.
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That, and also, for a science fiction fan, he’s a terrible Luddite. He insisted on keylining (I think that’s what it’s called) by hand for years, until the editorial staff at the time threatened to go on strike and leave him all alone with the boards and a box of razor blades.
I think the present situation is dire enough that he’s starting to appreciate that business as usual means no magazine at all, but it’s been an uphill struggle to get him to listen to any new ideas. At our last meeting he claimed that his trouble had been he couldn’t visualize how an e-zine would work, until I explained that it wasn’t much more complicated than posting the PDF we already create for the printer to a website. Personally, I think it’s because when I brought it up this time the other man at the table enthusiastically supported me–he’s not one of those gross sexists, but a male opinion has always counted just that much more with him. So it goes.
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there is always the option of starting your own thing…
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My sphere of influence is quite small. I just want to influence the people who come to see me at my work to change in ways that are helpful to them. Out in public I want anonymity, not influence. That can be hard in a small town.
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difficult but necessary. keep up the good work.
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i must not be doing it correctly. i am asked to head something up and i get started doing it my way and am informed that the way it should be done is just so. i tell them they have the wrong guy, i am a delegater not an agenda follower, i have a good handle on how to check in and see if everything is going according to plan but not so much as a nose to the grindstone get down and dirty for someone elses goals.
michele bachmann is a good example of a good idea gone bad. she had a set of beliefs that she wanted to promote but then got caught up in her own song and dance and forgot what she was doing. i have found that power and influence tends to make people untollerable. they know best and want to make sure your deal gets in line behind their deal, i have been guilty of this myself because there can only be one guy heading up a program.
i am working on a new deal ( i am always working on a new deal) where i will lok forward to having an influence on how the ball rolls. i looked into getting financing to make it happen fast and realized that if i did i would be at the mercy of the backers to do it theoir way and everyone i talk to has some hairbrained idea on how to skin a cat. not interested thank you very much. i hope to have it become a big deal but man oh man.
i laugh at having influence over those near me in this life. my life serves as an example of something and a close examination usually finds lessons on both ends of the spectrums. my goal is to have more on the positve end than the negative end. thats enough for me most days
influence is measured in mega responses good or bad. bill o reily, rush limbaugh michele bachman, carl rove, and too many others like making noise and watching the stir it creates. influence yes but you can influence yourself by putting your finger down your throat too.
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Most people are probably more ambitious than I, but it long ago seemed to me that it would be a major accomplishment to have the most positive possible influence on one human being . . . my daughter. I have not done anything that seems to me now more important than being the father of a young woman any of us would be proud to know. I’ll bet that applies to all the parents on this blog.
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Yes. (And this does not diminish even if Child isn’t around.)
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We have influenced our tomato and eggplant seedlings to grow large enough to plant in the garden, but the poblano peppers are stubbornly remaining very small. We found some poblano bedding plants last weekend, so those will get planted. I have decided to keep on with the seedlings to see just how much time we will need next winter to get our own garden ready. I am thinking planting in January! We have had over 6 inches of rain in May, much needed to stem the drought.. Local farmers are complaining, of course, as they have no influence to get into the fields and plant with all this rain.
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Make that over 7 inches with what we have had today thus far.
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Although I don’t tend to view “influence” as something to seek, there are two areas of my present life which yield noticeable influence: my clients and dancing. Sometimes, my style of doing therapy resembles “Tuesday Mornings with Morrie”, but my belief that each client enters the process with everything he/she needs already, leaving me with the responsibility of helping to find the keys to doors internally. This is a is delightful job. The dancing impacts virtually everyone around me. I attribute this hyper-positive effect to the reality that it’s rather rare to see anyone close to my age exuding such energy and having this much fun. I make up that models of exhibiting pure joy at late middle-age are welcomed with open hearts as well as appreciated.
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Love your view on the client process, CB!
I have friends, a couple my age, who also turn heads when they get up and boogie (at every chance they get) – people think they are not married because they look like they are having too much fun.
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OT – Sad news for the local music scene. Just heard that Gail Heil passed away this morning after a short battle with cancer. Gail Heil and Bob Bovee have been an integral part of local music for a long time. She’ll be missed.
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thanks pj
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They performed at the Scholar in the early days of my being there. If those folks are getting old and dying, I must be old.
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We are.
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“BAT/CRAP” cracked me up!
I put my finger in a bowl of water and then I took it out. I observed the impression I made………….
🙂
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You need to put jello in the water first, Ben.
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Or Kool-Aid. 🙂
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or oatmeal
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This conversation reminded me of Their Way… here’s a pretty trippy version:
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I’ve discovered that I have too much influence in one arena – with my mom. She’s lost some ground in the last couple of years, lost some memory, and lost confidence in her decision making; so she relies on me more and more to make these (sometimes little, sometimes big) decisions. In a way, I’m glad I can be here for her, but it breaks my heart sometimes to remember this former thriving, vibrant mind.
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Morning all — a little late! Wonderful words from Rep. Beechly. I laughed out loud!
As the parent of Teenager, who is now officially out of high school, my influence is getting beaten up on a regular basis. I long for the “good ole days” when what I said seemed more important.
When Teenager was still in daycare, there was an optional dance class that she took. This included a recital in the spring and the first recital dress was purple with gold sparklies. It cost what seemed like a small fortune at the time, so when we got closer to Halloween and Toddler asked about costumes, I said “Oh, I thought you said you wanted to be a princess in your dance dress.” This actually worked. It worked so well, that I did it again the next year with the Tinkerbelle dance outfit. Aaah, the power and the glory!
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There was something terribly enthralling in the exercise of influence. No other activity was like it. To project one’s soul into some gracious form, and let it tarry there for a moment; to hear one’s own intellectual views echoed back to one with all the added music of passion and youth; to convey one’s temperament into another as though it were a subtle fluid or a strange perfume: there was a real joy in that — perhaps the most satisfying joy left to us in an age so limited and vulgar as our own, an age grossly carnal in its pleasures, and grossly common in its aims….
― Oscar Wilde
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perfect quote linda. give yourself another gold star.
but then when you plug mb into that quote it makes you want to kind of puke.
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