Congressional staff say the mood inside the Capitol is tense, stifling and bewildering as members brush off their constituents’ outrage.
Let’s see how the strategy of ignoring calls from your base a year before a contested election that your opponent polls higher in key states works out for them. It feels like the DNC is trying to lose in 2024 right now.
It feels like the DNC is trying to lose in 2024 right now.
And this is new, how? It feels like they’re trying to throw every election. They never even bother to call out Republicans on their shenanigans and they spend a lot of time being like “We know the fascists passed these very fascist laws, but everything falls apart if we don’t take the obviously fascist laws they passed with the seriousness they deserve by enforcing those fascist laws. We have to play by these rules they’ve set that benefit them and harm us, because if we did that, it would be unfair and undemocratic.” (Conveniently ignores Republicans being unfair and undemocratic.)
Lose to who? The republicans?
Sweetie, we’ve already established the gridlock of ‘lesser evil.’ All democrats have to do to win is be slightly less worse than the republicans, which is incredibly easy.
Which works every time, unless it doesn’t work.Like when Hillary Clinton lost against Donald Trump.
Yeah… hillary clinton wasn’t a good nominee.
She was at least slightly less worse than Trump though.
True, but the problem was the Dems assumed it was a slam dunk, and wound up pretty much handed Trump the presidency.
Don’t forget her campaign literally centered Trump in her “pied piper” strategy.
She built her own political demise.
If true, we peons pay the price for that, not them.
Let’s see how the strategy of ignoring calls from your base a year before a contested election that your opponent polls higher in key states works out for them. It feels like the DNC is trying to lose in 2024 right now.
the “vote for the lesser evil” crowd are an overwhelming majority and, they not only don’t care that dems don’t deserve your vote; but will use that overwhelming majority voice to blame you for enabling trump.
Congressional staff say the mood inside the Capitol is tense, stifling and bewildering as members brush off their constituents’ outrage.
Why would this be any different than every other issue about which they’re ignoring their constituents?
Just send out a form letter response, geeze! How hard is it really to ignore your constituents effectively? I’ve been receiving form letter responses for decades now, it’s not hard guys! You don’t even have to functionally address any points made by your constituents, just shit out a form letter with a loose connection to the ideas presented and you’re good.
The number of times an elected official has made it clear that my opinions mean fuck-all to them is extremely high.
Would help if we didn’t cap the house of reps.
Politicians have armies of statistics and pollsters to study people’s opinions and feedback.
They carefully choose a demographic groups they choose to appeal to, and they pick issues that will allow them to capture enough people who will begrudgingly support them as possible.
They don’t need the 1500th phone call saying the exact same thing as the last 1400 to understand who they’re representing and what their opinions are.
There are times contacting your representative in this way is important. When your road is fucked up or your local company is doing something they shouldn’t and nobody in the media or on the internet is talking about it.
Or sending a letter, answering a poll, so that their data people can sit and count them to figure out what they need to do in the next election cycle.
There are times contacting your representative in this way is important. When your road is fucked up or your local company is doing something they shouldn’t and nobody in the media or on the internet is talking about it.
But not literal genocide?
The representative is very well aware of what’s going on in Israel and is very aware of the protests and the opinions people have about it. You’re not informing them, and you’re not actually contributing anything by spamming them with phone calls about it.
And if you want to see literal genocide, let the Palestinians rule “from the river to the sea”. What they do to the Jews will make isis look like children in terms of their cruelty.
If you want to see literal genocide, turn on any TV and see what IDF is actually doing today, yesterday, tomorrow.
Not some hypothetical fictional Boogeyman.
let the Palestinians rule “from the river to the sea”.
Palestinian /= Hamas.
Okay then, separate them.
They might not be, but they certainly can’t stop him or any future incarnations.
let the Palestinians rule “from the river to the sea”.
Palestinian /= Hamas.
Unfortunately that sentiment is not unique to Hamas.
According to polling, the majority of Palestinians want to:- Destroy Israel, which is what, “from the river to the sea,” means (70%)
- Deny Jews equal rights in their one-state solution (76%)
- Continue violent resistance, reject peaceful solutions (52%)
- Employ guerilla/terrorist strategies to do so (58%)
So that justifies genocide? Because just over half have been terrorized enough to not be willing to forgive?
So that justifies genocide? Because just over half have been terrorized enough to not be willing to forgive?
Well, advocating for actual explicit genocide and oppression certainly makes one’s cause seem less noble. I was pointing out that Hamas aren’t the only ones who want Palestine, “from the river to the sea.” It’s a popular Palestinian sentiment. Perhaps that’s related to why calls for cease fire are going to voice mail.
One can make a case that Israel is also performing a genocide, but they themselves deny that it is. I think it’s more accurate to say that Israel is under attack by and defending itself from a belligerent monoethnic nation. It’s a big stretch to claim that this makes defense against it genocide. If wiping out Arabs were their motivation and not pacifying a belligerent nation they would be behaving very differently. 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab with full rights, after all.
Oh no, they’re inconvenienced by people telling the U.S. not to support the bombing of civilians in Gaza. How terrible…
They aren’t actually inconvenienced.
Probably enjoying a nice lobster brunch right now.
You know how many people actually complained about Janet Jackson’s boob reveal at the Superbowl?
25
It’s just that they each called 1,000 times.
I don’t understand why it’s not considered harassment of an elected official when they are doing that.
Calling a few times, sure no big deal, but a thousand times for each person? That’s fully in the territory of harassment and abuse.
You shouldn’t be rewarded for that behavior by fucking giving in to it.
Especially when rewarding them is saying “Okay, because you harassed us so much we’ve decided your opinion matters and we’ll actually do something about this issue.”
Before they figured out what went on they did reward them. The FCC fined the broadcasters millions of dollars.
Point is that phone calls aren’t a good Guage of public opinion. Non form letter e-mails or letters are much better.
Does anyone actually believe contacting representatives matters?
If it did, why would they take bribes?
US Representatives care.
US Senators have achieved escape velocity and can just concentrate on their stock trading and junkets.
Good thing we don’t have direct democracy, something something mob rule.
Yeah, the mob would rule we need universal health care and to stop aid to Israel.
I’m pretty sure Israel is calling in all the favors for supporting our gallavant through the Middle East in the name of revenge.
Oh they answer those calls, though.
So that’s after they stole nukes, attacked our warship, and interfered in our elections.
Is it because the Biden admin already got Israel to agree to daily humanitarian pauses?
That’s like putting a bandaid on a severed limb
A fig leaf
On the one hand, congressmen know that if they don’t back Israel unconditionally, they will be accused of being antisemitic, in league with Nazis.
On the other hand, Israel routinely violates human rights, it conducts an apartheid regime in the West Bank, it sponsors settlers whose actions clearly violate international law, and its conduct in Gaza looks more like genocide than it doesn’t. And it does all of that with US backing, despite US law forbidding the US from giving military aid to countries that …violate human rights.
So, if you recognize any of that, you’re a Nazi?
It’s so frustrating to know that our elected leaders are made to not recognize actual human rights violations, for fear of being accused of antisemitism even though Israel’s government is not the same thing as the Jewish people.
My social media is full of Jews pointing out that Israel’s actions goes against their faith, that they experience pain and shame knowing that Israel claims to do them in the name of Judaism.
Just once I wish American congresspeople had it in them to exhibit anything like moral courage.
Didn’t Biden already call for a cease-fire not long ago? The best he could do is pulling funding at this stage, putting boots on the ground would be an attack on the spiritual holy land of a variety of religious fanatics and against Zionist beliefs that gentiles should know their place, unless of course Ben himself called on Biden for some imaginary reason 🤔
No. He called for a pause, and that’s what we got. Now there’s a short pause every day while they reload.
Why should they be expected to have the manpower to answer every single one? A voicemail gets the message across perfectly fine.
Why should they be expected to have the manpower to answer every single one?
Because they are expected to consider the opinions of their constituents, and as an elected representative and they are supposed to represent our interests, not theirs.
To be able to functionally listen to your constituents, yes, you need the staff to be able to do it.
You think that listening to and transcribing voicemails somehow takes less time than taking a call? Pro-tip, they take about the same amount of time.
I mean, with that attitude, why have any staff at all? Just let it all go to voicemail and never read any of those thousands of emails from constituents! Fuck 'em! Fuck representative democracy, amirite?
Direct voting is the future.
Agreed. Elected officials need to be reduced to figureheads who craft legislation and whose voting power on legislation is removed and given to the people.
When legislation is introduced, it should be in a Wiki format and with logins tied to your voter registration so only registered voters can comment and edit the Wiki.
All final edits will be attributable directly to who wrote them and version control would be the standard for the documents.
The final text and vote should be with individual voters here in the 21st century.
A guy can dream.
Jesus that would be scary, I know here in the left echochambers it feels like we’re the only people that exist but the reality is there’s millions of people who have strong opinions about wacky things and they’re incredibly easy to manipulate through a few social media posts.
Look at how many people know basically nothing about this situation but are completely sure it’s a very simple matter - A dozen bad memes and we’d be at war with Cony 2012 or banning funding NASA or some bullshit.
I see you’ve talked to my “representative.” At one point he shut down all his local offices and refused to meet with any member of the public
computers can transcribe the voice mail messages much faster and more efficiently than an intern can answer the calls and deal with each one individually.
that is, of course, with the assumption that they actually do that… and don’t just hit DELETE ALL or let the voice mailbox ‘fill up’.
Honestly, yeah. From what I’ve heard about Congressional offices, they basically just count the number of people expressing an opinion for/against a particular issue, and report that to the congressperson. Mail, calls, voicemail, emails, everything.
Why don’t they just let the average uninformed and outraged voter set international policy, or answer the phone and calmly explain to them why they’re wrong and go over the realpolitik intricacies of this conflict?
If discussing this matter on Lemmy has taught me anything. It’s that some people are outraged, partisan, and cannot be reasoned with. It’s no wonder they’re letting it go to voicemail.
difference they’re not on lemmy; they’re people to volunteered to work in a position where they have to deal with this behavior.
Yeah, what are you supposed to do when someone yells down the phone ‘i saw a meme and now I’m basically an expert on this so you have to do what I say or you’re evil!’ or ‘the joooos control the world bank and eat babies, we should be helping kill them!’
It’s a painfully complex situation with no clear solution and a lot of hard choices, pretending you have some clairvoyant power or simple answer just means you don’t even begin to understand the situation.
