Let’s face it – elected officials need to know that they are supported and seen when they do good things, as well as bad. So let’s use both the carrot and the stick.
Carrots:
1. Call Senator Lindsey Graham’s office at (202) 224-5972, push 2 if you get the recording and thank his office for asking for an investigation into Russia’s involvement in the election. (He has supported Sessions for AG, which is something that you can also discuss).
2. Call John McCain’s office at (202) 224-2235 and let his office know that you appreciate his foreign policy expertise and appreciate both his statement about Russian policy (which you can read & “like” here http://www.mccain.senate.gov/publ…/index.cfm/press-releases…) and his strong opposition to torture.
3. If you’re in Missouri, call Lacy Clay’s office at (202) 225-2406 or (314) 367-1341 to say thank you for signing the letter denouncing Bannon’s appointment. While you’re at it, you can thank him for serving on the House Oversight Committee and tell them that you support a thorough investigation into Trump’s conflicts of interest.
4. If you’re in Missouri, call Senator McCaskill’s office at (314) 367-1364 to tell her you’re with her, that you appreciate her denunciation of Bannon, and that you’re looking forward to continuing to show your support through her reelection in 2018. While you’re at it, go to her Facebook page and give her a “like.” https://www.facebook.com/senatormccaskill/…
Bonus points if you have extra time: Wouldn’t a thank you card be lovely? If you have kids or work with children, a drawn picture of the world, a heart, etc could be something to stay with a staffer’s heart. Don’t forget that these staffers are people too.
Senator McCain’s DC Office: 218 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator Graham’s DC Office: 290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Senator McCaskill: 5850 Delmar Blvd., Ste. A
St. Louis, Missouri 63112
or
730 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Rep Clay: 2428 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
or
6830 Gravois
St. Louis, MO 63116
I do like carrots. So let’s be positive where we can be.
Here are the sticks:
1. Call the Department of Justice, Voting/Civil Rights Division: 1-800-253-3931. Tell them you want to make sure the DOJ is investigating any possibility of voter fraud or tampering.
2. Call the House Oversight Committee tell them you support the call for a bipartisan review of Trump’s financials and conflicts of interest. (202) 225-5074.
Can’t get through? Call some individual offices. You can find all members at https://oversight.house.gov/subcommittee/full-committee/ :
- a. Jason Chaffetz (Chairman, R, Utah): 202-225-7751 according to his own US Rep biography, “[h]e ran for office on the promise of returning to the core conservative principles of accountability, strong national defense, limited government and fiscal discipline.” Conflicts of interest of this nature touch on all of those principles. Let him know that you agree with his principles and believe the President-elect is violating them.
- b. (A carrot!) Elijah Cummings (Ranking Member, D, Md) 202-225-4741. You can also thank Rep. Cummings for his leadership in demanding that the FBI quickly review HRC’s emails and his denouncement of Bannon.
- c. (Another carrot!) Lacy Clay (D-Missouri) 202-225-2406; 314-367-1970
- d. (Another carrot!) Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) 202-225-0773; 773-321-2001 (As an aside, Robin is a wonderful, wonderful person – I cannot say enough good things about her. If you aren’t familiar with her check her out here: https://robinkelly.house.gov and https://www.facebook.com/RobinKellyforCongress/?fref=ts).
3. Paul Ryan is conducting a phone survey on the popularity of ObamaCare.
- a. Call (202) 225-0600. There may be 1 or 2 minutes of silence before you hear the menu. It took 1:41 before it started for me this morning. So pour yourself a cup of coffee during the silence; don’t give up before it starts.
- b. Press option 2 for the ACA (Obamacare) poll.
- c. When the blurb attacking Obamacare starts, you can PRESS 1 to support it without having to hear the whole script. Because you’ll be calling an automated system, you can do this whenever you have a moment. (While you’re cleaning the toilet seems to be a perfect time, actually.)
4. Senator Blunt: (314) 725-4484. He just came out in support of Sessions’ appointment for AG. We can let him know that we don’t have his back on this one. As a former history teacher he should know this is the wrong path to take. Expect them to be testy. They aren’t in a good mood this morning, which I see as a sign we are doing good things already. Go high!
Lastly, thank yourself for being part of a wonderful community of people who care so deeply about our democracy.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
Small Deeds Done 