Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
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I GUESr EDlrORIAL By CLARK L. COLLINS, BLUERIBBON COALITION FOUNDER/ExECUTIVE DIRECTOR Being Politically Significant 've to ld th e st o ry man y t imes of how a poli ti c ian once t o ld me, "Motorize d recreation ists are politica lly insign ifican t. " His challe nge prom pte d me to prove him wrong. An d we d id!!! Th at po litici an , in o ur home state of Idaho , has not been involved in a successful po litica l ca m p a ign since he iss ued t hat challenge . That process of po litical awake ni ng ev o lve d into th e BlueRibbon Coalition of today. I've ofte n said that recreation access issues are politically dr ive n. The anti-rec rea tion-acces s leanings of som e public land manage rs is a problem nationwide . Certainly, one of the most effective ways to deal with an uncoope rative federal agen cy is to have you r congressman or senato rs contact them on yo ur behalf. Be lieve me, they hate getting a congressional inquiry on an access issue. However, if your congressman or senators are not su pportive I of your recreation access, you can't get them to do a congressional inquiry on you r beh alf. Many congressional and local races are "xtre mely important to recreation access co nce rns. Working w ith ot her recreation recreationists may have little influence on who is elected presid ent of the United State s, but you sure nee d to know whe re the candidates stand on re creati on issues and vot e acco rdingly. In a close race , every vot e is important. focus on fed e ral offices, and this yea r is a very impo rtant pres idential con test ; howeve r, don't forget about state and local races. In fact, you sho uld cons ide r running for one of thos e offices yourse lf, o r eve n a higher office. Ou r political process gives you a cha nce to affect you r de stiny. However, it's only influen ced by those w ho participate in it. At the BlueRibbon Coalition, we have develop ed agency and political contacts that can he lp o ur mem bers defen d their rights. We have perfected tec hniques that can he lp eve n if you don't have user-friendly political re presentatives. But, if you let a clear ene mies get e lecte d, you 're going to be fight ing an uph ill battle as long as they are in office. Don't let them coun t you as politically insignificant. Don't be locked out!!! Get involved , get friends elected to offi ce and help me pro ve again that motorized rec reationists are politically significant . eN "You must do your share to ensure the right folks get elected. If you don't, you have no one to blame but yourself if you have to endure two, four or six years with a recreation access enemy in office." inte rests, we 've proven we can play a pivotal role in selecting user-friendly se nators and co ngressmen. You shou ld work to make recreation access a factor in those races and the n follow up with th ose who are e lected after they take office. On the nat ion al leve l, motorized You should also be wo rking as a volunteer on someo ne's campaign. You must do you r share to ensure the right folks get e lected . If you don't, you have no one to blame but yourse lf if you have to e ndure two, four or six years with a re creationaccess ene my in office. Most often we www("url"no:wc;("om C Y CLE NEWS • NOVEMBER:J 2004 103