In a bid to shame him into dropping a bill, Tennessee Republican Senator Stacey Campfield was followed around the state Capitol by a child. 8-year-old homeschooled Aamira Fetuga follwed him and presented him with a petition signed by people opposing Campfield's new bill which suggests adjusting a needy family's TANF welfare benefits to their child's academic performance, measured by their school attendance and "satisfactory academic progress." Detractors suggest that this would put undue pressure on a child who is already faced with many disadvantages. A crowd of activists aided Fetuga's protests but singing hymns nearby. Campfield was visibly uncomfortable and disgruntled, and eventually withdrew his bill. He has plans to bring it back next year after tweaking it.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/12/8-year-old-follows-tenn-lawmaker-around-capitol-until-he-drops-welfare-bill/
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/12/8-year-old-follows-tenn-lawmaker-around-capitol-until-he-drops-welfare-bill/
3 comments:
Pretty harsh way to show you disagree with a bill. I think the bill clearly has a good purpose, stopping the wasted welfare benefits, but that maybe the execution is not correct as it does place a lot of pressure on young kids.
I think it's a little inappropriate to use such emotional blackmail as a young child, especially when that child is likely ignorant of the political ramifications. While the child's performance did work in this case, I don't see this tactic being effective in the long run. The 'moral' implications of certain bills are relatively easy to emotionally disconnect, preventing politicians from being subject to the more overt forms of lobbying.
I don't understand who he created this lobbying tactic and why they did that. The bill, according to me, doesn't make a good argument. The child's performance in school depends on many factors, and it would be too harsh to cut family welfare benefits just because the child couldn't perform well.
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