Could You Set Aside Your Differences for 5 Minutes?

Cynthia with Senator Josh Hawley playing Rock, Paper, Scissors

I’d love to tell you the story of my nuttiest lobbying picture. Please read this blog to the end before commenting.

The Cause

This week, I was in Washington D.C. with the ONE Campaign lobbying for global AIDS programming and general foreign aid funding. The ONE campaign is a global campaign to end extreme poverty and preventable disease in our lifetimes so everyone, everywhere can live with dignity & opportunity. ONE has a non-partisan reputation of people of all different political stances coming together to fight global HIV/AIDS. So, when I go to visit any elected official, that’s what I’m about.

As a constituent from Missouri, I can go to Senator Hawley’s constituent coffees if I'm in DC when one is being hosted. I don’t have a lot in common with Josh Hawley besides voting in Missouri and knowing my way around Capitol Hill. He would probably admit himself that he is a polarizing figure in Congress. But my goal is to build consensus with him to reauthorize the PEPFAR program to fight AIDS and get him to remember me positively for future work together. I've met him briefly before in a similar situation when I told him about global vaccines for Shot@Life and then took a standard photo I'm sure he didn't remember at all. While in line for this picture, I thought about how I might make this encounter more memorable.

Image: Cynthia explains more about 
PEPFAR to Senator Hawley

When it was my turn to speak to him, the senator gave me a couple of minutes to talk about PEPFAR. He already knew the basics: that it provides funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention in impoverished countries. I told him this is the 20th anniversary of the program and it has helped save over 25 million lives since it started in 2003. We discovered we both feel PEPFAR is the "best thing George W. Bush ever did." (his words) I asked him if he would sign the reauthorization bill coming up soon and he agreed that he'd take a look at it, which is exactly what most members will say because they want to make sure nothing weird gets attached to the bill before they commit.

Image: The signed picture of Cynthia 
& Senator Hawley posing formally

Then, I asked him if - after we took the stuffy, formal photo that would show my ONE T-shirt -could we take a picture for fun and play Rock, Paper, Scissors? His staff didn't think he would, so they all stood nervously about while I asked. But he said, "Yeah, sure!" So, we found out we have one more thing in common: that we can be a little silly at a normally tedious Senate event.

The Picture

Image: Cynthia and Senator Hawley are surprised they both chose scissors

When we both came up with scissors, all the staff and other Missouri folks shouted and laughed. He asked, “Should we do it again until someone wins?” But I said, “No, it’s perfect. We agreed on that, too!” The picture captured a moment that stood out in everyone's mind as unusual and positive.

Now, why did this work? I can't speak for the senator, but I should acknowledge some of it probably has to do with the setting on his comfortable home-turf, the bi-partisan nature of my global health request, and my privilege as a cis-gender, middle-aged, white-ish mom constituent who is already known to the senator's staff because of frequent lobby visits. All of that grants me a lot leeway in many offices, and I'm aware I have colleagues and loved ones who wouldn't feel comfortable or safe making odd requests of members. But I did use that privilege and that moment to try to work toward a program that will assist millions of people who don't have access to speak to a U.S. senator nor access to the health resources they need.

I think Senator Hawley, his aides, and I are going to remember that for a long time…or at least until the PEFAR bill is introduced and he hopefully signs it!

The Backlash

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about this picture as I am. Of course, there are always critics in the facebook comments. A common thing Missouri Democrats say to me is that I should not talk to or work with him or any Republicans at all. People call me "naive," a “fool,” an “appeaser” and worse.

Image: Facebook comment saying I am a fool and beneath contempt for my lobbying with Hawley

Image: Facebook comment saying
"I would find other supporters"

I understand emotions run very high and some people cannot set aside their deep feelings for the 5 minutes of a photo op for the sake of a global good. The trouble with that way of thinking is the reality of how the American government works. We each only get two senators and one representative in Congress. If I refused to work with members who are not of my preferred party, then I’d give up 100% of my influence with the Senate because I’m only represented by Republicans.

I campaigned for Democrats in election season, but we lost. Yet I feel so strongly about the 38 million people in the world with AIDS, that I will not take a pass right now just hoping to get lucky in the next election cycle. I do this work because other Americans give up while millions of people are still dying from treatable and preventable disease. They cannot wait for the next election cycle. Most of them in Africa don’t know who Senator Hawley is or anything about him.

When I'm on Capitol Hill with my Nigerian ONE partners, I’m not going to say, “No, I won’t do my best for you because I don’t agree with these folks on issues you’ve never heard about.” The important part is that I agree with my Nigerian colleagues that their friends and relatives should not die needlessly. Historically, corruption in their country has been a constant phenomenon. They persist a system far more corrupt than ours. So, I persist as well.

Still, because of my relationships with other activists in my state, I get to tag along with them to meet with THEIR representatives. So, yes, I work with Democrats, too! Here’s a picture of our face-to-face meeting with Congresswoman Cori Bush of St. Louis. 

She’s known as a member of the progressive coalition known as The Squad, infamous among hard-core Republicans who don’t like them. So, yes, we DO find other allies. And that's the point. It’s not easy to pass bills, so we need supporters from every party. The more different they are, the better. Because if their colleagues see that Cori Bush and Josh Hawley can agree on PEPFAR, it must be something very good and very special that everyone should agree on.

Can YOU Set Aside Differences for 5 Minutes?

Now, this is the part that gets personal. Can YOU set aside your active beef with your members of Congress for 5 minutes or less to help achieve the end of AIDS in our lifetimes? I’m not so naïve to think that one game of Rock, Paper, Scissors would assure Senator Hawley’s signature on the reauthorization bill for PEPFAR. He and his colleagues need to hear from a LOT of people.

A phone call to Congress takes only 2 minutes. An email from a weblink only takes a few seconds. Neither of those will be as publicly strange as what I did at that coffee. Add your name to join the ONE Campaign in the fight against HIV/AIDS with this link today for future actions to reauthorize the PEPFAR program this year!

Image: Book cover

Buy an autographed copy of "From Changing Diapers to Changing the World: Why Moms Make Great Advocates and How to Get Started" at my website www.changyit.com or order it from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any independent bookstore!