Are You Ready?

Those of you who have experienced a caucus or a primary know what it’s like to share in the whirlwind campaigning for our nation’s next leader. With Iowa holding the nation’s first caucus, almost the entire field of candidates comes to our doorsteps. For the past 14 months we’ve seen them on our streets, in our schools and churches and greeted them at neighborhood coffees. Because of our national association’s close relationship with Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Jan and I were strong supporters of his presidential bid. Unfortunately, he did not make the 15% cut on caucus night and his supporters had to move to another candidate. I might add my extreme excitement in witnessing, for the first time in my 39 years of married life, my wife registering as a fellow Democrat just to support the Senator in his caucus bid. (She changed parties first thing the next morning so we’re back to cancelling out each other’s vote, but let the record show she was a Democrat for 9 hours!)

Yes, we Iowans have come to take the process for granted. The caucus is such a big deal in our state it even draws tourists. Such was the case on caucus night when I ran into a couple from New Zealand totally mesmerized by watching300 voters in my precinct actively involved in the election process. Since I’m a political junkie I tried to fill them on what was happening. At one point the wife Carman said, “We always thought you Americans just bought your votes by having those PAC things that you do!”

PAC things! Hmmm, I thought! Some education is needed here. So I explained the value the PAC process brings to voters. I told Carman about the rules and regulations regarding political action committees and how they are continually monitored. I told her some candidates choose not to accept money from PACs. I admitted I have a certain percentage of my fellow citizens that don’t feel PACs are important and adamantly refuse to contribute. I gave her my opinion that PACs remain an opportunity for any voter to register a strong sentiment for a particular issue and open the door to political discourse with a Senator or Congressman. Carman responded, “I’ve never thought of it that way—I guess it’s like this caucus, you contribute and get a chance to talk to the Hillarys and Rudys of the world directly.” Carman got it! I was impressed!

Later that evening that I gave further thought to our conversation. Carman was like many people right here at home. She didn’t fully understand the significance of political action committees—a legal way to support a cause you care about. While you might not have the opportunity to participate in an Iowa caucus, each of you has a way to open doors through the PAC process. It’s not about buying votes; it’s about political access and supporting our allies—those who support the independent agency system!

As we enter a very important year in our nation’s political history, I encourage you to make a contribution to your state PAC and InsurPac, your federal PAC. Your state association can certainly use the help and those dollars go to work right there in your backyard. InsurPac does the same in Washington. Each year, we’ve seen growth in contributions, enabling us to give more to those who support us or are willing to listen to us. But we’re still not as financially strong as we need to be or as many other organizations—several in our own financial services community. We desperately need your help to continue to empower those who work directly for us in our statehouses and our nation’s capital. Our association’s lobbyists work overtime on your behalf to ensure those representing you are up to speed on our issues and realize our role in the consumer’s welfare.

And we need to continue to remind consumers about the important role we play. Month five of the TrustedChoice® “Live the Brand” blueprint for branding excellence says we should be contacting company partners for co-op advertising opportunities and registration reimbursements. Ask all your carriers, especially those participating in TrustedChoice®, if you can use co-op ad funds to offset the cost of running local Trusted Choice® advertisements. Month five also suggests that we confirm our commitment to offering 24/7 customer service. It’s a new year. It’s an election year. It’s a year of important issues facing all of us. It’s time to pony up. I’m ready to write my InsurPac and state PAC check sand continue following the Trusted Choice® “Live the Brand” guide. Are you?

Bob Fulwider
Chairman