I know the generic e-mails that say “sign this petition to stop baby seal clubbing” are a bunch of BS. I got a link to this CapWiz site from a friend and it seems more legit than an easily falsifiable e-mail, but I’m still skeptical on any politician caring about any kind of e-mail or fax “petitions.” Can anyone vouch for this site and how/if it works?
I know folks who are involved in answering mail sent to members of Congress.
Basically, there are a number of businesses involved in what is really bordering on generating spam for various causes. It is patently obvious which letters and emails are generated by a person who cares enough to spend a few minutes writing his thoughts on the issues of the day, and which correspondence is the result of someone spending literally five seconds to sign their email address to something they barely read.
I can ask if CapWiz is known and recognized, but it is pretty obvious that members of Congress are going to take actual human-written letters and emails more seriously than the views of someone who apparently didn’t care enough about an issue to set pen to paper.
That being said, some members of Congress may send a form letter response to someone signing such an electronic petition, and others may not bother at all. YMMV.
Oh good, I don’t feel stupid. It did basically generate a letter where you just filled in a few blanks and then slap on your (or someone’s) name, address, and e-mail. If I was a politician I think mass emails for a single cause would make me jaded towards it.
I wonder if even petitions with real signatures work these days. (Assuming the signatures aren’t on $100 bills).
Congressmen get so much of these much emails that most have abandoned email altogether. You can only reach them through a web contact form.
As Ravenman said, they all have staffs assigned to handling this, and they’re pretty good at telling the difference between a message from a constituent and a computer generated message (email or hard copy). Everything gets counted, but the likelihood of getting any response (or having any impact) is close to nil.
Most are interested in responding to constituents who have specific issues they need help with. But as Clint Eastwood said, “opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.” What are they supposed to do with 50,000 emails urging them to support a new bill and 50,000 urging them to oppose it?
This is a subject we have covered here repeatedly and in great depth. A search should turn up threads that include responses from people who have or still do work doing this. Some good stuff.