Does Writing Your Congressman Actually Work? Yes, Sort Of

[FreeState]

In case you ever thought writing, calling, or emailing your representatives was a waste of time, take it from Steve Hildebrand, Barack Obama's openly gay deputy national campaign director: "I don't think our voices are as powerful as they should be. I think too many people in the gay community do not push their elected officials as hard as they should. If you had 20 gay people together in a room and asked how many of them actually have reached out and either called, e-mailed or sent a letter to their member of Congress over the last two months, I would say the vast, vast majority of them will have done nothing. My suggestion is that people need to become strong activists, that we need to multiply by hundreds the number of activists we have in the gay community. We need more voices, we need louder voices, and we need to tell politicians at every level we're not willing to take their excuses anymore."

And in case you needed reason not to write, call, or email your representative: You will almost never be able to get her on the line. An office staffer will answer the phone (or sometimes just a voicemail box), sort the letters, and go through emails, responding with a form reply, if anything.

What those staffers will hand your legislator, likely, is a tally of how many notes and calls they received from X number of constituents on Y different issues. That summation, however, is what's powerful. In a legislator's very busy day, these briefs are easy to digest and send the most black-and-white picture of what his voters believe.

So yes, your letters and phone calls matter. In aggregate. JUST LIKE VOTES!

This is why I think its so important we write letters and mail them (skip the email - print out your email if you mist and mail it in).

[tbyg52]

1. I can understand how they could ignore emails the most easily

but isn't there a security holdup with letters, that might matter with short-notice issues?

I wonder if postcards would have to undergo any security procedures?

I read somewhere recently that representatives *always* notice LTTE's, even in little papers (where it's easy to get them printed) - especially if their name is mentioned.

Just some random thoughts.

Final random thought - hooray for this forum! :applause:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. Postcards are faster

Alternately you can tri-fold a sheet of paper (like you would to place it in an envelope) use a small piece of tape to seal the folds leaving the ends open. Then address it like you would an envelope and add postage. That way they can easily see inside and know there's no threat.

[IndianaGreen]

2. E-mail is the least preferred method--snail mail is better

as are phone calls, but nothing beats having an organized visit to the local representative's office.

[LeftyMom]

5. Depends on your rep. Mine has a habit of calling the cops

if the rabble show up to do anything but lick envelopes.

[IndianaGreen]

6. Evan Bayh called the SWAT team

in October 2002 when people came to his local Indiana office to petition against the Iraq War Resolution.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. calling works very well too.