Matt,
A paradigm I’ve been using to focus my thoughts is this: Honor, Fear, Profit (or interest), 3 of the greatest things that drive human actions according to the greeks.
How will lawmakers use our policy ideas to achieve one, or all, of these 3 things. This comes from knowing lawmakers. Do they care about looking good? Are they scared of reelection? How do they gain an advantage electorally, politically, etc by acting on our issues?