Someone in my family is a Congressional staffer

[BigmanPigman]

and I asked her about how calls are received by the staffers in both chambers and both parties. I have been on nation wide calls with Indivisible, MoveOn, etc and was told by them that when you call a rep about a bill or issue that you should make it a single issue, keep it short (pro or con) and that they do tally the numbers from emails, phone messages, actual conversations with a staffer, etc. My niece told me this is 100% correct from her experience as a volunteer/staffer for a Dem rep from San Diego, CA in DC.

Since I have been calling all reps (mostly Repub since I live in a blue city and state) for over a year and over 450 phone calls I wanted to know if my system of contacting the GOP reps and being taken seriously as a constituent was valid. It is I am happy so say. If you call a rep outside of your area from your real cell phone number using a valid address from an actual home, apt., for sale or rent in a senator's state or a congressman's district and you do not want a reply it works like a charm. I was able to get any address in the US within 2 min on Zillow, I call from my cell and I have that info ready if they ask. Sometimes they do. My niece said that they don't have the time to run all the addresses and names from the calls they get for something like the ACA Repeal or the Tax Scam.
I am no longer going to bring a butter knife to a gun fight. Ethical, schmethical...FUCK THE GOP! They are greedy, hypocritical, treasonous sociopaths who want to first bankrupt then kill the 99%. Wait until they go after Social Security and Medicare. Wait for Putin to interfere/hack the midterms since nothing is being done to stop them (especially non implemented sanctions let alone tech security along with bots, trolls, etc). What will the GOP do with Mueller, let alone the entire Russian interference in our elections. I am ready and strong...2017 was just practice for 2018!

Grass roots and fact checking has to go 100% and go non stop.

[n2doc]

1. Does calling work?

Does anything? Seems like with the tax scam, they didn't give a shit what people thought. Maybe it helps with the more conservative Dems to keep them in opposition?

[kiri]

3. being from Oshkos, Peoria; there's a Springfield in every state

To contact/email a Congress critter who pretends to represent people, I can be from anywhere. I look up some town on the AAA road map, google zillow, find an address, zipcode, telephone-like number.

Indeed, it is not wholly honest. But then, no either is voter suppression, presidential lies, dishonest Cabinet, Agency & judicial appointees.
I think this is fair.

[BigmanPigman]

8. Yes, it does!

Now I have it confirmed by my own personal source and not just my experience with the various resistance organizations for over a year. Also, due to right wing radio and Fux Ruse social media is now a really important way to communicate and we must use it to our advantage, especially with upcoming mid-terms. I do not use Twitter and Facebook but it is what is strongly encouraged in the current atmosphere with all the "fake news" BS and cult-like base of the fucking moron.

[MichMary]

2. Lying sucks

Sorry, that's the way I feel.

And, if they did the same thing to us, I'd be righteously indignant.

[SharonClark]

4. Agree, and they tend to ignore the calls unless the calls reinforce their own position.

[Merlot]

9. They do the same thing to us and more all the time

I remember a rally where they bussed in a bunch of paid protesters. Theyve been doing this for years. Remember the "grass roots" campaigns run by the kochs to fill up the townhalls with screaming lunatics? Voter suppression, fake social media accounts, etc. So while I personally don't want to lie, I have no problem with others who do it. The reps are there to hear from the citizens, period. If there is one rep whos vote is crucial to my well-being and they're not in my state, they still need to know how what theyr'e doing affects people.

[eggplant]

11. Agreed. n/t

[calimary]

5. I am with you. Refusing to bring a butter knife to a gunfight.

Damn straight!

The sad truth is - if you play fair and the other guy cheats and wins, then who’s the chump? The cheater gets another point on the board that can be the difference regarding which party gets majority status. The fair-play person gets rolled. Again.

[iluvtennis]

6. Ditto.

[pangaia]

7. I don't agree with lying about where I live to influence a congress critter...

[cwydro]

15. Me either.

I’d be horrified if my address was used fraudulently.

Sorry to see this kind of thing promoted here.

[pangaia]

16. It is rare here, but this is not the first time.

[american_ideals]

10. Tell the truth about you, then give your message

It's important to be honest about your name and location. Then leave your message. That works to influence Congresspeople.

In 2018 Democrats are going to take back one or both houses of Congress, and will then have subpoena power to publicly investigate. And in 2018 or 2020 Dems will control the White House, Senate, and House. At that point it will be important to keep to our ideals, stay honest, and do good work. The first step is staying honest. Fight hard, but fight honestly.

[kst]

12. Lying ...

Last edited Wed Dec 27, 2017, 08:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Lying about where you live when you call members of Congress and then announcing it on the Internet gives ammunition to the right wing.

They can point to this article (don't assume they won't see it) and claim, with some justification, that the number of people calling their members of Congress is meaningless.

You haven't brought a butter knife to a gun fight. You've brought a machete to a chess tournament. You might do some damage, but you won't be going home with a prize.

[Saviolo]

13. Calling someone else's representative is potentially taking someone's voice away

I agree, it's time to flood those lines. I've done my share of calling in issues, but only to my rep. There are lots of angry, active, and motivated people that want to hear from their constituents, and lots of those constituents want to get in there to boost that message. If I'm calling a representative who is not mine, I might be clogging up the phone line for someone who will be even more deeply and directly affected by that representative's actions.

Has less to do with ethics and more to do with letting the people whose voices need to be heard be heard. Speak with those voices, not for them.

[calimary]

17. Someone's voice has already been taken away.

Last edited Fri Dec 29, 2017, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Like the almost three MILLION more voters who voted for Hillary Clinton, and their (OUR) voices were silenced by some shrewd manipulation of a few key districts and a few thousand votes here and there.

Like the MAJORITIES of Democrats in gerrymandered districts, who have the majority numbers, but are silenced because of shrewd manipulation of the ridiculous and outrageous redrawing of districts that lead to us, and OUR interests, and OUR priorities, NOT being represented, because of artificial manipulations.

Like the repeated examples of more Democrats voting than republi-CONS, yet, somehow they've rigged the system so THEIR guy wins. And thus the minority rules. We're supposed to be a democracy based on majority rule. This completely subverts it. We see this damn syndrome repeat itself election cycle after election cycle. And while they cheat and they win, then nothing can be done about it - because THEY won and THEY hold all the cards and THEY hold all the power and THEY can set the agenda and we're left on the sidelines - EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE MANY MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM!!!

Let me just make this clear: I don't like lying either. But at this point, watching this over decades, I can't figure out any other way to level the playing field. I find myself wishing WE had a Roger Stone doing rat-fucking for OUR side. And we don't. We play nice, we follow the rules, and we wind up getting rolled EVERY DAMN TIME!!!!!

I am, unfortunately, left with only one conclusion: If we play by the rules and the other guy cheats and wins, then the other guy gets to run the game and own the playing field and call the shots while we are forced to the sidelines as spectators. And I'm sick and tired of being the nice guy who finishes last. And in politics, the vast majority of the time, the nice guy DOES finish last.

If we ever hope to be in a position to govern, and to fix some of this shit that's gone so wrong, we have to win first. FIRST, we have to WIN. After years of observing this shit, I've been forced to conclude that if we play by the rules and they don't, then we get rolled. Fighting fair only works if BOTH SIDES do it. When ONE side refuses, and in fact raises that refusal to a high art and makes NOT playing fair into a veritable sacrament, then we're chumps if we don't. We'll just keep getting rolled.

I don't want to fight fair as long as the other side won't fight fair. I'm not interested in fighting fair when we know the other side refuses to do so. That's NO way to level the playing field.

[LuckyLib]

14. If these cretins cast votes that affect our lives

they are representing ALL of us, not just their constituents. I’ve made up addresses in their zip codes (email will not allow you access otherwise) and use my real name and residence in phone calls. And I always state “He/she represents me even if I don’t live in the state or district.” That’s after I include a statement asking when they are going to get that lunatic out of the White House.