I happen to think that China probably shouldn’t be occupying Tibet. I’m thinking of writing our Prime Minister, my local Parliamentary representative, and the Foreign Affairs Minister to tell them that I think that they should be putting pressure on China to get the hell out.
But I have to wonder, am I wasting my time and paper? What are the chances that my letter will get any of them to create policy that will help the Tibetans? I know that to get involved on a smaller, more local level can certainly lead to results. However, I’m so far removed from our federal government, I can’t help but think that it won’t achieve a single thing. Certainly organized groups - lobbyists - can achieve results, but what about the single, common man?
Do you write to your representatives? If you do, do you actually expect to achieve any noticable results, or do you simply do it because it is your duty as a citizen with concerns and a voice to exercise the right to speak out?
I have cabled the President a few times. Not in many years. I’d think you’d need to do some organizing of people and articulate a coherent policy goal before you’d have a chance of being noticed.
I doubt I accomplished anything more than seeing to it that my FBI file isn’t completely empty.
I have written maybe half a dozen times on certain issues. I usually get a brief reply acknowledging receipt. Sometimes the news reports that certain legislators receive large amounts of mail concering particular topics. My best experience was getting tickets to tour the White House in Washington, DC.
Wrote to all three of my congress-critters over the whole torture issue last winter.
Got a nice reply from Senator Warner (I live in Virginia) assuring me he’ll take my views under advisement. And nothing from Frank Wolf and George Allen.
But it DID mean I got an offer from Tom Delay to join the ‘elite circle’ of contributors to the Republican National Committee.
Nonetheless…I spent enough time on the hill to know that my viewpoint WAS recorded on the daily log. Pretty much each rep has an intern keep a log of who writes in, what issue they’re writing about, and which side they were on.
And so forth. The running tallies are kept over time so the Rep can track what his vocal constituents are interested in and what issues are becoming ‘hot button’ so to speak.
So it’s not like you won’t be heard. You’ll be part of the gestalt, at a minimum.
The other wasn’t to my representative, but to the Chicago city council (or whoever make laws in Chi-town) when they were trying to ban exotic pets (including corn snakes and ball pythons, for the love of god). They got so much hate mail that, last I knew, it died.
This is totally frivolous, but it might be fun to send a letter to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (for those of us in Cal-ee-four-knee-uh) to see what type of reply is sent back.
:dubious:
I have written my US representative, and I have also written my two congress gals. I also called my representative’s office and talked with one of his staff for about an half hour on one issue.
Not only that, I have written that dweeb from Utah too and I don’t even live there.
I also sent Grey Davis a line or two in the past, and I plan on writing Arnold in the near future.
I have also written the president once (the good one, not the dip we have now.)
All of the replies, if any, have been superficial at best. Nothing mentioned about the subject I wrote on, just the standard, thank you and we will take your thoughts into consideration.
I’ve written my Representative, and she actually fixed the problem. I worked for a doctor’s office that served a lot of active duty military’s dependents. I had been arguing for five years with CHAMPUS (dependents insurance company supervised by the Federal Government) about a particular hospitalization. She got me a hearing with a supervisor 3 levels above the person I was dealing with. That interview got not just that hospitalization paid but gave me a name to go to when things started dragging on for years.
To express my views on subjects I’ve only written once to my Senator, and once to another state’s Senator when I thought he had come up with a particularly good idea. I mainly call and tell the aide my opinions. I do that about once a month. I have only called the White House once.
My Sunday School class of 5 and 6 year olds sent Vice President Gore cards they made, but he did not respond.
I write ALL the time. I’ve probably written Senator Byrd five times this year alone.
I write anytime my Senators do something I really like or I really don’t like.
Senator Rockefeller NEVER writes back. Ever. Not even when I’m not yelling at him.
Byrd ALWAYS writes back, no matter what.
I also got a very nice letter from my Congressman the other day.
I do it because I once worked for a man who sits on the state legislature. I saw how seriously he took every single letter he got, and how he went out of his way to reply to anyone who wrote to him, and he would also return every phone call. Elected reps are there to help the people they represent. I’ve never had need for them to intervene in a situation for me, but if I do, there will already be a file in their office with my name on it.
Plus you just never know when a representative will use one of your ideas. And it’s important for them to hear an outcry/praise after an important vote.
I also write representatives from other states. I sent Rick Santorum a fan letter once
Hi everyone. I have written letters. e-mails and made phone calls to my representatives (including the White House) but all I get back is some form letter if I write or talk to some staffer if I call.
I’m sure the staffers use the general consensus of the letters and calls they get to inform the rep. of the general feeling of the masses but beyond that,
We actively lobby our local politicians and my wife has effected a lot of change to the public transit system through her efforts. Our state legislators ignore us because we’re registered Dems and they think that by ignoring us they’ll win our votes next time, apparently. Nobody can accuse them of having any brains.
Our senior U.S. Senator has been in office forever and is the head of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He doesn’t have to answer to anybody, and generally doesn’t, unless it’s retribution for some slight to his character, whether imagined or real.
Our asshole in the House has the worst attendence record of any Representative, probably ever. Writing to him does at least generate a form letter geared to the issue, but you actually have to be present in order to vote on a bill, Don.
