I just called 14 senators about tomorrows ACA vote

[BigmanPigman]

and was able to get through to only 3 of them. Two staffers lied and said they don't know how their senator is going to vote (Capito and Cassidy) and one (Alexander) is voting Repeal and Replace. I left mess. with the rest on voice mail.

tRump is speaking now...like anything out of the W House has a shelf life beyond 4 hours.

Keep calling and thank you very much if you did.

[phone]

[frazzled]

1. The only senators worth calling are your own

Senatorial offices do not give a whit about calls from non-constituents. It is always advised to call only the government officials that represent you. You're pretty much wasting your time, otherwise, and clogging the lines for actual constituents to get through.

And even if you are a constituent, it's worth reading this recent article for tips on the most effective ways to do so. (It's long, but interesting):

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/03/06/what-calling-congress-achieves

[BigmanPigman]

3. I have been calling since Dec and have figured out a few tips of my own too.

Indivisible and MoveOn both use similar approaches. They say to have a personal story and I do. In fact mine is so serious and sad that I end up crying on most calls and the staffers do realize I'm not full of shit. Also I get valid address for each city and state (through Zillow) in case they ask and sometimes they do. Area codes don't matter with cell phones. I've called all 100 senators almost 4 times each by now (three regarding the ACA and one regarding releasing his tax returns). I've called over 100 GOP congressmen but due to their numbers and the gerrymandering in their districts it takes longer to get valid fake addresses.

I also call their local offices. E-mailing is hard since with computers they can tell if you are a real constituent or not. I had to get unlimited long distance from Verizon in Feb so I could call more of them.

The Resistance groups encourage everyone to resist any way you can and continue to do so since it IS working (marches, rallies, protests at lawmakers offices, town halls, letters, etc) and do have an impact and that is why it hasn't been repealed so far.

I am limited due to my health, money, location, driving, don't have twitter or facebook, and live in a blue city and state. But I am not slowing down and as long as I am able I will continue to resist. My goal is to have these monsters out of office before I die (so I can die in peace).

[barbtries]

2. thank you

i am working but i sent a letter. i try to call a few times a week and today really is the day for it