Talking to the Presidential (and other) Candidates

The Iowa Caucus results confirm what some pundits had already been saying—the “real” primary contests will last longer than predicted earlier. And, of course, the longer they last, the more interest candidates will have in your ideas.

The ideal way to get an issue like passenger trains onto a candidate’s agenda is for the candidate to hear the concern expressed by different people in different places. If you have the opportunity to attend any event where any Presidential candidate is present, consider getting across some of these ideas:

“We need more passenger trains. If we are really serious about being independent from foreign oil, and want fewer carbon emissions in our atmosphere, and less congestion on roads and at airports then we need to invest in more passenger trains.  Will you help us?”  [or “What will you do about that?”]

The message can be as short as you like—you could, for example, pick just your favorite one or two reasons for needing passenger trains.

Remember, this can be useful even with a candidate who eventually drops out, because that candidate may throw his support to another, and might eventually have an influence on how a winning candidate views the issues.  The same tactic, called “bird-dogging” by some, is of course useful in campaigns for federal and state legislators and governors and any other elected public office that presents the opportunity to influence transportation policy.

Be sure to read NARP President George Chilson’s letter to the presidential candidates.

Also see the New York Times’ listings of when each state has its primary or caucus, listed by the Democratic and Republican parties’ calenders.  We have asked the NYT to double-check this info; when we last checked, the Democratic table failed to show the DC primary on February 12.

—Ross B. Capon