That's right, my friends, this issue is only going out to dentists and has particular emphasis for those of you who serve as FDA delegates. Since I don't send B-L to the entire HOD list, please share it with any delegates in your district who may not otherwise see it. Now, let's get started.
My last 2 posts I've been pounding the issue of legislators who tell us they support our issues, smile to our faces as they take our PAC checks, then turn around and stab us in the back when it comes time to vote. No organization can ever bat 1.000 but this session was unprecedented in the way we were both abandoned and sandbagged with that loathsome opioid bill. I mentioned that I'd send a resolution to my delegation in the hopes they'd bring it to the upcoming HOD. In the past few weeks, I've gotten plenty of feedback from various members and FDA staff which I'll share with all of you. They've mostly been reasons why it would be a bad idea to hold legislators accountable and deny $ to those who betray us and give that as a surplus to the $ given to those who help us. I will list these objections and give my response.
1) "We're an organization of many issues and cannot get tunnel vision on just one". Okay, can someone please tell me which one of our many issues has budged an inch in the last 2 legislative sessions? That aside, we do have many issues but most pale in comparison to the big ones that can destroy the way we practice dentistry and endanger the public.
2) "A legislator can betray us on one bill, then they might turn around and support us on another". Please remind me when that happened in the last 20 years? I recall we have our allies, we have our adversaries and the twain rarely or never cross paths. I can tell you we've had legislators that were loaded for bear on issues like allowing Cuban trained dentists to sit for ADEX with zero U.S. training, forcing every dental lab in FL to hire a CDT and implementing DHATs. Not one of those ever did squat to support us on anything else.
3) "Assigning a poor letter grade to any legislator is humiliating and will anger them". I agree and don't advocate that in any way. My resolution only asks for 2 lists to be published, one that lists those who received PAC $ and the other that lists those who voted to support our bills. These are purely informative and its up to the members to use their common sense to figure out what that means.
4) "If we talk about reducing $ contributions, we may lose $ from frustrated members who might feel we are ineffective" They already KNOW we ARE ineffective and their frustration is reflected in the fact we're $50,000 down in donations this year. That cat's been out of the bag long ago.
5)"FDAPAC and the HOD are arms length, separate entities for legal protection reasons and the HOD cannot make the FDAPAC do anything their chair and voting members don't wish to do". If that's indeed the case, the HOD should certainly be able to take up the topic and make recommendations to the PAC about this issue. When I was a delegate (since 1994) I also proudly served for many years as my district rep. in both the GAC and then FLADPAC. Folks, we are one the same and it's not right that 10-12 PAC members should be insulated and immune from HOD input that's the consensus of 102 dedicated members who give up their time to serve and know these issues.
6)"There might be delegates who are vehemently opposed to any kind of PAC $ efforts and they could demagogue the issue during the HOD, which would discourage others from contributing". If 102 delegates and trustees can't stand up to any negative discourse, offer contrary testimony and convince the delegation of what's right and wrong, then we may as well throw in the towel and give up!
7)"The drop off in $ is not only due to #4, it's also a case of older members who used to contribute retiring and younger ones who replace them who don't chip in". I agree and will cover that next.
Now I'm addressing our younger members, whether you are grassroots dentists or involved with leadership. If you're serving the FDA in any capacity, thank you and God bless you! If you're not, don't expect a handful of your over worked pals and us old folks to carry your water forever. I know your demographic has very high loan debt and is often unable to even aspire to having your own practices. Many GPs are working in 2-3 offices or McDentist, while even some specialists are forced to be itinerant and travel to various offices. All that said, life is never fair and you're the future of our profession. That means you need to get involved with advocacy, which involves getting to know your legislators, building relationships with them and their staff, signing up to be an LCD (Legislative Contact Dentist) and, yes, writing checks to help those who help us. The fact many LCDs cover several legislators tells you we have too few willing to work and too many on the sidelines. I also know that, on top of your $ situation, you may not feel encouraged to write checks that go in vain. That's precisely why I want the FDA to get a handle on this problem so you'll feel validated and motivated to chip in and pull your weight. If you don't do these things, nothing will improve and the likelihood of a better professional life and future for you will be far less likely.
Let me describe the current state of things in our FDA with respect to this issue. Our leadership is having to consult legal council to determine if the HOD discussing something as ridiculously simple as publishing 2 lists in Capital Report would put both the FDA and FDAPAC in legal jeopardy! While we walk on eggshells, afraid of our own shadows, our opposition can get up before House & Senate committees and lie through their teeth about how caring and altruistic they are versus how self serving we are. We don't dare do some dirt digging to properly identify the fact Pew, Kellogg and their minions stand to make $ millions when entities are set up to hire DHATs and they get to stick their big spoons in. Former dental deans-turned-shills, who stand to get sweetheart positions or contract deals if this were to ever become law, are never exposed or questioned because we're the good guys and that would be mean. Meanwhile, the same legislators who took our $ and used our good will as Charmin rushed to judgement and sandbagged us with an onerous, unfunded mandate in the form of that asinine opioid abuse bill passed with last minute haste and no debate as the fix was clearly in. This is what we're fighting, my friends, and we have an organization that has to ask permission to breathe. Our PAC has no wins in the recent past and seems content to keep using the same old playbook which no longer works. Is it any wonder we're way down in PAC $? I can only hope some of you in FDA delegations around the state will take up this mantle and make the HOD at least discuss it and inform FDAPAC of the wishes of what is the most representative body of our association. I also hope our PAC is willing to hear this and make the necessary changes to how we allocate our $. Otherwise, they're gonna find themselves all alone in a conference room, looking at each other and wondering why they're the only ones who are writing checks.
It's clear to me that the way we used to approach dental advocacy is no longer working and we need to use our $ more strategically and effectively. Then and only then will members regain faith in what we're doing and do their part to help out. With that in mind, I urge all of you delegates to make sure this issue is front and center in next week's HOD. If you're a grassroots FDA member, please pay attention to this issue, talk to your local colleagues about it, ask your leadership all the questions you feel are germane to the problem and stay in the loop. Like an abcess, ignoring this won't make it go away and the only cure is involvement. If any of you wish to discuss this topic with me or have any questions, please feel free to contact me by text, call or email. Thank you all!
