April 26 - Lobbying

I spent Thursday morning observing the Judicial Administration Legislative Committee. They slogged along parliamentarily. Then they broke up into sub-committees. I tagged along with one and watched one of my colleagues operate very effectively.

Lobbying is done in different ways. His technique included no petitions, providing a supper for legislative committee members at which he explained what actually happens in the judicial and administrative processes, and hanging around with the members of the sub-committee where his own concerns lay.

At the lunch break, I followed him to the Tabernacle, a big tent where Methodists for Social Action met and provided low cost meals. He was there to report on the legislative committee he was observing. He took his seat at the front from where he and others would report, leaving me in the audience area.

I stood there in the midst of “my people.” I’m a progressive, pro-choice, and pro LGBT, though unlike everyone else, I had no rainbow stole. Maybe it was my red coat and my travel case I was rolling along behind me. Sometimes I unintentionally put people off.

No one spoke to me. So I went to Publix, got a salad, and ate it in my “office.”

I tried to access my blog’s dashboard. I had written a number of things and I was ready to begin blogging. But Google had taken over Blogspot and changed things. I couldn’t figure out how to insert text and post.

One of my friends made some suggestions that started me in the right direction but I made too little progress to post anything.

The afternoon was not lost. Some people sat at my table and engaged me in conversation. One was lobbying for associate members and local pastors. He is one of the few concerned about local churches and pastors that I met in Tampa. He impressed me in several ways, what he does as a pastor being one of them. More on that below. He was the one who knew my old friend Richard Wright and he promised to take my greetings to him when they met at annual conference.

I left around suppertime. I missed the special service at which my autonomous bishop acquaintance from Sunday was among those honored. I was sorry about that.