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With all the talk about protests at the end of January/beginning of February, I want to make a suggestion for everyone planning to go to Washington.
While you're there, try to meet with your Senators and/or Representatives.
We know the value of calling, faxing and e-mailing our Congressfolk (CF). Think how much more powerful talking to them in person would be.
Sure, you can't just walk up to the Capital and expect an audience and there are some who avoid talking to constituents like we have cooties. I have some suggestions to overcome some obstacles:
Contact the office(s) of the officials you want to meet with ASAP. As soon as you know your travel plans, start staking out your place in the Congressfolk's (CF) schedule.
Decide what you want to talk with them about. Recognize you may not get more than 5 - 20 minutes actual time with your CF so get your message together and make the most of the opportunity. You may also want to make up a package of info (paper or CD) to leave with them. The office will also probably ask what you want to talk to the CF about. The more organized and reasonable you are, the better your chances of getting a meeting.
If you did any volunteer work for and/or donated money to their campaign, don't be shy. Tell their office that you don't just talk the talk. For that matter, if you volunteer and/or donate to other campaigns but not theirs, tell their office about it and tell them you want to know their guy/gal better before you do the same for them.
You may want to team up with some other people with like messages. 3 - 10 concerned voters (especially registered constituents) are harder to ignore than just one. You can organize people yourself or offer to join with others if the office says they have too many requests to accomodate them all. If you do meet as part of a group its expecially important to be organized to get your particular message accross.
If you absolutely can't set up a meeting with the actual CF, someone from their office should be able to meet. Try for the Chief of Staff or Policy Director, but see how far up the food chain you can get, especially if you have a group with a clear message.
Finally, if you can't fit a meeting in during your trip to DC, or for all those people who won't be able to go to DC for the protests, don't be shy about meeting with your CF at their home offices. Its a good idea to sit down with your CF at least once and get a contact at their office you can follow up with as you have new information and/or opinions you want to share.
I wish people would stop thinking of our elected officials as celebrities we see on tv but never expect to meet or connect with. Their time is not unlimited, but given enough advance notice and flexibility and a reasonable, mature approach, they have a responsibility to listen to what we have to say.
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