It shows she is going out in public and being accessible. It shows how independent she votes without regard to partisan politics. No politician is going to walk out to a hostile crowd who are shouting vile things at her. But she does not run and hide or act scared when they approach her. What you expect from her is absurd. What I see in the articles is an extremely brave lady of integrity and courage.
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IRL Political Activism Thread (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Jackstraw
- Start date
Jackstraw
Footballguy
Bottom line is she was intrumental in putting a Judge on the Supreme Court that is hostile to Roe V Wade after telling her constituents she supports women's reproductive rights.
You can parse that any way you want.
TobiasFunke
Footballguy
OK, but that's not what you said. You said she goes nose to nose with people who threaten her. I see no evidence of that, and lots of evidence that she goes out of here way to avoid having to confront her more critical constituents
You might find my expectations "absurd," but as I pointed our earlier Dems held town halls regularly during and after the ACA fight in the face of far more anger and threats of violence than anything I'm aware of Collins facing. Perhaps you think the Democratic party is full of far braver people of even more integrity and courage than Sen. Collins?
whoknew
Footballguy
"Bravest person in congress" really showed her stuff in this statement:
"I disagree strongly with many of the views and comments of some of the far-left members of the House Democratic Caucus - especially when it comes to their views on socialism, their anti-Semitic rhetoric, and their negative comments about law enforcement - but the President's tweet that some Members of Congress should go back to the 'places from which they came' was way over the line, and he should take that down."
HellToupee
Footballguy
https://twitter.com/jjhunt10/status/1150553745991880711?s=21
I don’t think Mitch has anything to worry about.
sho nuff
Footballguy
He should...he is an awful senator and does little more than run a roadblock to legitimate legislating.
CentralPA
Footballguy
sho nuff
Footballguy
Starting with calls and emails to all of my representatives state and federal. Then...well not much planned as school starting for our kids so its a busy week.
krista4
Footballguy
I'd be interested in any ideas for concrete action.On another note, when I posted previously that I hadn't done much in real, non-monetary support, I guess I should have counted the fact that I am serially representing people seeking status with U-visas. I've taken on one and when that was done, another. I'll keep cycling through as long as I can.
Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
I recommend starting by contacting your Senators' offices. Phone calls carry more weight than emails or social media DMs. If you're not sure what to say, here's a pretty good template to call a Senator's voicemail box after they have left the office for the day. I'll annotate it to explain why each piece matters.
"My name is [name]. I live in [city]."
(Identify yourself as a constituent right away. People with the power to vote for or against the representative carry more weight than out-of-district contact.)
"I do not need a return call."
(This is a huge favor to the staffer who is listening to your message. If they don't need to call you back, they won't have to replay the message several times to get the contact info accurate. They can now concentrate on what issue you're calling about and where you stand.)
"Please tell Senator [Senator's name] that I support gun control, and ask them to demand Senator McConnell to bring HR 8 and HR 1112 to the floor for a vote. And that I want [Senator] to vote for them."
(cut right to the chase about what issue you're calling about, and a specific action you want to rep to take.)
(HR 8 and HR 1112 are bills passed by the house that are first steps on gun control, enhancing background checks for prospective gun owners. These bills wouldn't come anywhere close to solving gun violence, but decent starts and would force our legislators to get on record with votes on gun control. Right now, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is blocking this bills from being voted on in the Senate. It's good for voters if these bills go to the floor and force Senators to take even a slight stand on this issue.)
That's all you really need to include. If you want to pick a reason or two to explain why you have this stance, go for it. But you are under no obligation to explain yourself.
It is unlikely you will get through directly to the Senator when calling during office hours unless you are a big donor. However, if you want to speak to someone during office hours, call up the Senator's office in DC or the field office closest to you in your state, identify yourself, and ask to speak with the staffer in office who handles the issue of gun control. The major issues are delegated to staff, and each Senator should have a point person on gun rights. That's the person who will talk with you about the Senator's stance and basic strategy on the issue.
If you want to branch out beyond your two Senators... I recommend targeting Senators up for re-election in 2020, representing a state you have some sort of connection to, like having family there, doing business there, or potentially having future plans there. You don't have to power to vote, but you do have the right to donate to their re-election campaign if you like their stance on an issue important to you. Or donate to their opponent if you don't.
I don't know anything about your political leanings or convictions. But regardless of them, I encourage you to get involved. Participation and advocacy goes a long way towards taking power away from the donor class and back in the hands of the people. And always keep in mind that people who don't have your best interests in mind hope you think you don't have a voice, want you to think you can't make a difference, and really want you to sit this one out.
One last thing on the issue of gun control... the NRA has a LOT of power within the Republican Party and its representatives. The voters who can make the biggest difference right now are conservatives who are willing to get loud and show the NRA shouldn't have the power to be a litmus test for representatives and candidates. A conservative telling their Republican representative that you will support them if they stand up to the NRA and vote for gun control legislation can have a really loud voice right now if they are willing to speak up. There's a lot of Republican legislators out there who want common sense gun law reform but are scared the NRA will bankroll a primary opponent of any Republican who shows support for gun control.
For a more hands-on involvement... I'd check out the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and Everytown For Gun Safety to see if either of them are your style. I'm a little more familiar with Everytown - I have a high school aged child, and one of Everytown's missions is Students Demand Action, getting student groups organized at the local level and connecting them with others nationally. I like how Everytown advocates at the local and state level, targeting city mayors and state legislatures as well as federal representatives.
Bruce Dickinson
Footballguy
If you want to call your Congressperson to encourage them to support impeachment of Trump but don't know how to go about it, here's a simple template to script the call. Understand it is highly unlikely you will get your Congressperson on the phone calling the office cold.
"My name is [name]. I live in [city] in [ZIP code]."
(Identify yourself as a constituent right away. People with the power to vote for or against the representative carry more weight than out-of-district contact. The office will tally calls like these by city and/or ZIP code, depending on the layout of the district.)
"I do not need a return call."
(If you're calling after office hours or the switchboard is flooded and you get sent to voicemail, this is a huge favor to the staffer who is listening to your message. If they don't need to call you back, they won't have to replay the message several times to get the contact info accurate. They can now concentrate on what issue you're calling about and where you stand.)
"Please tell Representative [Rep's name] that I support impeachment of Trump, and will support them if they support impeachment."
(cut right to the chase about what issue you're calling about, and a specific action you want to rep to take.)
If you're calling live, the staffer taking the call may ask if you want a followup message from the office, usually sent via email or postal mail. If you want to have a longer conversation with the office about impeachment... most Congressional staffs have duties delegated by issue or department, and there might be a staffer available who is the point person on researching/tracking the impeachment inquiry.
If you don't want Trump to be impeached, I encourage you to call your Congressperson's office and tell them that, too. I disagree with you on this issue, but support participatory democracy and taking power away from the donor class, and you calling your Congressperson fights that battle.
"My name is [name]. I live in [city] in [ZIP code]."
(Identify yourself as a constituent right away. People with the power to vote for or against the representative carry more weight than out-of-district contact. The office will tally calls like these by city and/or ZIP code, depending on the layout of the district.)
"I do not need a return call."
(If you're calling after office hours or the switchboard is flooded and you get sent to voicemail, this is a huge favor to the staffer who is listening to your message. If they don't need to call you back, they won't have to replay the message several times to get the contact info accurate. They can now concentrate on what issue you're calling about and where you stand.)
"Please tell Representative [Rep's name] that I support impeachment of Trump, and will support them if they support impeachment."
(cut right to the chase about what issue you're calling about, and a specific action you want to rep to take.)
If you're calling live, the staffer taking the call may ask if you want a followup message from the office, usually sent via email or postal mail. If you want to have a longer conversation with the office about impeachment... most Congressional staffs have duties delegated by issue or department, and there might be a staffer available who is the point person on researching/tracking the impeachment inquiry.
If you don't want Trump to be impeached, I encourage you to call your Congressperson's office and tell them that, too. I disagree with you on this issue, but support participatory democracy and taking power away from the donor class, and you calling your Congressperson fights that battle.
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