Legislative Training
Groups have recently been providing their members "legislative training" for the upcoming session. Stuff like, "If a Senator nods off mid-sentence, just wait, and act like nothing happened when he wakes."
I still think one of the best visual illustrations of legislative process can be found here. Get training; we start Monday.
My suggestion for dealing with legislators is -- remember that we work for you, but, also, remember that you've given us a lot to juggle. If you want something, send your Representative or Senator an e-mail (small words and short sentences for the Senators), place a phone call, or pay him/her a visit. The deeper into a session we get, the more demands there are on our time. So, jump in as early as you can. And try not to be self-conscious. Even if you're new at it, you're still the boss.
I still think one of the best visual illustrations of legislative process can be found here. Get training; we start Monday.
My suggestion for dealing with legislators is -- remember that we work for you, but, also, remember that you've given us a lot to juggle. If you want something, send your Representative or Senator an e-mail (small words and short sentences for the Senators), place a phone call, or pay him/her a visit. The deeper into a session we get, the more demands there are on our time. So, jump in as early as you can. And try not to be self-conscious. Even if you're new at it, you're still the boss.
posted by steve u. at 1/14/2006
Subscribe
3 Comments:
Great visual. It reminds me that the legislative process in our democratic republic is supposed to be laborious and ponderous. It is intended to result in good government.
I appreciate those that engage the process on the front lines. It is surely frustrating, but hopefully it produces a better result than other forms of government where things can be done quickly. My dad grew up in Nazi Germany where he saw that kind of thing first hand.
But do those emails get answered? I realize that a lot of emails get emailed to the reps. Maybe we could pay a few bucks and schedule an 8 minute appointment instead.
Part of the job I really enjoy is interacting with constituents. Because we don't have individual staff, I'm sure some e-mails from my constituents get overlooked in the rush of business, but I think I do a pretty good job of involving my constituents who want to be involved (some, unfortunately, do have to send me an occassional reminder).
Of course, I get your reference to the House's recent fundraiser. Constituents can, and do, contact their representatives anytime. I like to think that we have institutional pride in making ourselves available to constituents, but whether we succeed in that, of course, is for constituents to decide.
<< Home