I just got an email from Health Justice complaining that faxes in support of single payer were being thrown out. Yeah. No kidding.
People think that big lobbyists keep winning because they have the $. Well, that is only part of the reason. Another reason is that they are respectful of the ways of capitol hill. When they contact their clients they make sure that everyone contacts THEIR representative. If you are from Montana Baucus is interested in you, otherwise you need a gazzillion dollars. That is just the way it is.
Of course, Health Justice could collect emails by state and send out its notices sorted by state with the right contact info for senators from those states, but Health Justice can't be bothered.
If we are going to win, we need to be smart.
I hope everyone will participate in the May 30th National Day of Action near them.
Please contact your representative, state and federal, and tell them you want single payer. Then write a letter to the editor. When you have done those things you can relax in the knowledge that you have done the basics to win single payer.
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I figure relevant committee chairs and members are among
those any citizen has a right and duty to contact regarding the relevant legislation.
Along with any senator who has taken strong stands, no? I see Schumer and Kennedy as being people who by their public statements should invite comments from all. Baucus? Definitely. And so forth.
Are you saying organized faxing should be only to the reps of each individual signing on?
I am saying
that interest groups should sort their email addresses by state and ask people to contact their reps. Yeah, Baucus is doing something that affects us all, but the fax thing is not working. We need to mobilize Montana. Same with Waxman, we need his district to get involved.
yes and no
not all political methods are about being reasonable, though it's perfectly reasonable that some of them should be, and that some of the actors should be reasonable too.
Faxes get discarded
I didn't want to mention this on the other threads because people were doing stuff, but no one reads faxes from what I hear (several former Congressional workers). Phone calls have to be answered whereas faxes can be taken directly to the recycle bin. But also, it doesn't do much to call representatives that don't represent you. Targeted communication is best. And several orgs do that.
the point is not
to have them read the faxes....
Faxes are just more expensive letters
which can be tossed quicker.
Emails are even more ephemeral.
Real influence, of course, comes with money. Have no money? Forget representation.
We can admit that we’re killers … but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes! ~ Captain James T. Kirk, Stardate 3193.0
1 John 4:18
it is not a question of the medium
it is a question of the targeting. Constituent mail is important. Lobbyist pressure is important. Everything else is just trashed. Understand that, make it work in your favor, and you can achieve great things. Ignore that and you are just one more angry do-gooder.
But, when articles reference Congress being inundated with
letters, faxes, calls, it's indicative of something. We just need more people doing more to contact and try to persuade their and all CongressCritrers.