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Dialing About Dollars, Part 2
Last week I wrote asking you to share your recent experiences of calling your Congressperson's office. Now I will share mine.
At Talking Points Memo, Josh Marshall prodded his readers to call their members of Congress to see how they had voted on the DeLay rule. That sounded like too interesting an opportunity in participatory democracy to pass up, so I called. And called, and called, and called. After being given the run around for five days, I finally got an answer to the "yes or no?" question of how my representative voted. Not surprisingly, he was a DeLay man.
The most interesting part of this was how some members of Congress think that constituents can and should be treated. Here is the entertaining account that Josh printed in TPM of how I and others were responded to by our Congressman, John Sweeney.
After you read it, please come back and tell us what you think. Is this how a Congressperson's staff should respond to its constituents?
Hi Vana,
So what is your opinion about this whole
voting fraud stuff?
OK, here's the list so far:
1) Vana
2) Vana
3) Vana
4) Bob
5) Sherry
/waves to vana
What do members of Congress think they are anyway?
In case they have forgotten, the phone in their hands on which they are lying, the chair on which they are sitting to do the evading, the office that they are using to obfuscate the truth, in the building which was built to house the truth, not house the mighty, is paid for by We the People.
It's high time that We the People hold these folks accountable.
More calling, more calling! Watch them all!
Every year I take a group of students to the Arts Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill.
It is always a transcenidng experience for them. Most have not bothered to vote or to pay attention to politics at all. But it is a heady thing to speak truth to power, so to speak.
They have to prepare their "asks", make their appointments, read up on the records, dress appropriately--and then, we spend an entire day running around on marble floors, up and down stairs, meeting with staffers, and making our case.
What they say every year is how amazed they are they they are heard. Their stories are actually far more powerful and compelling than our tired old rhetoric.
Casey is right--you will never feel more empowered than you do when you make that call and ask those questions.
As a voter, you have power. While in recent times it may seem that your power is being usurped, I assure you that the person who represents you in Congress wants your vote. And as she points out--you paid for the chair he.she is sitting in.
Go get 'em!
reluctant reservists on deborah norville now
on MSNBC
From the Cobb Campaign website:
"Statement From the Green Party Presidential Campaign Concerning John Kerry's Intervention in Ohio Recount Court Case
*****Kerry-Edwards campaign files papers in Ohio to intervene in legal proceedings in defense of Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, Libertarian Michael Badnarik****
Ohio — Today, attorneys representing the Kerry-Edwards campaign filed papers in Delaware County, Ohio to intervene in legal proceedings in defense of Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, Libertarian Michael Badnarik and their legal counsel, the National Voting Rights Institute, who are seeking a recount of all votes cast for president in the Ohio 2004 general election."
http://72.3.133.32/press/2004/nov/pr2004-11-30b.php
Good evening all! So,any bets on our new Director of Homeland Security?
"I love the smell of Cabinet level resignations in the morning - smells like breakfast".
Pennsylvanians should be happy with that news.
Hey Guys!
Wanted to drop in and post on our new blog.
It's so great that we are all able to talk to eachother!
Hope all is well
More Later
Elizabeth
Ooooops. Just realized I should have used the "handle" I always use.. EPV101773.
HOWDY AGAIN!
Good evening all! So,any bets on our new Director of Homeland Security?
Posted by: abq john | November 30, 2004 09:30 PM
Why - funny you should ask. Rudy Guiliani, of course. Why else would he prostrate himself at the alter of Dubya during the election? I hope the position is worth selling his soul to the devil. He used to be loved and admired in NYC. Now he's almost as despised as the Prez, himself.
Oh god no!!!! NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!
NOOOOOOOOOOOO.
NOT GIULIANI!
Resolute,
Glad to hear that. We can always count on New Yorkers to be on the "right" side of the issues. They are great. I love NEW YORK.
I don't think they will put Giuliani in the position because he wants to run in 2008.
So no one's interested in the fact that the lawyers for the Kerry-Edwards campaign filed papers on behalf of the recount in Ohio today - regarding the restraining order keeping the Glibs from recounting one county?
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_15689.shtml
Delphine,
I am definately interested. I just cant see where it could be going.
Man, these guys are dropping like flies aren't they? Wouldn't be surprised to see another one of these head of CIA appointees,
"The safety of the country doesn't matter - do what Bush tells you to do."
I think that's the last thing we need. Shouldn't the CIA focus on "keeping the american people safe", not "keeping Bush's record safe"? Anyhow, expect another blind Bush follower in the position.
-Gabe
So many are talking about moving to Canada. But of course that is defeatist. I say, all you progressives in the true blue states, pick a battleground purple state or two to move to instead. I would like to invite you all to Colorado. Now I ordinarily am selfish and don't encourage growth here. But for progressives its ok, only move to the really red areas like Colorado Springs or Castle Rock, or even Maryln Musgraves district in the North eastern plains. Right now its cold and frozen, a lot like Canada, eh!
Good point, Bob! We need some'ore liberals out here! We're so close! And ugh, Musgrave...what a lunatic. I'm glad that my state congresswoman got through easy - I helped work on here campaign!
-Gabe
EVP:
Agreed. It's just a small thing, but more than we've seen before. Other blogs are lighting up over this, but I noted there that it's not as major as they think.
Still, it's something. People are hungry for anything out there.
BTW, was that "the" Elizabeth? :)
Posted by: Gabe | November 30, 2004 10:38 PM
Coulde be the start of a movement -- the greate American progressives inmigration movement!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/30/185532/75
This was also interesting
Oh yeah, one more thing about the election results - Go to http://civil-values.org and scroll down to the table with a bunch of yellow highlighting. You'll see that there were 90K+ extra votes counted, because in several counties, there were substantially more votes than registered voters! And assuming (as I think we can safely do) that all of those votes went for Bush, as the Franklin County "glitch", which appears to be the same thing did, then we have ourselves a Kerry victory with provisionals. If only someone would challenge these results.
-Gabe
Does anyone know if they guy who wrote this on Kos has his own blog?
Back in 2000, nearly all of America (Republicans as well as Democrats) became uncomfortably aware that that our election system was severely broken in numerous places around the country. Of course, nowhere was that more clear than in Florida with its hanging chads and butterfly ballots. In fact, it was so terribly broken in Florida that the election was actually handed over to the loser, GW Bush. Months following the election, and after an exhaustive review of all the state's voting precincts, a number of reputable news organizations, including the Wall Street Journal (hardly a bastion of liberalism), concluded that Al Gore had in fact won Florida and should have taken all its electoral college votes and been elected President of the United States, if all the votes would have been counted based upon the intent of the electorate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23344-2004Nov30.html
I'm glad to see our guys are supporting this recount!!!!!!!!
EPV - LOL - new source, new excitement?
Anyway, check out that trivia question on the WaPo page you linked to. You have three guesses and two of them don't count.
I thought Rudy was pretty much persona-non-grata around NYC.
Posted by: EPV101773 | November 30, 2004 10:49 PM
Great article EPV, I think this will offer us HOPE--we need to ensure that every vote counts. I am glad the Kerry/Edwards has joined the group looking into this.
Is John Kerry sitting back on the recount issue in order to solidify his paralllel presidency in the senate. And who was the Elizabeth that decided to leave a brief note?
That is the best news that i have heard all day! I am so pleased to se that John Kerry and John Edwards have joined this recount. The people of this country deserve no less than to know that indeed every vote does count and will be counted. No matter what the outcome the right thing is being done and for no reason should be slowed down, full steam ahead on our journey to know only one thing the "Truth"
I highly recomend checking out TPM today.
He has a bit on what an opposition party should do that is very good.
Also if anyone is interested in quantum physics & its take on reality check out the movie~what the bleep do we know....
they have web site.
also very good.
EVP:
Perhaps I should just e-mail the info to you so you can post it . . .
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