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I sent emails to President Obama, my two Senators, and my Congressional Representative stating my opposition to keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan after the end of this year. I sent the emails two weeks ago. No response from anyone except Senator John Cornyn who sent me a form email that had absolutely nothing to do with my original email. (He thanked me for supporting his opposition to the Bergdahl/Taliban swap.....which I don't oppose...) It is hopeless.
I feel your pain Florence..........
Thank you for fighting the good fight to end these wars. Calling might be more effective. I know what you mean by the responses. I've gotten off topic responses to emails of mine from my Senators, I've written to express an opinion and got instead a bunch of justifications for voting the other way (ugh what moron heads, like they are going to convert me on things I've given lots of thought to and feel very strongly about. It's one thing not to vote as I'd like (sometimes as almost noone in the country likes, they vote for some pretty unpopular stuff) but that's just adding insult to injury!). And a few times I've NOT gotten responses at all from Senators (mostly Boxer that Senator is completely and utterly out to lunch I tell you - "this is your brain on drugs" out to lunch, that's how bad it is :) Feinstein may be wrong on many many things but ... she's present). I think this state has some of the worse Senate representation imaginable frankly. My house rep responds to emails, is on topic and usually responds to express agreement and make a case that they are fighting for me. House Reps have always responded.
I increasingly feel just like a subject and slave (to the economic system? yea but that's another matter), I mean a slave that is milked to pay for ENDLESS WAR. I think our purpose as citizens is just to be milked to pay for wars, that's the only use we serve. They could care less how they treat their livestock (not going for any humane certs for sure :)), but just line them up for milking for wars which is something they do seem to really care about.
Just want to chime in that when we lived in SC, Lindsey Graham and Joe Wilson responded fairly immediately to emails and letters, and always polite and on task. Never had a reply that was off base, the way you describe here. I also went into Joe Wilson's office to ask for help on something and he was extremely nice.
Move to SC if you want responsive reps--you may not like their politics, but they are extremely responsive.
Interesting.....I have a friend who lives in Charleston who has really good things to say about the place. I know the politics there are a bit conservative for me but I do respect them getting back to you and responding in a way that shows someone actually read what you sent to them. RobQuote:
Originally Posted by rodeosweetheart
I have always suspected that these guys get so many letters and emails that they rarely see any content. I picture a lower level clerk of some sort tracking yeas and nays on particular issues with tally marks and then selecting the appropriate form letter to respond. Maybe a few exceptional messages get forwarded past the first line of defense filters. I would write more often if I thought it was otherwise.
I have had a decent response from local representatives on more local issues.
If you really knew what went on in Congressional offices you would probably be amazed. The younger staffers and lobbyists do all the work. Each staffer is assigned a task or agency to liasion with. I dealth with those staffers who worked IRS issues. We were on a first name basis. We knew which elected official cared about the constituent issues and followed up to ensure a response or demanded specific performance. No one wanted to make them irritated.
I have suggested in several cases that people get in touch with their congressional offices to help with some bottleneck issues. Sometimes it will break them free.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Florence
Maybe they lost them. I hear parts of this administration doesn't know how to back them up or retrieve them.
awww dmc, thanks for the laugh this morning!Quote:
Originally Posted by dmc
LOL good one! What's up with the government losing such things? I can remember all the way back to the Nixon years when technology wasn't what it is today - remember the Watergate tapes and how they just mysteriously went missing? It would seem as if both sides of the aisle have problems with losing evidence......RobQuote:
Originally Posted by dmc
I guess the major difference is that when 18.5 minutes of an audio tape disappeared, a President resigned in disgrace after articles of impeachment were drawn up including the charge of possibly using the IRS to target the administrations political enemies. When 2.5 years of emails possibly showing another administrations use of the IRS to target its political enemies disappear, nothing happens. Other than that, they're just alike.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife
If President Nixon had simply told us "There's not a smidgen of corruption", I'm sure that whole episode would have turned out differently.
I just wanted them to know how I felt on one issue. Maybe someone put a tally mark in the opposition to remaining in Afghanistan column...but probably not.,,
I don't disagree with you, Alan. My point here was that both sides of the aisle have issues holding on to damning evidence.....I'm not taking my usual pro-Democrat stance on this one. I'm less than pleased with both sides on this one. RobQuote:
Originally Posted by Alan
I understand Rob. Just pointing out the most glaring difference between the two incidents you referenced. One President went down in flames, another one (according to many) is being unfairly targeted by the opposition party. Politics is so confusing.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife
It's actually a little disconcerting since you are always hearing about how you should let your congressman know if you have a strong opinion on something. Here is what a little Google searching said. Although I'm not sure how credible it is, it does make sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by Florence
"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."
Maybe it would be interesting to write your congressman and ask if writing you congressman ever has any effect on things? I suppose if they get a deluge of personal letters or calls on something it might carry some weight. Or say you are an eight year old and write in crayon on a Big Chief tablet. They always seem to be reading those letters on the news. Sending money to a special interest group aligned to your way of thinking might go farther, but it just doesn't seem like the way things should work.
But why is that a reason not to call (or email or write) your representative? That's not a good reason at all. So you call and they produce a tally on something but if your opinion is clearly expressed so they could get a clear "yea" or "nay" or an issue, then at least it registered (whether or not they then disregard popular opinion is another matter).Quote:
"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."
I'm sure they tally correspondence in some fashion. And with Eric Cantor's surprising defeat, I think the pols may be watching tallies and reading letters from their constituents more carefully.Quote:
Originally Posted by Florence
I really can't read about the "lost" IRS emails, it makes me too crazy. I have always assumed that because my emails are work are kept forever that's true everywhere. I guess not, but then, maybe the lying and deception is a bigger factor in their loss than actual techno fail.
So they lose the emails, but that's why you build redundancy into a system ... as in surely the NSA has those emails somewhere ...
Probably not a decent reason not to write at all, but it also seems to make a letter of any time consuming length, waxing and waning about the whys, ifs and and why nots, an impractical use of time. It seems to fall more into the realm of voting, where you are one of the masses and all that matters is a simple selection or a yes or no. At least that is my take until I hear otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by ApatheticNoMore
The old adage, think global act local, fits my use of efforts a little better.
Millions of Bush era emails missing, including Scooter Libby's crucial emails:
http://truth-out.org/archive/compone...cia-leak-probe
Your defense is: Bush did it, too?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lainey
Really? So much for Hope and Change.
Interesting how it only becomes a "scandal" when the other side does it ..
Well there ya go, case closed. It's interesting that this case came up in the discussion as it highlights another point. Scooter Libby was tried and convicted for his role in outing Valerie Plame as a CIA agent, operating within the United States. The Obama administration recently outed the chief CIA operative in Afghanistan, without so much as a peep from anyone. Weird huh?Quote:
Originally Posted by Lainey
As I noted earlier, politics is a confusing game. It would be so much less so if there was one set of rules that applied to everyone.
Agreed, there was very little noise from mainstream Obama-friendly media by the outing of the CIA guy in Afghanistan. Probably it was a 24 hour story, then they moved on. His life was actually endangered by this act, but we wouldn't know that. This Prez gets so many passes it's impossible to count them all. Perhaps the pass is due to it just being an error. Blatent incompentence is ok from this Prez because he is not That Idiot Bush after all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
LOL, who would have thought that Bush Derangement Syndrome would last so long and excuse so much.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Yes, I wish that we could all forget what happened to our country under Bush, but as we're all still paying the price, amnesia is only a dream.
But at least he went away, unlike the undead Dick Cheney.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lainey