So, in the past, I’ve asked several questions about how one (or many) could get the attention of his political representatives (who are, after all, public servants, right?), and almost every time, my questions have been met with the same truism: if there’s not money/campaign funds behind your complaints/suggestions/questions, your not likely to get much in return.
I want to know if there’s anyone who believes otherwise. Is money the only thing that dictates politics? It just seems like, with some much access to data and so much freedom to publish it, there should be some sort of informational currency to drive politicians towards the needs of their populace and not the wants of some small group of elites.
Or is that just a dream.
Just to be clear, I’m not talking about revolution or intimidation. I’m simply talking about leveling participation in government, which seems more and more possible – though, I know, not easy, considering the number of people we’re talking about here.
Politicians read newspapers. Newspapers cover events. If everytime Senator X reads the Hometown Times, he sees that there’s a pro (or anti)-Cause event, rally, protest, or whatever, then maybe Senator X will decide to learn more about Cause. Letters to the editor get some attention as well. One letter to Senator X may mean nothing, but if he gets 5,000 letters on the same subject, it may get his attention. Not as quickly or loyally as coin of the realm, of course…but I’m a cynic.
Politician want to keep their jobs. They want the perks and prestige. So Oakminster’s method can work. But this requires a commitment from enough people to work, and it requires constant attention, as, like little kids, those politicians will stray if they think they can get away with it.
Most Americans of voting age either feel that they cannot make a difference (so they dont bother to try), or that once “fixed” (politician “A” is booted out), they can go back to their daily lives.
Large enough interest groups get attention. Journalists get attention. If a journalist (like that goof Lou Dobbs) decides to become an advocate and pursues a lot of stories (and gets a lot of airtime to pursue them) about a cause, things can happen. Which is why the smartest causes cultivate their knowledge of PR and use it to their advantage. The best thing you can have on your side is public opinion and journalists are the way you sway public opinion.
You can also try to gather a group using the Internet. It is possible to organize a large group via the Internet (I’m thinking MoveOn dot org) but it takes at least a small dedicated group of people to get something like that up and running.
Beyond voting them out of office, I’m not sure. Singly, maybe (if the circumstances are what you mean here…) maybe one of those local tv “9 on your side” advocacy programs. Bringing tv coverage to a beef will make many pols listen. Can’t have that negative press.
If money was the only thing that dictated politics, Steve Forbes would be the President of the United States today, having succeeded H. Ross Perot, and Oliver North would be in Congress. Money can help you get votes, but it’s no guarantee and does you no good at all if you can’t get the people to vote for you.
The truth is that the people really do have the power. The uglier truth is that the current politicians in power are there because the people wanted them there.
I used to work for a Senator, and most of my job (along with the others in the office) was listening to consituents. It didn’t matter if they were contributors or not. Anyone who approached us, we talked to. So the main part in getting your voice heard is to actually start a dialogue with your Congressman/Senator/Mayor/whomever.
Just because we listened, though, doesn’t necessarily mean anything will come of it. For one, a lot of people who contacted us were a little bit nuts. There were the outright crazies (“I have a chip in my brain. Can you help me get it out?”) as well as the eccentrics (I had a nice old woman who essentially became a pen pal of the Senator – she would tell him about her day and all that, and we’d write dutifly back to her). Then there are the people who want things we can’t deliver. For example, no matter how many people wrote in that Congress should ban abortion, it wasn’t going to happen. Abortion wasn’t my boss’s big issue and even if it was, the Senate wasn’t going to pass a Constitutional amendment to ban abortion. And then there were the people who wrote in and wanted my boss to take a position contrary to his principles. He was a strong supporter of drillling in ANWR, and no matter how many thousands of letters or visits we got about this, he was going to vote in favor of it. It’s not that he didn’t consider the other side of the issue, it’s just that he was convinced that drilling in ANWR was a reasonable thing to do.
So there are a lot of issues where your elected officials listening to you won’t really matter. In some cases, though, constituent pressure does matter. I remember a bill that wasn’t on our radar screen until a huge amount of letters poured in from a group of people who would benefit from it. My boss became a supporter because of that. In general, that kind of change can be affected on issues that aren’t partisan and aren’t ideologically charged. Most politicians have an ideology, and no amount of constituent pressure will change that. Chuck Schumer isn’t going to become a pro-gun fanatic if he gets letters from a million pro-gun New Yorkers. Ain’t gonna happen. And I think that’s a good thing. Politicians should stick to their principles and not be captive to the polls.
It depends on what you mean by “listening to us”. Does “us” mean “me and the five other people in this country who think that we should declare war on the dolphins”? In that case, sorry, politicians aren’t going to listen to you - and a billion dollars wouldn’t change that. But if your opinions are a little more mainstream then you should be organizing. Join a group that agrees with your opinions or form one if there isn’t an existing group. Get 100,000 registered voters to join your organization and I guarantee you that politicians will be listening very carefully to what you say.
Good thread. I myself need to know how to get my state rep. to listen to me. the issue is this: 5 years ago the MA legislature bombarded us with messages about how wonderfull things would be if we DEREGULATED electric utilities. rates would drop, power companies would compete, and service would improve. Well, now, rates have soared! our electric bills now detail at least 6 charges, and the electric utilities are now foreign owned (NATIONAL GRID). meanwhile, my friend 9who lives ina town served by a municipally-owned electric utility) has seen his rates DROP! Now, these giant utilities want Congress to allow HUGE rate hikes to repair the national grid! We were sold a bill of goods.
Semi-hijack: I wrote emails to my state Senator and Delegate about the National Popular Vote, which bill has been promised to be introduced in the Virginia legislature next year. Will they care at all, or would handwritten letters be far more effective?
I don’t think it matters much. E-mail will probably reach them faster. However, if it is something you really care about, try and talk to them in person about it. Most state legislators are pretty accessible.
When I lived in Dublin, I - a resident and not even a citizen - wrote a letter to the Irish minister for justice about the growing incidence of racist attacks in Ireland, and a few weeks later got a 4-page reply, directly addressing my points. I’m sure one of his minions wrote it for him, but he signed it, and color me impressed (even though I disagreed with much of the response).
Most MPs in Ireland and the UK hold regular “clinics” where one can walk in and have a face-to-face meeting with one’s government representative - even Bertie Ahern or Tony Blair, though I suspect in some cases it’s their under-secretary or whatever who holds it. Occasionally this even escalates into a mention of one’s issue in a parliamentary debate. I wonder if there’s something more direct about the parliamentary model?
You can have face-to-face meetings with Senators and Representatives in the U.S., too. Most have meetings in their states/districts during Congressional recesses and if you are in DC you can call to arrange a meeting at their DC offices.