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When is the last time you wrote to your Senator or Representative...

When is the last time you wrote to your Senator or Representative...

  • In the last 1 month

    Votes: 5 13.5%

  • 1-6 months

    Votes: 7 18.9%

  • 6 or longer

    Votes: 12 32.4%

  • I have never contacted any of them

    Votes: 13 35.1%
  • Total voters
    37
radcen

radcen

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When is the last time you wrote to your Senator or Representative (or state/local equivalent) to either support or oppose a piece of pending legislation?
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Why would I write them, they have no interest in hearing my opinion on things.
I'm not part of either partisan platform pushed in Congress, thus I'm unrepresented.
Click to expand...

You can't score if you don't shoot.
 
I would like to have a senator to write to, but I don't.
 
fredmertzz said:
You can't score if you don't shoot.
Click to expand...

Yea, that's the same nonsense as "if you don't vote, you can't complain."
The **** is that logic?

Someone who has no incentive to listen to me, will likely not listen to me, especially these guys, because they want to keep their job and please their electorate.
I'm a far, far minority of their potential electorate and appealing to any of my interests, opinions, positions, would likely cause them to lose their job.
 
The last time I emailed mine was about a year ago.
One of my Senators emails me about every 2 or 3 months with updates to keep me informed.
 
Last month i sent them petitions i got from Amnesty International the other day
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Yea, that's the same nonsense as "if you don't vote, you can't complain."
The **** is that logic?

Someone who has no incentive to listen to me, will likely not listen to me, especially these guys, because they want to keep their job and please their electorate.
I'm a far, far minority of their potential electorate and appealing to any of my interests, opinions, positions, would likely cause them to lose their job.
Click to expand...
While it's probably true that they don't care what you think as an individual, it is also true that collective opinions are noted, and that each opinion one way or the other counts to them as X-number of people. This has, at times, actually made a difference in the politician's mind/vote, albeit admittedly rare. If the sentiment is large enough, this is the electorate that you speak of.
 
radcen said:
While it's probably true that they don't care what you think as an individual, it is also true that collective opinions are noted, and that each opinion one way or the other counts to them as X-number of people. This has, at times, actually made a difference in the politician's mind/vote, albeit admittedly rare. If the sentiment is large enough, this is the electorate that you speak of.
Click to expand...

Science is coming to the conclusion that collective decision making (democracy and democratic repuplicanism), in some areas, is not good.
 
When I was in DC, the standard practice for our office was the personally written letters got a written response generally unless it was an out of district whacko letter but the things like the postcards got sorted and tabulated. The mass response cards were put into the database but did not get written responses. A lot of times we did not get the bulk of them until after the legislation's fate was decided though or the Member had committed. If a letter contained info that lead us to believe that the person was in need of assistance with a specific issue, the letter would be forwarded to the district office closest to that person who would contact them to see if we could be of help with their issue. The good apolitical constituent services that people never hear about nationally will win you more elections than the sharpest ad buys IMHO. Not everything was put in front of the Member's eyes, but different staff had different areas of expertise and most everything ended up in the right hands for the person who was working in that area of legislation. Telephone calls were usually just entered into the database and an email summary was sent to the right staff person who stuffed them in a folder (same with emails) that interns got to summarize and tabulate positions for the staff member who would be presenting it to the Member.

BTW if people did send the stuff to us by mistake and we were not their Representative we did forward it to their representative regardless of partisanship.
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Science is coming to the conclusion that collective decision making (democracy and democratic repuplicanism), in some areas, is not good.
Click to expand...

Common sense comes to the same conclusion...
 
it's been quite a while, but a former girl friend was a constituent services staffer for a senator
previously, she had served in the same role for another senator in another state

she was surprised at the modest volume of personal letters sent to the senators she worked for
as a result, those who bothered to write received disproportionate attention/response from their senator and/or his staff

she was not referring to the boilerplated post cards and letters requiring only an individual signature on each, but the personal communications received from constituents
this was during the infancy of the internet age, so i cannot comment whether that has changed the way personal communications are handled presently
 
radcen said:
When is the last time you wrote to your Senator or Representative (or state/local equivalent) to either support or oppose a piece of pending legislation?
Click to expand...

I regularly email or fax my elected officials especially when it comes to illegal immigration. Occasionally they mail me a response.
 
I actually have a appointment for a phone call with my Congressman next week. Some guys from my unit did a PR event with him today and he mentioned a letter I sent in to him about Tricare cuts. Then he said he'd like to talk about it instead of go back and forth via email. I'm going in with a friendly disposition but I sense it will go south quickly if he attempts to side step or dodge my questions. After all, I don't work for that dude. He's just another guy to me. I work for the POTUS.
 
MarineTpartier said:
I actually have a appointment for a phone call with my Congressman next week. Some guys from my unit did a PR event with him today and he mentioned a letter I sent in to him about Tricare cuts. Then he said he'd like to talk about it instead of go back and forth via email. I'm going in with a friendly disposition but I sense it will go south quickly if he attempts to side step or dodge my questions. After all, I don't work for that dude. He's just another guy to me. I work for the POTUS.
Click to expand...

just focus on the tricare cuts and the impact on the military/dependents. don't go anywhere else in the discussion. and try not to allow him to get off on any tangent to avoid taking a stand on this issue
if he makes no movement in your direction, before hanging up, ask him to give you his direct quote so that you write his position down exactly ... to be used when you share the position he stands on with the media

good luck with that effort!
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Science is coming to the conclusion that collective decision making (democracy and democratic repuplicanism), in some areas, is not good.
Click to expand...
Don't disagree, but that's not what I said. I never said it was a good system, or even a better system, just that it is the system.


Fisher said:
When I was in DC, the standard practice for our office was the personally written letters got a written response generally unless it was an out of district whacko letter but the things like the postcards got sorted and tabulated. The mass response cards were put into the database but did not get written responses. A lot of times we did not get the bulk of them until after the legislation's fate was decided though or the Member had committed. If a letter contained info that lead us to believe that the person was in need of assistance with a specific issue, the letter would be forwarded to the district office closest to that person who would contact them to see if we could be of help with their issue. The good apolitical constituent services that people never hear about nationally will win you more elections than the sharpest ad buys IMHO. Not everything was put in front of the Member's eyes, but different staff had different areas of expertise and most everything ended up in the right hands for the person who was working in that area of legislation. Telephone calls were usually just entered into the database and an email summary was sent to the right staff person who stuffed them in a folder (same with emails) that interns got to summarize and tabulate positions for the staff member who would be presenting it to the Member.

BTW if people did send the stuff to us by mistake and we were not their Representative we did forward it to their representative regardless of partisanship.
Click to expand...
justabubba said:
it's been quite a while, but a former girl friend was a constituent services staffer for a senator
previously, she had served in the same role for another senator in another state

she was surprised at the modest volume of personal letters sent to the senators she worked for
as a result, those who bothered to write received disproportionate attention/response from their senator and/or his staff

she was not referring to the boilerplated post cards and letters requiring only an individual signature on each, but the personal communications received from constituents
this was during the infancy of the internet age, so i cannot comment whether that has changed the way personal communications are handled presently
Click to expand...
Good info. Thanks.

I have heard constantly for over 30 years that personal letters that people actually sit down and take time to write in their own words get the most respect. Personally, if I were in office, I wouldn't put any credence into mass-mailed postcards, either.
 
I never wrote to either, but my friend did, a lot, and he got zilch from our senator.
 
I have probably written them half a dozen times in my life. Other than writing my grandmother, it is the only time I send an actual physical letter instead of email. I find it is most useful when the congress member might be potentially on the fence about an upcoming bill. And, of course, it is most effective when it is part of a concerted letter writing campaign.

But on highly partisan issues, yeah, it would probably be a waste of time.
 
About a year ago I wrote my congressman and senator about something (I don't really remember what now). I wrote to the city council this summer.
 
2 days ago I contacted Several Republican Senators telling them not to vote for Leahy's bill For Reading Emails. I also told them to squash Lieberman's ideas as well. That if we find out they voted for it. Then they will have to deal with a Concentrated Effort to remove them from Office and or vote them out.

Asked for support for Rand Paul and Coburn in squashing Leahy's Bill.

The Difference being.....It will be Republicans coming after them. Not Democrats! Moreover.....we know how to make it hurt when it comes to our alleged own.
 
I contacted both Senators Sessions and Shelby in my state urging them to vote against NDAA. I was ignored by Shelby, but had contact with Sessions. Sessions gave me the run around and told me that it was in our best interest or something along those lines. I responded quickly and never heard back. I contacted them about SOPA. PIPA, and CISPA....all for not though because they both voted in favor of all three.

I will be contacting them again about this e-mail legislation. I find it essential to contact your Senators/Representatives if you want to express outrage or try and sway their vote.
 
About a year and a half ago, with nothing in response but a mass-produced photocopy that had nothing to do with the issue I brought up.
 
AreteCourage said:
I contacted both Senators Sessions and Shelby in my state urging them to vote against NDAA. I was ignored by Shelby, but had contact with Sessions. Sessions gave me the run around and told me that it was in our best interest or something along those lines. I responded quickly and never heard back. I contacted them about SOPA. PIPA, and CISPA....all for not though because they both voted in favor of all three.

I will be contacting them again about this e-mail legislation. I find it essential to contact your Senators/Representatives if you want to express outrage or try and sway their vote.
Click to expand...

Good job.....and stay on them. I was all over Sessions azz for letting Obama put Kagen on the SCOTUS. Tell the good Ole Boyz if they don't get with the Program we will run their azz out of Politics all together. Their days are numbered.....time for pasture! ;)
 
Harry Guerrilla said:
Science is coming to the conclusion that collective decision making (democracy and democratic Republicanism), in some areas, is not good.
Click to expand...

I agree, to an extent....
Its important that our representatives know how we feel about things.
I think that they should send out a well designed form letter in order to know "what is going on".
The key here is "well designed".
 
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