Decisions Are Made By Those Who Show Up: 9 Reasons Why Calling Congress Isn't A Waste Of Time

By Greta Christina, Greta Christina's Blog. Posted September 8, 2009.

So why -- specifically -- is calling Congress not a waste of time?

Recently, I wrote about why calling and e-mailing our elected officials is not a waste of time: Why it's actually one of the most powerful actions we can take to change how our government works.

Now, I want to get into specifics. I'm looking at the specific reasons people give for not calling or e-mailing their representatives ... and I'm talking about why, as understandable as those reasons might be, they aren't anywhere near as compelling as the reasons for calling and e-mailing.

The other day on Facebook, I posed the question, "If someone asks you to e-mail your representative, and you don't, even if you care about the issue -- what stops you?" Here's my response to the answers I got:

1. "I don't think they listen."

I said it yesterday, and I say yet again: Squeaky wheels. Grease. Especially if the squeaky wheels number in the thousands. Elected officials absolutely keep tabs of which issues people are calling or e-mailing about ... and you better believe they keep tabs on which direction those calls and e-mails are going. If your elected official cares and wants to make a difference, she'll want to know what her voters want her to do. And if she just wants to hold onto her position of power, she'll bloody well pay attention to thousands of voters screaming for her head if she doesn't vote the way they want her to.

Your one little voice may not matter so much. Your one little voice combined with hundreds or thousands of other little voices matters a whole hell of a lot. (Which is why it's such a good idea, not just to call or e-mail your representatives, but to Facebook and Twitter and such to get other people to do it, too.) Hundreds or thousands of constituents kicking up a stink is a hard thing for a politician to ignore. Again, how do you think the religious right has been so successful for so long?

2. "My representative already agrees with me about this issue, and already knows how the people in my district/ state feel. I don't need to let her know."

I can see how you'd think that. Especially if you live in a politically monolithic district.

But here's the thing. Your representative may know your opinion on the issue. But she doesn't necessarily know how strongly you feel about it. If 60 percent of the people in her district want health care reform, but they don't care enough about it to bother calling or e-mailing -- and 10 percent of the people in her district think health care reform is socialized death-panel Hitler medicine, and they take the time to show up at town hall meetings and scream about it? Who do you think she's going to listen to? How hard do you think she's going to fight for what she believes in ... and for how long?

Squeaky wheels. Grease. Politicians assume that the people who don't care enough to call or e-mail about an issue probably won't remember the issue when they vote. If they even vote at all.

So even if she already agrees with you and is planning to vote the way you want her to, it's useful to let her know, not just how you feel, but how strongly you feel about it. Let her know this issue isn't one for horse trading. Let her know that this is an issue you want her to stand firm on; that this is an issue that mattered to you when you voted, and is one you'll be remembering when you vote again. It'll make her more likely to stand firm when the fight comes.

3. "My representative already disagrees with me about this issue, and nothing I do will make him change his mind."

Again, an understandable point. (Although I am entertained to see people arguing that it's useless to call your representative if they already agree with you … and other people arguing that it's just as useless to call them if they don't.)

But I have two responses to this.

First: Part of the reason they're voting the way they do is that they think that's what their voters want. It's your job to disabuse them of that notion. Let them know that their district isn't as uniformly right wing (or left wing) as they think it is. If you can get a groundswell of people in your district/state/country who agree with you to all make calls/send e-mails, you might be able to shift your representative's thinking. If not this time, then next time. And if not, you can help make them uneasy ... and that's always fun.

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Read more by Greta Christina at her blog.

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