I called both of my GOP Senators from Texas today and told them that I was diametrically opposed to Arlen Specter being head of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Question: Do those staffers really pass those messages on from the constituents? Can anyone enlighten me?
Yes, they do. It is more of a "Holy cow, 137 people called on such-and-such and issue..." But the message gets through. Big time.
And we have to send the message here. They need to know that we do care about this so that they are willing to break "Senate tradition" -- we are VERY close to winning this one, friends. We just have to keep up the calls.
I used to work for a Congressman. They definitely get passed on and they definitely make a difference. Keep these calls up.
I hope so no dems........Cornyn's office took down my zip code and thanked me for calling. I suppose they have a list.
With phone calls, they first try to distinguish calls from actual constituents vs. those from the general public. If they can, they'll get your address as a way to check which category you fit in. Most offices keep a sort of summary or tally sheet, noting the issue(s) they receive calls about, the number of people calling about it, and the number who are for and against. They may make note of sample opinions on both sides. They put all the data into a daily compendium for their boss.
They do something similar with emails. General emails from constituents will receive some kind of auto response. Those from the general public may or may not receive a response (most likely not, since resources are usually limited and the number of emails on hot issues is usually high).
Next in the peckig order are post cards or letters from the general public. These will be handled similarly to phone calls. Data just goes into a compendium.
Letters from constituents are always answered in some way. How depends on the nature of the letter. If it just offers an opinion on an issue, it will most likely be answered by a staffer with a broadly worded response explaining their boss's position on the matter.
The letters most likely to actually get to the attention of the senator or congress-critter are personal ones from constituents, and which are those: (a) offering some kind of specific support, (b) seeking help with a specific problem or matter, and which a staffer can't address, (c) seeking information about a particular issue of importance to the state or congressional district, and, again, which a staffer can't address, (d) offering a personally, individually, and reasonably well-expressed opinion on an issue. This latter type has the best chance of being placed with the daily compendium of constituent and public communications that are brought to the personal attention of the boss.
Hope this helps.
Question: Do those staffers really pass those messages on from the constituents?