That’s an assholish characterization. And when I lived in Walpole, I had Ed Markey, too. I called his office a couple of times, said, “I vote for Ed Markey, and I want <…>” and they took down what I said, and my info, and I’d a letter reply a little while later.
My current rep is Adam Smith. He has actually been less responsive than other reps I’ve called, but I’ve gotten letters from his office after calling with my requests. And in talking to office staff, you can often find out how pressured they are over issues that constituents call about. They definitely care.
Tell them you’re withdrawing your support, and they’ll apologize, but you’re done getting listened to. They know it’s a waste of time.
Uh-huh. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t sound like you have any more influence or sway over your representatives than I do. I also get replies for telling them that they will lose my support over an issue, and Ed Markey’s office was never more responsive than when he was being primaried by Joe Kennedy. So if it’s all the same to you, I’m gonna keep voting third-party and making sure my representatives know they are replaceable, since it seems to be working at least as well as your strategy of unconditional support.
That’s an assholish characterization. And when I lived in Walpole, I had Ed Markey, too. I called his office a couple of times, said, “I vote for Ed Markey, and I want <…>” and they took down what I said, and my info, and I’d a letter reply a little while later.
My current rep is Adam Smith. He has actually been less responsive than other reps I’ve called, but I’ve gotten letters from his office after calling with my requests. And in talking to office staff, you can often find out how pressured they are over issues that constituents call about. They definitely care.
Tell them you’re withdrawing your support, and they’ll apologize, but you’re done getting listened to. They know it’s a waste of time.
Uh-huh. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t sound like you have any more influence or sway over your representatives than I do. I also get replies for telling them that they will lose my support over an issue, and Ed Markey’s office was never more responsive than when he was being primaried by Joe Kennedy. So if it’s all the same to you, I’m gonna keep voting third-party and making sure my representatives know they are replaceable, since it seems to be working at least as well as your strategy of unconditional support.