Postcards
by
So, the approaching inauguration of the President Elect–who even before taking office has distinguished himself as the absolute worst president this country has ever had, and who will, the moment he takes office, be in violation of the Constitution–is one of those “you have to laugh because he’s so ridiculous and also otherwise you’d despair for the future of the nation” things.
I’m not sure there’s anything any of us can do. But then again, the couple times so far that the Republicans have backed off something it’s been largely because of public outcry–they pulled back on their attempt to hamstring the Office of Congressional Ethics, and very recently have delayed hearings on appointees that were set to go before any ethics reviews could be completed (noticing a theme here? Cause I am).
So, will pitching a fit to our representatives do anything? Who knows? But why not do it?
So here’s what I’m thinking. What if every Monday each of us addresses a post card to our Representative (you can find their name & address here, I’m planning to use the DC office), with our own return address (because representatives only listen to their constituents, so we need to let them know we’re in their district) and hand written the word IMPEACH. Maybe a note with a reason or two why if you feel like it, but honestly I think that one word says it all. Put a stamp on it (34c to mail a postcard in the US) and drop it in the mail. Every Monday. Until further notice.
You can get sheets of postcards and run them through your printer if you have one, with the addresses, but I think the hand-written IMPEACH is the best way to do that bit of it.
Every Monday. Like clockwork.
Now, some folks will argue that if Trump ever got the boot, Pence would be worse because he would seem reasonable by comparison and then folks would support him, where Trump will have alienated everyone except the outright deplorable nazi sympathizers & do more damage to the Republican party that way. Thing is, Trump is set to do quite a lot of damage to the entire freaking country as it is, and Pence is still there, able to be his nasty, toxically bigoted self. There is no actual good outcome here, but it seems to me that losing the guy who’ll happily dismantle the country to stuff his own pockets, who’s already threatening reprisals against journalists who report things that he doesn’t like, or who ask him actual questions, and who’s bidding fair to start wars, drop nukes, and turn the country over to whoever he owes money to is maybe a step in the right direction.
At any rate, I invite you to join me in the Monday Post Card Club. Boxes of sheets of 200 post cards are available at most office supply stores for $25-30, a post card stamp is 34c, times 52 that’s about $18 a year. You probably already have a sharpie. It might not do any good, but then, you never know. At the very least we’ve let our elected officials hear from us. What do you think?
OK. I’m in. Mr McCarthy will be sick of me. I ordered a package of 250 postcards from USPS.com, pre-stamped with forever postage and pre-return-addressed. Will also work for senators and state reps.
Ann, you are my hero.
This election activated my wife. I was always the one talking about politics and she just tuned me out. This election and the subsequent victory of Donald Trump has transformed my lovely wife into nothing less than a political activist.
She regularly calls our representatives and has gathered groups to visit Pat Toomy’s office here in Pittsburgh. We are going to the march in DC and I expect that my wife will continue to ask questions, call representatives and remain engaged in political activism for the foreseeable future. I couldn’t be happier.
I am glad I like the post office, because they will be getting a LOT of money from me.
This is a great idea. Sending postcards is something that a individual who has a disability can get involved with especially if getting around is difficult for them. Making phone calls too! We are a voice that needs to be heard during these very trying and hopefully not scary times ahead. The best advice I can give on any postcard mailing is for information to be available about the who, what, when and where in one spot for easy access for all.
Thank you!
Barbara
I think this is a good idea — it never hurts to let your representatives know how you feel, and it is especially important to KEEP letting them know how you feel.
Just an an aside — as someone who has worked in a congressional office (for the U.S. Senate, actually, but both Congress and the Senate use the same procedures), please be sure to mention in your note that you’d like a written response to whatever letter you are sending — this guarantees that a staff member (a legislative correspondent, most likely) will have to draft and send you a response from the elected official (it will likely be what we call a ‘form letter,’ which is a pre-drafted response to a particular issue).
Your opinion will also be logged into their system and tallied in weekly/monthly reports that are given to that official for review (this is done so they can gauge public opinion on various topics, usually by geographic area — this is why a staff person, should you call the office to voice your opinion, will typically ask for your zip code at the conclusion of the call. Zip codes also help verify that you are their constituent, either on the district or state level).
Please be certain to send a letter to both your Congressional representative AND your U.S. Senators — each state has two of the latter!
May I suggest using a red or dark pink sharpie. Go BOLD!
Great idea but phone calls might have more impact -https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/us/politics/heres-why-you-should-call-not-email-your-legislators.html?_r=0
You’ll notice I don’t discourage making phonecalls as well. It’s not as though once someone has sent a postcard they’ve exhausted their activism.
Also, quite a lot of folks have trouble with phonecalls. This is something those folks can do.
I’ve been told most mail goes in the trash and what counts are actual phone calls.
Yeah, no, that’s not true. From someone who’s worked in a congressional office:
Letters count. It would be a wonder if they didn’t, and a scandal if our representatives ignored them, honestly.