Call and Write YOUR Congressperson and Senators - A Guide
Contacting your representative and senators may seem like a daunting, perhaps even useless task, BUT IT’S NEITHER! Your congresspersons are there to REPRESENT YOU, the constituent. They’re representation of our wishes and will is WHY we call this country a democracy. Though they may not always do what you ask them to, they truly DO take into account what they’re constituents feel when they call or write them, and the more pressure they get from constituents and the media, the more likely they are to do what they’re asked to do!
This fact is the whole point of this campaign: Have you signed petitions? Emailed an already-made letter to your congressperson? Attended a protest? These actions are, of course, never in vain: they have helped to create the atmosphere of outrage at the current situation that we see today. Yet the media chooses what to cover, and how to cover it, so protests are often not the best use of our time, though they are certainly needed. Emails and petitions also let the congressperson know that people are marginally disgruntled, but it is fairly easy to get someone to sign their name to something, especially online.
The reason we are calling for you to “make your call” is that phone calls, like
handwritten letters faxed to the office, are much more direct and impassioned, and are therefore taken more seriously by the congressperson and their staff. But your work doesn’t end there: the key is to FOLLOW UP with the congressperson, via phone, letters, and emails to the aides or staff persons who handle the issues you’re contacting the congressperson about. It is important to encourage others to take these actions as well.
This part of MAKEYOURCALL.ORG was made as a guide on how to do all of
these things, some of the best ways to say things, and to provide an already-made sample letters that you can base your handwritten letter off of, including information and requests, that you can fax to your respective congressperson and senators. You can do one of these actions, such as just write a letter or make a phone call, which would be great, but to get the best response from Congress, we suggest you take the steps given. Whatever you do, PLEASE LET US KNOW! That way, we can keep track of the effectiveness of this campaign, which congresspersons have been contacted, and perhaps put you in touch with others in your area if you all would like to get a meeting with the congressperson together.
Please don’t feel obligated to use the materials and samples provided here, but know that they are a good base to start with. Your own words, feelings, findings and passion are what really count when you take these actions to change history. Know that what you do is incredibly important, and that most of America, and Earth, is behind you. To get a feeling of what this call will look and sound like, see the video at http://makeyourcall.org/node/5
Steps to Contacting YOUR representative and senators
1. Know your stuff
This is a lot to talk about! We’re all at different places in our understanding of the war, the Military Commissions Act, and the reasons for impeachment. Especially if your congressperson is opposed to our requests, it is very helpful to know some of the facts that lead to our conclusions and therefore, our requests. For example, if the aide you talk to is skeptical that terrorism has truly increased since the 2003 invasion, it’s helpful to spout off the groups who have made this statement, such as the CIA, National Intelligence Council (NIC), and the recent NIE. To learn more of the details about our conclusions and requests, read through our website (http://makeyourcall.org/node/5) including the sources, as well as the links provided to other organizations and/or websites. You don’t need to know everything, but it’s best to have at least a basic understanding of what you’re talking about with regard to the legal and practical stuff to complement your passions.
2. Know your Congressperson
You’ll want to know how your congressperson feels about the issues before you call and write them so that you can better know what to ask of them specifically. For example, if your congressperson supports the war, it’d probably be best to start out by asking them to bring the troops home and stop funding the war. If they have been voting against funding the war, you can perhaps ask them to take up a leadership role against the war by urging their colleagues to stop voting for more funding for the war. Everyone is in a different place, and either way, you’ll want to ask them for all 3 things: stop the war; restore the bill of rights; and impeach Cheney, then Bush.
To find out more about your congressperson may be a bit more difficult than you’d expect, since it’s most often important to read the legislation that they vote for or against, but a good place to start would be here, where you can type in your congressperson’s last name or your 9-digit zip code on the top left-hand side, and then access their voting records or more information. You can also probably find out where they stand on their own respective website, which you can access via The House Website or The Senate Website. Although research will help you understand better the congressperson you’re dealing with, realize that you don’t need to know everything about them (though some of the specifics help) – just get a feel for where they stand. The most important thing is to ask for the 3 requests (and their specific sub-requests).
3. Find their contact information
Visit www.house.gov and senate.gov to get your specific congresspersons’ contact information. You’ll want their DC office phone and fax numbers, and the local if you’d like. Tuck these away for safe keeping. If you’re really ambitious, get they’re local office’s address and show up (or set up a meeting) to talk to the aide (or congressperson) about these issues and requests. This action may be better saved for after you’ve been following up with them for a while and they’re not responding or won’t do what you’ve asked them to do.
Call your congressperson’s DC office and tell the person that answers that you are a constituent, you have a message for the congressperson and ask them to write it down. See our sample spiel and tell them that you will be faxing a letter and following up later to see if the congressperson has decided what he or she will do.
5. Write and fax your letter
Handwrite a letter to your congressperson, preferably on unlined computer paper, and fax it to their DC office (to avoid the time it would take due to the anthrax scare to send it through the mail). Outline in your letter the requests you have and your reasoning behind the requests. Provide your name and contact information, as well as a place where the congressperson or staffer can verify the factual basis of the reasoning and get more information, preferably www.makeyourcall.org.
You’ll want to keep it reasonably short, polite, and firm, but that’s completely up to you, for it’s YOUR voice we seek to mobilize. See our sample letter (link-erase me when made) for a basis off of which to write. Keep a copy of your letter if the office says they didn’t receive the letter and you have to send it again, to send to us if you’d like, or to show your friends, family, and colleagues to help convince them to do the same!
6. Follow up
Once you’ve made your original call and faxed your letter, it’s time to follow up with your congressperson. Call their DC office again and ask the aide who answers whether they received your letter via fax. If not, send it again; if so, reiterate your requests and ask what the best way to follow up would be (email or phone). Follow up using the recommended follow up you’re given, the next day, a few days later, the next week, or whenever you think is best, but remember NOT TO STOP until you get the answers you want. Even when you get the answers you want, you’re work is not quite over: now you must make sure they do what they’ve said they’ll do.
7. Hold them accountable
Sometimes congresspersons will say something, such as “I’m against the war,” but then vote to fund the war anyway. This sad fact is why it’s also a good idea to research to make sure your congressperson did what they said they’d do. It’s nothing personal: it’s just how politics work (lies) and so it is up to US to hold our leaders accountable (which is the WHOLE POINT of this campaign: people taking control of their government’s policies to ensure that they are truly represented).
The easiest way to find out how your congressperson votes would be to go to www.vote-smart.org, but before you do that, you must know what bills you’re looking for. The ones we know of right now (though they may change) are the Defense Spending Bill (or a similar, perhaps longer name) and the Impeach Cheney resolution (H. Res. 799). The repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 may be in the form of a bill, but it’s not certain. Please visit www.makeyourcall.org again for updates. Also, if you’re a great researcher, or know something that we may not, please, inform us via email!