First Call to Your Representative
Ring Ring!
Aide: Congress(wo)man ________'s office?
Powerful YOU: Hello! My name is ______ ________ and I am a constituent of the Congress(wo)man. I have a few requests for Congress(wo)man _______ if you'd be so kind as to write them down and see that (s)he gets them...?
Aide: Certainly (or perhaps silence, or questions about you name or address - in any case, give them the information they're asking for and continue with your specific requests...)
Powerful YOU: I would like for the Congress(wo)man to
1) (and it's good to say "one" and "two" so they're aware there are more than one) on the issue of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, bring ALL the troops AND contractors home from Iraq and Afghanistan; STOP funding the war; and create a PEACE PLAN for these countries that does not involve troops from the Coalition of the Willing but does involve US financing for peacekeeping operations and reconstruction;
2) on the issue of civil rights, repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006; and
3) on the issue of the rule of law and accountability for our leaders, impeach Cheney and Bush by cosponsoring and voting for impeachment resolutions in the House put forward by Congressmen Kucinich and Wexler and others.
And I would like him/her to act on these requests as soon as possible. I will be faxing a letter reiterating these requests later on, and I will also be following up to see if (s)he will do what I've asked. When would be a good time to follow up on this? (the aide may say they'll get back to YOU, or give you a date - in either case, call back at the time when they give you OR call back about a week later after you've faxed your letter).
Aide: Alright, I'll make sure the Congress(wo)man gets your requests.
Powerful YOU: Thank you so much!