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Demystifying Congress

A collection of 45 issues

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

What Congress is Doing Right Now

Ask many a kiddo what their favorite part of school is and money’s good they’ll say, “RECESS!” Interestingly, Members of Congress also have recess. In fact, at the time of this writing, the U.S. House of Representatives is on recess, and the Senate is on track to

A Common Policy Deceit - and What We Can Do About It

“I’ve got a bill to do just that!” the politician says from behind the podium. The crowd goes wild! Signs wave, fists pump, the politician basks in the adoration like a cat in the sun. There is a problem and our hero has penned a bill to solve it!

What Can Change a Politician's Mind

“I had a constituent tell me this incredible story,” a fellow Congressional staffer told me over coffee. “She had been stuck in...” The actual story is less important. What’s important is that this story stuck with the staffer, to the point where they shared it with another staffer. That’

The First Question to Ask When Making Good Change

You can learn a lot about humanity when you answer the phones in Congress. You learn how frustrated people are. How angry and lonely they are. How powerless they feel. But there’s one particular thing that’s stayed with me from being a junior staffer in Congress taking hours

Clues to Understanding Politicians

I’ve been doing a bit of dog training. And what I’ve come to realize is it’s really human training. After my shaggy mutt and I do a session together, we both need a snack and a nap. If I had to boil dog training down to three

A Secret Strategy for Making Good Change

When I worked in Congress, the meeting requests that came into our office were nearly always for time with the Congressman. The buck stops with the politician, so of course that’s who you should meet with, right? But here’s a fun little secret nobody tells you: meeting with

One Way to Get a Politician to Yes

Let’s kick today off with a (not trick) question: What gets politicians elected? Perhaps you’re thinking lots of moolah, special interests, really good hair, social media smarts, doing many, many very, very long podcasts. And sure, those can all have impact. But they are strategies; they are how

An Unsung Factor that Gets Politicians Re-Elected

It was personal to me, my friend said over lunch one day. When I called the Senator’s office for help, they didn’t ask my party or who I voted for. They just asked the need-to-know questions and then got to work trying to get my family

Are Your Politicians Show Ponies or Work Horses?

There is an old Sufi teaching story that goes like this: "You think that because you understand ‘one' that you must therefore understand ‘two' because one and one make two. But you forget that you must also understand ‘and.'" The ancient Sufis really presaged how