I more than a little pissed off at some of the action that Congress has taken, not the least of which is the Alaskan bridge to nowhere in the highway bill. Of the options that I can think of, which is the best? 1) Going to the office myself and talking to the duty 22 year old staffer, 2) email, 3) snail mail, 4) phone call, 5) finding likeminded folks on the web and signing up with them? I’m under no illusions that any of these courses of action will help, but a guys got to do what I guys go to do. Thanks in advance. I more than a little pissed off at some of the action that Congress has taken, not the least of which is the Alaskan bridge to nowhere in the highway bill. Of the options that I can think of, which is the best? 1) Going to the office myself and talking to the duty 22 year old staffer, 2) email, 3) snail mail, 4) phone call, 5) finding likeminded folks on the web and signing up with them? I’m under no illusions that any of these courses of action will help, but a guys got to do what I guys go to do. Thanks in advance.
Forget snailmail. Thanks to the anthrax scare, it will take eight to twelve weeks for it run through the security gauntlet. Good luck with them reading email.
Call them. Send a fax. Visit the local office, especially when your rep is home.
Even without the anthrax scares, the mail is pretty much useless - some 19-year old intern will read it, mark down “Highway bill - against” on a check sheet, and type your address into a database so you’ll get a form letter.
Your district office is the way to go - some Congresspeople have “meet with constituents” sessions, which are your best bet. Failing that, go to the office and talk to the staff. This works better for Congresspeople than Senators (because they’re more likely to have substantive staff at the local office), but at the very least you’ll be heard by someone who will listen.
How about a letter to the editor of your local paper? Not sure what state you’re registered to vote in, as of course Washington DC doesn’t have Senators and only has a non voting delegate to the House. But, letters to the editors are read by elected officials and their staff. Plus, they will keep that issue alive. Many local papers will print letters especially on an issue that they haven’t been swamped with.
I’ve had good response calling the district office. Even though it was handled by the offic manager, the congressman did follow up on my requst.
My Representative has kept me on his email list no matter how often I unsubscribe. I had to eventually have his messages marked as spam.
The form letter reply by email was remarkably similar to the form letter I would have received if it had been sent by snail mail.
The member’s local office, or the nearest one if there’s none locally. And go to “meet the congressmember” sessions with a couple of prepared questions. Be prepared to be filibustered out of your time if the question is one the member doesn’t want to answer. They have their routine down pretty pat. However, if that happens you have at least let others see and hear the dodge.