GET OUT THE VOTE CAMPAIGN - Part 1

October 13, 2010

To ensure that we take back at least one of the seats of power, efforts must be made on a daily basis to elect pro-business candidates on the national, state and local levels. Both employers and employees need to focus on the issues that affect their jobs when choosing which candidates to support. More importantly, business employers and employees must vote! To truly advance a pro-business, free-enterprise agenda, business owners should try to educate and motivate their employees to understand the issues that affect their livelihoods and the real value of casting their vote. The most effective voters know their issues and convictions and vote them. In this era of low voter turnout, the business community’s’ commitment and ability to turn out the vote can mean the difference between victory and defeat for a pro-business candidate in a close election, which, in turn, can mean the difference in pro-business strength on the legislative front. We know based on past history, that pro-business legislators will be confronted by anti-business groups seeking to further increase the size and scope of government thereby enabling trial lawyers to bombard small business with frivolous lawsuits and massive increases in spending and regulations that drive up the cost of doing business. Accordingly, pro-business strength at the ballot box will help ensure a more pro-business Congress at the federal level, increasing the likelihood that state and local officials will be more attentive to the needs and concerns of the business community.

In order to win back both houses, business owners must first involve their employees in the need to register to vote, educate them on the issues pertaining to business so that they understand the ramifications on the business-related legislation, and finally cast their vote with that knowledge in hand. The health of this country is heavily dependent on the health of America’s small businesses. That is why we have 16 million people unemployed, an unemployment rate of 9.6%, and a real unemployment rate of 16 to 17%! The health of small business is not very good right now, and the medicine given by “Obama” is making the patient worse instead of better. In order to have an economic turnaround, we need less mandates, fewer taxes (in fact 0-9 month tax holidays on Social Security would help a great deal) and fewer regulations. Employees need to know the impact of business-related legislation (we will send you shortly some payroll stuffers on key legislation that will show the danger to all if that legislation passes), and how a bill passing, or not passing may affect their job. This does not mean telling an employee how to vote . It does mean answering any questions they may have on the business-related issues and their impact, and how candidates stand on a given issue. You must draw the connection between issues, paychecks, and benefits and how these things can drive up the cost of doing business. Too often, our legislators are elected on “talking points” or personality. We have found that when employees are fully informed on the issues and the candidates, they feel a greater motivation to vote. Our “Get Out The Vote” campaign has three goals:

1. To help you and your employees get the materials you need to register to vote and obtain absentee ballots
2. To assist in educating your employees on how the issues affect them and where incumbents and candidates stand on those issues
3. Get your employees to the polls on election dayBy working with the employer community, we hope to elect a strong pro—business majority in Congress that furthers your company’s’ and our collective goals.

Malcolm Lunn
President
United Small Business of America

United Small Business
Proclaming Liberty to America's Small Business
P O Box 3132 St. Charles, IL 60174 - unitedsmallbus1@aol.com
Phone - 877/ 535-4 USB Fax - 877/ 722-4USB