Political post.

Nov 15, 2016 14:56

One of the things I vowed to do before the end of this latest election, no matter the victor, was get more involved and talk to my elected officials. I actually started doing this a bit before the election - I called a couple times in the summer. I voted for Hillary Clinton, but even if she'd won, my intention was to call people representing me in Congress, amongst other places, and make sure they acted in a responsible manner. (That is, ACTUALLY DO CRAP. And not just obstruct.)

But Trump won, so that commitment means even more. I can't just sit back and let him do the things he's started or promised. Luckily, others online have felt the same way, so there's a bunch of people calling their elected officials over the appointment of Steve Bannon to a high Trump administration position, as a start. I did the same today. It's my intention to call my officials at least once a week over various issues, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

So! Here's some tips for you to get on the calling train if you live in the US:

-Any input is good, but calls are best. Calls to the district office (ie the ones in your state) are supposed to be better than ones to the office in DC. Here's some advice from a former congressional staffer (who are the people who field any kind of input) on what will happen with social media/emails/letters/phone calls.

(I'm very socially anxious and phone anxious, so I don't do things like make phone calls easily. I spent an hour working on three phone calls because I needed time to rehearse/write scripts/breathe through my panic. It's very ableist to privilege phone calls over other kinds of feedback, and I hate it. If you can't call, I understand.)

-There are scripts online to use! I started with a longer one that I ended up not using in its entirety, but it got me started. Things to absolutely include: your name, that you're a constituent, what city you're in (they will often ask for your specific address), what you want and what you would like back. So something like:

"Hello, my name is [name], and I'm a constituent in [city]. I'm horrified at the appointment of Steve Bannon, a white supremacist, as one of President-elect Trump's closest advisers. How does [Senator/Representative + name] feel about this appointment? Can [Senator/Representative + name] speak out publicly against this appointment?"

The staffer will probably tell you what's going on: I got "still taking remarks" from one office and "haven't spoken to him about this" from another office. One office took my last name and city, and the other took my full name and address and said they'd get in touch with me. They're both Republicans, which makes my call that much more important, I think.

-If you're represented by someone like Speaker Paul Ryan or Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they may be shunting calls to purposely restricting voicemail. (As in, I've heard it's a "press a number to talk about a specific issue that probably isn't what you're calling about".) Leave a voice mail. Call until you can speak to someone.

-But call your reps even if they're Democrats and even if they've already spoken out! One of my representatives is Harry Reid, who hasn't hesitated - he's called out Trump and Bannon very specifically. (The benefits of leaving office in less than two months! But I'll take it.) The staffer there thanked me for my support and said they'd pass my comment on.

So, in short:

-Call your field offices for your Representatives and Senators.
-Tell a staffer that you're a constituent and what action you want to happen (such as, not appointing a white supremacist to a high office).
-Be persistent, and invite your friends and family to also call.

If you need help with anything, let me know. ♥

Also posted on Dreamwidth (
comment[s]). Comment using a DW account or LJ OpenID.
Previous post Next post
Up