National Write Your Congressman

[Wonk]

A sales rep from NWRC walked into my business this morning and cold called me.  From a business perspective, it was a killer presentation.  Started with an opinion survey to be sent to Washington and then into the pitch.  As soon as the laminated book came out I knew I was being closed on something.  If I wasn't a sales guy, I probably would've been closed on the spot.  It was like they took Robert Cialdini's "Psychology of Persuasion" and developed a presentation out of it.  Amazingly slick(but not slimy)--and no annoying hard sale at the end.

That got me thinking though...I would like to get my opinions to Washington, so it might be worthwhile to follow up on.  My questions for you:

1. Does anyone know of this org?  Are they legit?
2. I'm split on whether I should spend time trying to influence politicians.  On one hand, it's my civic duty.  On the other hand, I feel like it's pissing into the wind.  Thoughts?

Thanks.

[Pointedstick]

I use https://www.popvox.com/. It's free, and it converts your digital messages into actual physical letters that your congressmen will read. Sounds better than whatever system they were trying to sell you.

[MediumTex]

You're pissing in the wind.

All of this mail is processed by aides, many of them unpaid interns who simply match up your letter to a form response they keep in their computer system.

If 500 people write in about the same issue, the Representative will normally be notified of the letter count (the threshold is much higher in Senate offices).

A much better bet is to donate $100 to your Representatives re-election campaign, and then when you write your letter expressing your views you should open it with:

"You may recognize my name from your list of financial supporters in your last successful re-election campaign.  Since I know that you are concerned about areas of serious dysfunction in our government today (and there are many), I want to draw your attention to one particular issue that is of great concern to me..."

This opening gets your letter in a different stack that is much shorter and it is given a lot more attention.  No one would ever admit to this, but it's standard practice.

[MachineGhost]

This opening gets your letter in a different stack that is much shorter and it is given a lot more attention.  No one would ever admit to this, but it's standard practice.

Would this work with e-mails or just paper?

What do you think about PopVox's claims?  https://www.popvox.com/about/whyitworks

[MachineGhost]

I use https://www.popvox.com/. It's free, and it converts your digital messages into actual physical letters that your congressmen will read. Sounds better than whatever system they were trying to sell you.

Why is this better than CapWiz?

[MediumTex]

This opening gets your letter in a different stack that is much shorter and it is given a lot more attention.  No one would ever admit to this, but it's standard practice.

Would this work with e-mails or just paper?

What do you think about PopVox's claims?  https://www.popvox.com/about/whyitworks

The only people that members of Congress really care about are campaign contributors (as if that even needs to be said).

If you are a campaign contributor, your voice will be heard much more loudly than if you are just some constituent complaining about how screwed up the government is, no matter what kind of system is being used to express views.

That's JMHO, of course.

[MachineGhost]

Do they actually cross-reference to detect if you are one before deciding which pile the letter or e-mail goes into?

[MediumTex]

Do they actually cross-reference to detect if you are one before deciding which pile the letter or e-mail goes into?

I'm sure every office has its own procedures.

The key is just to make sure you don't piss off the people who are bankrolling you.

People will normally say in the letter that they are a financial supporter.  They know the drill.