A Tuesday Treat: Two Simple Ways to Get Politicians to Listen to You
Hello Wonderful Policy Lover!
Our country is in a tough spot, so what better time to double the democracy tools you get each week: Policy is for Lovers now arrives Tuesdays and Fridays!
One of the most overlooked numbers in our country is 364. Democracy doesn’t just happen on Election Day; there are 364 days between elections when the bills that become the laws we live under are written. If we don’t have a say in shaping them, the powerful sure do.
I write this newsletter to level the playing field: the more of us who vote and take simple, smart action between elections, the more policy we get that benefits we, the people, not the powerful.
So here is my ask: If there’s someone in your life who might benefit from a democracy pick-me-up, please do forward this along to them.
Our democracy is understaffed, but with enough good folks pitching in, we can get this American project moving in a kinder, more humane direction.
Ever called your Senator and felt like you’re yelling into the void?
Or clicked a link to email your Congresswoman and felt like your heartfelt note tumbled into a bottomless hole, never to be opened, let alone read?
Does it all make you want to throw in the towel and not bother because what’s the stinking point anyway?
That stops now, my friend.
Not only does your voice deserve to be heard, it needs to be heard. That’s the core promise of this democracy: we get to have a say in how we’re governed.
If the only folks Members of Congress hear from are those with monogrammed cufflinks and a second home where you can hear the ocean gently lap from the guesthouse balcony, that does not a healthy democracy make.
Here are two tools and one philosphy to help make your voice heard. But a note of caution: The tools without the philosophy are like PB without J, Statler without Waldorf, sunrise without sunset. They are mightier together.
Make Your Voice Heard on a Phone Call
No need to bother with calling the D.C. office, call one of the district offices, you’re more likely to get a human.
Kick off with a thank you to the staffer who answered the phone. They likely have no sway over your issue, but have total sway over whether your message is passed along.
You can thank them for their public service, for answering the phones when there are likely a lot of nasty calls, or just for being there.
You might be boiling hot at the politician, but a thank you to the staffer shows you see their humanity, which sets the table for them hearing you. It also shows that we who care for the issue we’re about to discuss are decent, kind, worth listening to.
The philosophy can be summed up in one word: respect. Which is become a rare and radical quality in our politics. Lead with respect and you’ll stand out beautifully, like a lupine growing in a parking lot.
Have one ask. More than one ask and the staffer will have a hard time categorizing it for a response and will just choose one issue you raised rather than all of them. Don’t cede the choice to them.
Say you’d like to hear back from the politician and give your email address.
End with a warm thank you for the staffer’s time.
Now, here’s the long-game play: the staffers answering the phones will often be promoted to staffers making policy recommendations and decisions.
If these staffers believe people are angry and selfish (a conclusion you could easily come to answering phones in a Congressional office), they will legislate accordingly. If they believe people are goodhearted and doing the best they can, they will legislate accordingly.
Our respect and decency can play a small part in shaping their belief set. Which can play a small part in shaping the bills that become the laws we live under.
How to Make Your Voice Heard with an Email
Emails, ironically, start with a phone call. Give the district office a jingle and ask for the name and email of the D.C. staffer who handles your issue.
If they just give you the name, here are the email address formats:
U.S. House: staffer’s firstname.lastname@mail.house.gov.
U.S. Senate: staffer’s firstname_lastname@senatorslastname.senate.gov
Choose a short, clear subject line: "HR 2187,” for example, would have gotten me to open the email when I was a staffer.
Now our email follows a similar format as a phone call with a few modifications. Start with a thank you for the staffer’s time and identify yourself as a constituent. Make one clear ask. End with a thank you and you look forward to hearing back. Add your town to drive home you live in the district.
Brevity is everything. We’re aiming for something that can be read on a smartphone screen without having to scroll. It increases the likelihood it will be read.
Now! This right here can wildly increase the likelihood of being read: Send the email during recess (What’s recess, you ask? Read more about it right here!). Staffers are more likely to be responsive when the boss is back home in the district.
Here are the House and Senate calendars. Congress being Congress, the two chambers couldn’t possibly keep the same calendar.
My mum used to tell me we’re building the world we want to live in in the building of it. The means don’t justify the ends, the means shape the ends.
We are unlikely to get a kinder world by being unkind. So as we push for more just public policy in spite of all that is unjust around us, let us work justly, from the greatness of our hearts. This moment is hungry for it.