Quote:
Originally Posted by Willravel
Writing to a Senator may give one the impression of having done something, but I'm not convinced it does anything other than fill up an email account somewhere or waste about 7 seconds of some junior aid's time. I've been writing senators, governors, and congresspeople for years, and I'm pretty sure it was wasted effort on my part. Perhaps I was just a bit naive.
Just today I read that my very own Senator Feinstein claimed of the Patriot Act extensions, "They expire in three weeks and I think there’s no time really to go into the changes." Needless to say, this is the kind of thing that makes my liberal blood boil. Sending an email won't convince Senator Feinstein to read the act before voting, though, so I thought of another way to get the attention of politicians: endangering campaign contributions. For Feinstein, the five major corporate donors are PG&E, DeBartolo Dev., Vivendi, Disney, and Time Warner. That's an energy corporation, three media corporations, and a real estate corporation, who's donations total about $236,000 from 2005-2010.
Could something be done to affect these sources of money, which could put pressure on Feinstein? Do you think this is a reasonable measure to ensure that you are being represented? Or do you think this is underhanded and undemocratic?
I'd honestly like to know your opinions. |
You're probably right about being naive that letters and e-mails make a difference.
I worked as a junior staffer for a Senator and letters from individuals about policy issues had little impact.
To impact policy, you, as an individual, need to be part of a larger coalition in the community/district/state that your elected representative cant ignore...i.e. a meaningful voting block.
When I was a lobbyist for a public interest group (after the Senate stint), we were able to compete with the big donors by organizing local coalitions. In our particularly case, the base of the coalition were mayors and county executive in the district...we also reached out to other community leaders (working with other groups), depending on the issue. We organized them, gave them talking points and they made phone calls or visits to the Senator (or at least a top staff person).
We didnt win as much as we would have liked, but we were heard.
As an individual, what you should expect and demand from your elected representatives are responsive constituent services...when you have problems with the federal government or federal programs, they should absolutely be there to help.