Rob Dingman, president and CEO of the AMA.

I mentioned before that I had sent comments to the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) protesting the apparent rightward political tilt the organization has been taking lately. Specifically, I’m unhappy with their ongoing characterization of President Obama’s creation of national monuments, via the Antiquities Act, as “side-stepping Congress.” Congress passed that act specifically to give all presidents exactly that power. How is it side-stepping Congress if you follow the guidelines of a law created by Congress?

Twice I went to the web page on the AMA’s site where you can send the organization a message. And I sent messages. That page has a check box titled “I would like a reply.” Both times I checked it and neither time did I get a reply. And I kept watching the magazine to see if they would continue using that term.

When the latest issue arrived earlier this week it was there again, so this time I sent an email directly to Rob Dingman, president and CEO of the organization. Here’s that email.

Rob, I have two big bones to pick with you and the AMA, and I’m coming to you because no one else even replies to me.

And that’s the first one. I have sent two letters to the organization (http://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/contact) and in both cases I checked the box that says “I would like a reply.” I haven’t gotten any replies and neither of my letters made it into the magazine. If you’re going to have that checkbox there it seems to me at the very least that someone should reply to the member’s question. And I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who has not gotten replies.

The other issue is what I was writing about the other two times. I was writing in protest of your ongoing characterization in the pages of American Motorcyclist of President Obama’s use of the Congressionally created Antiquities Act as “sidestepping Congress.” I said then, and I say it now, that characterizing Obama’s actions, which are no different than that of many previous presidents, employing a law passed by Congress, as “sidestepping Congress,” smacks very strongly of right-wing partisanship, which has no place in a national organization whose membership spans the political spectrum.

In two consecutive issues that language was used three times. There was no such language in the February issue, but now the March issue has arrived and there you go again. On behalf of all of us in this organization who are not rabid right-wingers I implore you to STOP IT!

Now, I do see in the release sent out the other day that you are focusing more on the fact that establishing national monuments by executive fiat is legal based on the Antiquities Act, and you are now working to amend that legislation. So maybe our protests have been heard and at least sort of responded to. That’s a step forward. I want you to know right now that, as a member, I do not support this effort on the part of my organization. Just FYI. But I’m not going to quarrel over that. I do ask that you totally cease this ongoing use of the term “sidestepping Congress.” Let’s at least stick to the truth, OK?

And yes, I would like a reply to this email. Thank you.

Well, I got a reply this time. Not from Rob, but from Pete TerHorst, who does public relations work for the AMA, and who I’ve known for a number of years and have always been on very good terms with.

I won’t paste in Pete’s entire reply as it is quite long. But here are two pertinent remarks:
– The AMA strives to be non-partisan and apolitical in its advocacy on behalf of motorcyclists. Certainly it does not help the cause to divide the relatively small number of riders in the U.S. (compared to automobile/SUV drivers) into even smaller groups when we are trying to persuade our legislators and regulators that the AMA represents all motorcyclists.

– We do indeed believe that the current administration, and others before it, has exercised inappropriate authority — in effect, sidestepping Congress — when designating national monuments.

I’d like to believe that there is no such intent as there appears to be–not just to me but to other AMA members. But then there’s this, from a comment on that previous blog post:

Adding to this is the recent hiring of one person directly from the Heritage Foundation and one from the House Select Committee on Benghazi (a GOP witch-hunt) into their government relations staff. Adding Wayne Allard alone should have sent a clear signal, though.

I want my organization to be non-partisan. I’m not a Republican or a Democrat. I’m an independent because I have a very low regard for both parties. But if nothing else, the AMA seems to be tone-deaf. This continual complaint about Obama’s “side-stepping Congress” is a pitch-perfect echo of what comes out of the Republicans on a daily basis. And those hires. If it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck . . .

I suggest the AMA pay a lot more attention to that first bullet I pulled from Pete’s reply, the one about not dividing riders into even smaller groups. Because right now that’s exactly what they’re doing.

Biker Quote for Today

Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba — HST