Here is our list of target Senators: pic.twitter.com/TLoTM9LKhY
— Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) May 26, 2017
Call the Senate. Tell them that the AHCA is horrendous policy that actively and aggressively harms people and that you expect them to vote No.
Be polite but be clear and firm as to what you want your Senator to do.
If you live in a state with two good votes on the AHCA, call them as well. They like to hear that they have support back home. It makes it easier.
The Senate was always going to be where the greatest chance of stopping a policy and moral disaster so let’s get to work.
Marcopolo
If you have the time & ability go one step beyond this and make a personal visit to your senator’s local office. I’ll be doing this Tues.
Also too, props to MSNBC for not cutting to Trump speaking to troops in Italy! Go Joy Reid.
Honus
@Marcopolo: it seems like they cover every trump speech in full. I don’t remember the media doing that with Obama. Even during the campaign I recall a number of times getting 40 minutes straight of a trump campaign speech on my car radio. It’s like listening to Mussolini
Manyakitty
@Marcopolo: She’s on fire, too. I love starting my day with strong women, even from afar.
OzarkHillbilly
Yeah, I thought so. No point in even bothering with Blunt.
Kevin the hen
I’m in NC, and Burr and Tillis are party-line hacks. Nothing will budge them, they don’t represent me.
Marcopolo
@OzarkHillbilly: As a fellow Missourian I hear you but my visit to his office in Clayton is as much for me (I want to know I did everything I could do) as for anything else. It will likely not have much impact on Blunt but it is an assertion of taking action and not giving up.
Gin & Tonic
@Marcopolo: He was on the TV here, so my 93 yo mother in law muttered “oh, go to hell” and changed the channel.
OzarkHillbilly
@Marcopolo: I’m sending him an email. I do not trust myself to speak on the phone without cursing (the point is to be heard, not hung up on). A visit to his office with a sign or letter (during which I could avoid cursing by just STFU) at this time is not possible.
Donna
I called Senator Portman’s office yesterday. I plan on calling Senator Brown’s on Monday to thank him for doing the right thing. So much nicer calling these two than my last senators….Cornyn and Cruz.
marcopolo
@OzarkHillbilly: I hear you on the cursing part. I will be doing that with my inner voice on Tues. However, if you can drop a post card in the mail today instead sending an email that would be better. My understanding is that in the weighting of constituent contacts emails are at the bottom of the list. I’ve also read that nowadays writing your comment onto the senator or rep’s fb page or sending them a tweet has more authority since has the potential to be seen by a wider audience (and your friends on fb)–with the caveat that I an neither a tweeter or on fb myself. Oh, and I won’t be cursing when I call McCaskill’s office to thank her.
Kelly
Contacting the good guys is worthwhile. I went to a Jeff Merkley town hall and told him I was there to shake his hand for doing a great job and told him go get’em Jeff. His whole body smiled.
OzarkHillbilly
@marcopolo: I neither fb or tweet and I’ve heard that about email. However everytime I have sent him an email (all 3 times!) I have received a reply stating why I’m an idiot for feeling as I do why he holds the far more reasoned position he does, which means somebody in his office did in fact read it.
My email will be short sweet and simple: “Just get it over with and shoot me. I’d have a lot more respect for your honesty if you did as opposed to the contempt I have for your cowardice now.”
Florida Frog
I will be at an empty suit town hall for Rubio on Wednesday and will keep up my weekly post card writing with a devoted group of women. I honestly don’t know if this helps at all but I can’t face the mirror if I don’t take action and the happy warrior vibe from the writer’s group is like a balm on my angry spirit.
Barbara
Disgusted that Toomey is not on that list. Will contact anyway.
Mike E
@Kevin the hen: call ’em anyway, chief… moving the ball forward one inch at a time is what we in NC have to look forward to for the foreseeable future
mai naem mobile
Jeff Flake is a big tawker but when it comes down to votes he goes along with the GOP/Dolt 45. I think he thinks his tawk will get him reelected . I’ve called him and McCains office. I think the AZ GOP governor is more likely not to want the AHCA passed because he wants to become POTUS and the AHCA will blow a big hole in his budget. When I called Gosars office (not my Rep but next district over) the staffer said it was going to be up to Gov.Ducey on what was going to happen.
Corner Stone
@Manyakitty: That was a masterclass of a show today. Great panels, smooth breaks and just kept hammering the topic(s).
I personally love it that she did not include an R Pundit Disruptor. This was all good content and insight today.
Ohio Mom
@Donna: Portman’s underlings didn’t answer the phone yesterday so I left messages. He has a constituent hotline, sometimes a human being answers that one.
I’m going to check my calendar and see if I can fit a trip to downtown Cincinnati next week, inbetween all my various appointments/mom chauffeur duty. I think it would be fun to hand-deliver my missive to Portman’s office.
Shalimar
OT, but this should be the end of McMaster’s reputation. You could argue all his other lies for Trump were to keep the reputation of the US from being tarnished by the impulsiveness of our current leader, but this is straight up bullshit. Kushner was not trying to establish a back-channel communication with Russia for the U.S. He was doing it to get around the U.S. Otherwise known as treason.
Ohio Mom
I confess I’ve sometimes lost it and cursed during a phone call. So what? I shouldn’t be emotional when my actual life and my family’s actual lives are on the line?
If a few salty words make an intern uncomfortable, I’m not losing sleep over it.
eclare
I am in TN. Corker and Alexander will be called Tuesday.
Teddys Person
@Shalimar: The number of people willing to risk/ruin reputations, careers and most importantly our democracy to provide cover for Dolt45 is astonishing.
Teddys Person
@Ohio Mom: Congressional interns are certainly earning that line on their resumes in ways I bet they didn’t expect.
ETA Being cursed out by a mom from Ohio probably wasn’t in the job description.
Dave
@marcopolo: I posted on Dean Heller’s FB page, since he’s (ugh) my Senator. He didn’t like what I posted, so he blocked me. Seems that only the positive posts are allowed. He also won’t do a town hall. He’s a coward. And a traitor.
Yoda Dog
@Kevin the hen: So are we not calling then? (Honest question, not snark. I live in NC too. I’ve been calling them but I’m just not sure its a good use of my time or making any difference. I mean, this is Shithands and Durrrr we’re talking about here…)
janelle
Wait… the Senate is actually going to vote on the AHCA? I thought the GOP caucus said it was dead on arrival and that they had planned on writing their own bill from scratch (which will no doubt still be absolutely horrendous, though presumably a little less so than the House version)?
SiubhanDuinne
I’m in Georgia. Neither of my Senators (Isakson, Perdue) is on the list, but I’m calling their offices on Tuesday anyhow.
Dave
I also called Heller’s office, told them I want him to support the AHCA as written by the House, for the specific reason that when passed, the effects should destroy the GOP for a couple of decades. I’ve decided the better way to skin this cat is to let the GOP have their way. A lot of innocent people will get hurt, for sure, but so will a lot of guilty (ignorant and bigoted) will also get what they voted for. Sure, they will blame Obama, but you know what? I just want to see them suffer the consequences of their ignorance and bigotry. We’re all gonna get it in the end anyway, why not enjoy a little sadistic justice delivered unto those so richly deserving?
Suzanne
I call Senator Flake all the time. He’s such a douche. No matter. I’ll call again next week.
D58826
OT but just listening to Gooper Critter Rooney of Fla. He isn’t upset about Comrade Jared setting up a back channel link in the Russian embassy. He said we do it all of the time. Bobby Kennedy did it and the DNC was hacked but the RNC wasn’t. Besides he wants to get back to more important things like stripping 23 million Americans of their health care and gutting Medicaid so that we can kick Granny out of the nursing home.
THe GOP is complicit in the Trump/Kushner treason
D58826
@Shalimar: While I don’t disagree but I sometimes wonder if maybe McMaster is really serving the national interest. He at least is in a position to attempt to moderate Der Fuhrer’s worst instincts. Imagined who would be McMasters replacement – John Bolton perhaps.
McMaster may view his position as akin to the charge of the light brigade.
Yoda Dog
@Dave: Wait… You did what?!
Dude, don’t do that. Not all lives matter equally. Our’s matter more. They’ve proven unworthy of their own skin and blood in aiding and abetting these murderous and traitorous collection of cretins we call the GOP. One gnG or Arch is worth a million deplorables. They’re not worth it. Full stop. They’re not worth reasoning with, they’re not worth anyone’s time at all. We have to forget them and put our people’s lives first. And so we have to try and stop the AHCA however possible. You’ve outthought yourself here, methinks, good sir.
hovercraft
@mai naem mobile:
In other words the new Susan Collins, Lindsey Graham, Good News John McCain, or better yet full of shit.
I’ll give Booker and Menendez a call on Tuesday to say thanks.
Mnemosyne
@Kevin the hen:
@Yoda Dog:
Keep calling. Getting calls from people who disagree with them reminds them that not all of their constituents are Republicans, and if they piss you off enough, they could find themselves thrown out of office.
Chet Murthy
@Dave: To add to Yoda Dog’s comment, there’s a term for this: “Leninism”. Also “heighten the contradictions”. The belief that if things get bad enough, then people will see the light of reason, and all will be sweetness, light, and pony farts.
History tells us that it never works like that. That when things get really bad, it causes -more- people to engage in the war of all against all. History also tells us that revolutions rarely improve things — the chance for an asshole to grab power is too high. What works is slow incremental change — reinforcing institutions, the rule of law, civic society.
Please reconsider.
hovercraft
@Corner Stone:
I just finished watching its I was busy earlier. It was a great show, I loved the Bush ethics guy saying, roughly, ” I’ve been a republican for 30 years, I was around for Nixon, and yes he was a crook, but he was our crook, none of this Russia BS”. He was really indignant. I wish they’d give her Chris Hayes slot, weekends is not enough!
John Revolta
@janelle: I was surprised by this too. In fact the last I heard, Ryan hadn’t even sent the POS bill over to the Senate yet. It’s hard to keep up with all the horrible news these days.
SuzieC
Called Portman’s office and left a message with my name, full address, and phone number. Hope he’s hearing from a lot of pissed-off constituents.
katep
I called Portman’s office Friday. I tried to position my objection not only due to CBO score and number of people losing insurance, but also on the effect on the opiod crisis. Portman professes great concern about the opiod scourge. I call his office fairly regularly but this was the first time they asked me to spell my name and asked for my zip code. I wonder if they are trying to be sure that real constituents are calling. I have called Sherrod Brown’s office because I know where he will stand.
Gvg
@janelle: we don’t dare assume the senate actually won’t bring the bill up. We have to make sure they don’t. There were recent reports that GOP senators said what their constituents said during this recess would decide, so we are all trying to make SURE the ACHA is doa.
Yoda Dog
@hovercraft: I wish folks would give my boy, Chris Hayes, a break.. How bout we punt Greta for Joy and keep Chris. Deal?
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: @Donna: I called Portman’s Columbus office about ACHA and talked to staffer (calls to DC office always go to voice mail). I will call again tomorrow but emphasize impact ACHA or similar atrocity will have on his constituents addicted to opioids, a cause he proclaims is dear to his heart. I usually try to be civil but if I’m feeling particularly cranky I just might add a snarky “and as you know these are mostly white people” to my message.
Ghost of Fitzmas past
@Dave: cute that you think they’ll be punished in any way. Consequences are for little people
Kathleen
@Ohio Mom: Good for you. I try to be kind of sucky uppy by saying, “Republicans are immoral and evil but Portman/Chabot seem to be decent human beings.” Forty plus years of corporate America will do that to you.
Kathleen
@katep: I focused on my objections to the process – whey were Republicans doing this secretly without representation from Democrats. I used Topher Spiro’s question checklist. Tomorrow’s call will be focused on affects on opioid addicts.
? ?? Goku ? ?
@Ghost of Fitzmas past: To take a page from Tenguphule, they will when angry, dying constituents try to take a shot at them
randy khan
@OzarkHillbilly:
@Kevin the hen:
Call them anyway. It’s important that they know there’s danger in making a vote to kill the ACA. And you never know – some people in the House who were thought to be safe votes for the original version of the AHCA dropped off because of the pressure from their constituents.
But even if you don’t call your folks, there’s no reason not to call people on the target list. The more calls the better.
MomSense
Calling both of mine – again.
Gemina13
In WA, with Cantwell and Murray holding the line against the AHCA. I’ll call and give them a thumb’s-up.