51–60 of 98 posts
Thanks for a great tool. A suggestion: I'd like to be able to send a letter to all of my representatives and senators at once, instead of having to fill out the form multiple times.
that might get expensive for SendWrite...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
If this is real, it's a great example of why this kind of government is way overdue. millions of people affected by some law, 0.01 one retired guy pissed of by something minor, but that happens to live close by, 700
Not exactly. The person would have to be a constituent, so he would live no further than any other people in the district. You could make a statement about wealth and lobbying, but to be honest, those are considered in a different category anyway. It's actually rather accurate. If someone takes the time to write a handwritten letter and mail it, it means a lot more than just clicking a DemandProgress button that has…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not exactly. The person would have to be a constituent, so he would live no further than any other people in the district. You could make a statement about wealth and lobbying, but to be honest, those are considered in a different category anyway. It's actually rather accurate. If someone takes the time to write a handwritten letter and mail it, it means a lot more than just clicking a DemandProgress button that has…
"in-person visit to DC office" at the top of the list
The truth is my job as an intern, as was the job of all other interns that I met while in DC, was to take constituent calls and also open constituent mail. However, no information was ever actually relayed to the congressmen. We had a formatted response to each and every issue that the House could possibly vote on. Everything from internet poker, to any issue you could imagine. We would print out (and alter if necessary) the response to tailor it to the individual that called, emailed, or wrote a physical letter. The congressman's signature was stamped at the bottom of the letter and sent back to the constituent, giving the allusion of due diligence on the congressman's part.
I was extremely surprised and disappointed at the same time at how commonplace this was. Pretty much every intern I asked about it went through the same drill. It's just another thing about our government and "representative democracy" that really irked me. So whenever I see ads urging people to call or write their congressman, I think back to this and realize further how powerless we really are.
The best way to exert influence over your congressman is to donate lots of money and become a memorable name that can get in contact with the actual representative him/herself. Hell, that's how I got the internship. This is one of the reasons I sympathize with the OWS movement.
Although I applaud the efforts here, as a former staffer and intern for a congressman, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... The truth is my job as an intern, as was the job of all other interns that I met while in DC, was to take constituent calls and also open constituent mail. However, no information was ever actually relayed to the congressmen. We had a formatted response to each and every issue that the House c…
Although I applaud the efforts here, as a former staffer and intern for a congressman, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... The truth is my job as an intern, as was the job of all other interns that I met while in DC, was to take constituent calls and also open constituent mail. However, no information was ever actually relayed to the congressmen. We had a formatted response to each and every issue that the House c…
I'm cynical on government too but don't you think that if enough people contact them somehow and theres a clear majority view that somehow the official get the message and that sways them just a bit? Am I still being too naive or is it really truly nothing but money money money that gets them to do anything?
Although I applaud the efforts here, as a former staffer and intern for a congressman, I hate to be the bearer of bad news... The truth is my job as an intern, as was the job of all other interns that I met while in DC, was to take constituent calls and also open constituent mail. However, no information was ever actually relayed to the congressmen. We had a formatted response to each and every issue that the House c…
Obviously its all relative but if enough letters/phone calls get placed, the message will be received.
Furthermore, the co-sponsers on both the House and Senate bills are bi-partisan in nature so this is an issue that is obviously not as black and white as your typical party lines type vote. Hopefully this might cause legislators to take a serious look at the issues being raised and actually give some attention to popular opinion if in fact enough people like us make a fuss.
I'd love to send people to this site, but I worry people who have never heard of the bill won't know what is going on. Can you embed the explanation video or point to or something? Edit: I see you just did. Thx! I just linked to it on DuckDuckGo as well as donated and sent my letter. Thanks again.
NOT a comment about you, epi08, but just commentary about what matters.
If you haven't called your congressperson about this, then you don't care.
period.