So, clearly I have a lot of things to say to my congresscritters

[conuly]

if it'll do any good.

But! The problem here isn't the crushing despondency of the current timeline, the problem is figuring out what to say in a letter. I have trouble writing my various thoughts down. (And yes, I'm currently writing even now, at a merry 85wpm, but somehow that's different.)

I don't want to dig up a new sample letter for every fucking issue, I mean, who even has the time? Is there anywhere that just runs up templates for me, which I can tailor or not as I see fit?

Anyway, I'll close with two Quotes of the Day:

1. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. -Franklin D. Roosevelt

2. I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change. -Dan Quayle

That about sums it up, I guess?

Comments

[elainegrey]

I know. I wonder if sharing sample letters helps? I used this call script in the middle for an don't-approve-RFK,Jr fax to the senator i have a prayer of swaying https://bullcityindivisible.substack.com/p/126-meeting-notes . Only sent it because i had the script to crib from.

I was talking about something similar with Christine and she was proposing that i do advocacy blogging and it was hard to explain the difference between this sort of private writing (even though it is public! on the internet!) and some sort of communication where one is TRYING to get people to read what you are writing. *looks for rock to hide under*

[ioplokon]

I would recommend not using a template without editing it, as they use that as an excuse to say it's an organized campaign vs Real Constituents (even tho they will send you a form letter back if they send anything at all). They'll still tally it, so sending an exact-copy letter is better than not sending one, but in terms of the subjective impression that gets communicated, it will be less urgent than if people send distinct letters.

[profiterole_reads]

I've seen a call template on Bluesky, but that was for one specific issue. Still, you might find letter templates there as well.

And if you want, you can post your drafts here and we'll help you edit them.

[spiralsheep]

Good quotes.

(You nearly got me with that Dan Quayle one. I must be more tired than I realised, lol.)

[rebeccmeister]

I don't think messages need to be elaborate, unless the stance is complicated. Short and sweet, one postcard per topic, e.g.

Dear Congresscritter, I am strongly opposed to the nomination of RFK because he will be disastrous for vaccination rates. Sincerely, Conuly.

The barrier to getting messages sent needs to stay reasonable. They don't need to read a lot of eloquent phrases, but they will tally up the number of constituents who write in with a specific opinion.

[redbird]

My basic message is some variant on "I'm a constituent from $location, please work to stop/pass X." I often add something like "because it's good for schoolchildren" or a usually-brief personal note. But I can copy "hi, this is redbird, a constituent from Boston. I'm calling to ask the senator to" from one call/topic to the next.

I only add that personalization if it's something I think of quickly. For example, some immigration issues get "because my mother was a refugee," but for some other issue it may be that one-sentence "please support funding X. Thank you."

[frandroid]

I think here they mean to write their own template to send to many people? But even if they use their own template multiple times with the same official, I doubt it'll get flagged too much by their staffers, considering the volume they get. It's templates from the same outside campaign sent hundreds of times that get merged into a number...

[frandroid]

I think you should insist that the time for bipartisanship was over in 2000, it's time they start growing a backbone and resist every attack on the democratic norms and not yield an inch.

[gingicat]

The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network has scripts that I've used.

[profiterole_reads]

There you go:
https://5calls.org/getting-started/

I clicked the first issue and there is a short call script at the bottom, but before that there's a longer explanation that would work well for a letter.

[silveradept]

I don't know of anywhere that does a general set of sample letters on issues, but I would expect local politically active entities to be more likely to have them to hand than anywhere else. Much as it would be useful to say "this should be opposed because [Mike Johnson/Donald Trump/Clarence Thomas/Samuel Alito] is a stinky doo-doo head" for all of those things.

[conuly]

You know what? Screw it, that's the script I'm using forevermore. Thanks!

[silveradept]

Y'welcome. Hope the message gets through to those that need it.

[ckd]

Yup. I called my Rep and both Senators and asked them to keep fighting. (I left voicemail for the senators. Jayapal's office had a human pick up, so I thanked them too and asked them to pass my thanks along to the rest of her staff; Jayapal has been a fighter since being elected in the 2016 election and I'm very appreciative of that.)

[lightbird]

Former dem staffer Celeste Pewter is a good resource for scripts, etc. She's on several social media platforms, including bluesky (which is not great but more like what twitter used to be before it became a cesspool).

[gwydion]

I was going to suggest that one.

Also, the ACLU has advise for writing you can use to help edit and personalize: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

[med_cat]

Indeed, an apt summary