Does anything? Seems like with the tax scam, they didn't give a shit what people thought. Maybe it helps with the more conservative Dems to keep them in opposition?

To contact/email a Congress critter who pretends to represent people, I can be from anywhere. I look up some town on the AAA road map, google zillow, find an address, zipcode, telephone-like number.

Indeed, it is not wholly honest. But then, no either is voter suppression, presidential lies, dishonest Cabinet, Agency & judicial appointees.
I think this is fair.

Now I have it confirmed by my own personal source and not just my experience with the various resistance organizations for over a year. Also, due to right wing radio and Fux Ruse social media is now a really important way to communicate and we must use it to our advantage, especially with upcoming mid-terms. I do not use Twitter and Facebook but it is what is strongly encouraged in the current atmosphere with all the "fake news" BS and cult-like base of the fucking moron.

Sorry, that's the way I feel.

And, if they did the same thing to us, I'd be righteously indignant.

I remember a rally where they bussed in a bunch of paid protesters. Theyve been doing this for years. Remember the "grass roots" campaigns run by the kochs to fill up the townhalls with screaming lunatics? Voter suppression, fake social media accounts, etc. So while I personally don't want to lie, I have no problem with others who do it. The reps are there to hear from the citizens, period. If there is one rep whos vote is crucial to my well-being and they're not in my state, they still need to know how what theyr'e doing affects people.

Damn straight!

The sad truth is - if you play fair and the other guy cheats and wins, then who’s the chump? The cheater gets another point on the board that can be the difference regarding which party gets majority status. The fair-play person gets rolled. Again.

I’d be horrified if my address was used fraudulently.

Sorry to see this kind of thing promoted here.

It's important to be honest about your name and location. Then leave your message. That works to influence Congresspeople.

In 2018 Democrats are going to take back one or both houses of Congress, and will then have subpoena power to publicly investigate. And in 2018 or 2020 Dems will control the White House, Senate, and House. At that point it will be important to keep to our ideals, stay honest, and do good work. The first step is staying honest. Fight hard, but fight honestly.

Last edited Wed Dec 27, 2017, 07:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Lying about where you live when you call members of Congress and then announcing it on the Internet gives ammunition to the right wing.

They can point to this article (don't assume they won't see it) and claim, with some justification, that the number of people calling their members of Congress is meaningless.

You haven't brought a butter knife to a gun fight. You've brought a machete to a chess tournament. You might do some damage, but you won't be going home with a prize.

I agree, it's time to flood those lines. I've done my share of calling in issues, but only to my rep. There are lots of angry, active, and motivated people that want to hear from their constituents, and lots of those constituents want to get in there to boost that message. If I'm calling a representative who is not mine, I might be clogging up the phone line for someone who will be even more deeply and directly affected by that representative's actions.

Has less to do with ethics and more to do with letting the people whose voices need to be heard be heard. Speak with those voices, not for them.

Last edited Fri Dec 29, 2017, 02:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Like the almost three MILLION more voters who voted for Hillary Clinton, and their (OUR) voices were silenced by some shrewd manipulation of a few key districts and a few thousand votes here and there.

Like the MAJORITIES of Democrats in gerrymandered districts, who have the majority numbers, but are silenced because of shrewd manipulation of the ridiculous and outrageous redrawing of districts that lead to us, and OUR interests, and OUR priorities, NOT being represented, because of artificial manipulations.

Like the repeated examples of more Democrats voting than republi-CONS, yet, somehow they've rigged the system so THEIR guy wins. And thus the minority rules. We're supposed to be a democracy based on majority rule. This completely subverts it. We see this damn syndrome repeat itself election cycle after election cycle. And while they cheat and they win, then nothing can be done about it - because THEY won and THEY hold all the cards and THEY hold all the power and THEY can set the agenda and we're left on the sidelines - EVEN THOUGH THERE ARE MANY MORE OF US THAN THERE ARE OF THEM!!!

Let me just make this clear: I don't like lying either. But at this point, watching this over decades, I can't figure out any other way to level the playing field. I find myself wishing WE had a Roger Stone doing rat-fucking for OUR side. And we don't. We play nice, we follow the rules, and we wind up getting rolled EVERY DAMN TIME!!!!!

I am, unfortunately, left with only one conclusion: If we play by the rules and the other guy cheats and wins, then the other guy gets to run the game and own the playing field and call the shots while we are forced to the sidelines as spectators. And I'm sick and tired of being the nice guy who finishes last. And in politics, the vast majority of the time, the nice guy DOES finish last.

If we ever hope to be in a position to govern, and to fix some of this shit that's gone so wrong, we have to win first. FIRST, we have to WIN. After years of observing this shit, I've been forced to conclude that if we play by the rules and they don't, then we get rolled. Fighting fair only works if BOTH SIDES do it. When ONE side refuses, and in fact raises that refusal to a high art and makes NOT playing fair into a veritable sacrament, then we're chumps if we don't. We'll just keep getting rolled.

I don't want to fight fair as long as the other side won't fight fair. I'm not interested in fighting fair when we know the other side refuses to do so. That's NO way to level the playing field.

they are representing ALL of us, not just their constituents. I’ve made up addresses in their zip codes (email will not allow you access otherwise) and use my real name and residence in phone calls. And I always state “He/she represents me even if I don’t live in the state or district.” That’s after I include a statement asking when they are going to get that lunatic out of the White House.