Phone Scripts for Calling Your Representative

[tassosss]

via rydra_wong

I'm incredibly sorry, but it looks like you need to make phone calls

This is not a drill:

The Guardian: Appointment of 'white nationalist' Steve Bannon must be reversed, critics declare

Mother Jones: Here's Why It's Fair—and Necessary—to Call Trump's Chief Strategist a White Nationalist Champion

Yeah, look, if you proclaim yourself as providing the platform for the alt-right and also publish an article which helpfully explains that an integral part of alt-right belief is opposition to "full integration" of racial groups (and cites as a guru of the alt-right someone who explicitly advocates an all-white United States): you're a white nationalist.

If, you know, the screaming racism, misogyny and anti-Semitism of the shit he publishes wasn't enough to make that clear.

I'm incredibly sorry, but it looks like you need to make phone calls.

This link explains why you have to phone to have an impact on your Congresspeople.

Info on requesting a call-back.

Yes, I know this is unfair and sucks massively for those of us who are text-based and socially anxious and/or autistic and I once spent an entire day doing nothing except panicking and procrastinating to put off making a phone call to strangers, I KNOW, I KNOW, I'M REALLY SORRY.

But letters make a bit of impact, form e-mails and petitions more or less none, YOU HAVE TO PHONE.

Especially if your Congresspeople are Republicans. This kind of shit is not going to get stopped unless they're willing to stand up to Trump. At least a few of the Republicans hate Bannon (because he was bashing them relentlessly), so it's theoretically possible that they might kick up a fuss. And even if they can't block this, it seems vital to establish it as a point where people will start to stand up and say OH HELL NO.

http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Via into_the_weeds: PLEASE CALL YOUR SENATORS -- includes a post from someone who called their senator about Bannon

Stop Steve Bannon’s Appointment As Trump’s Top Advisor -- includes a phone script

ETA: Call your congressperson. Here’s a script. -- more scripts (I do not have the best history with matociquala, ahahahaha, but fuck it, take what you can use where you can get it)

ETA2: kore provides an awesome short script and guidelines right here in the comments -- THIS IS GOLD, check it out.

Maybe people can help suggest more scripts?

ETA3: if you have time/spoons for a bit of online research on your representatives, colorblue has a sample script for how you could use that.

ETA4: More scripts.

(Note: you don't have to sound super-cool or smooth or not like an autistic robot who is reading from a piece of paper you have in front of you. You will be talking to a staffer. Your job is to make them write down "we had a call about this from someone who was very concerned and was not actually speaking in word salad, threatening violence or using obscene language.")

If you absolutely can't phone under any circumstances, or only at the cost of damage that you can't take right now, then you can't phone, I get that, I do understand. We can't do what we can't do (and if so, please send a letter instead). But please, if you possibly can, I think you need to.

(And. This won't be the first time, so -- if this is something that gets any easier with practice for you -- at least this is practice.)

I apologize for the fact that I'm asking people to do something that I am not doing myself (because of being a UK citizen), but I will do anything I can to provide moral support and hand-hold and cheer. I will offer rewards in the form of pre-Code movie posts or anything else I can think of. Also I will totally take suggestions for anyone I can phone.

This is the most soothing, comforting 30-second cat video I have ever seen. Watch it if you need to calm your nerves beforehand or reward

Good discussion in the comments of her post as well. If you need encouragement to call, report back in either her post or here that you did it.

If you have representatives who have already issued a statement against Bannon, you can still get in touch to let them know you support that decision. Positive reinforcement is good too.

Additional Phone Script resources

via tanaqui

A set of phone scripts for various topics is being crowdsourced at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oGLMkmRafvXdl-cg7utkzJGOB97Uzx0X6ng7Bdoxb18/edit#gid=1259124176

At the moment, it looks like there's only one script, for the Bannon appontment, but hopefully more will be added soon. (I'm sure they'd be happy for anyone here to contribute!)

The spreadsheet also has a tab with a useful list of news sources divided according to reliability/political bias.

MetaFilter roundup article about how to contact your representatives by the former staffer whose tweets went viral.

Strategy for Calling Your Representatives

Take action: Louisiana U.S. Senate run-off

[tanaqui]

Louisiana's U.S. Senate race will be decided in a runoff on 10 December between Republican state Treasurer John Kennedy and Democratic Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell.

If Foster Campbell wins the seat, it will make it one less seat the Democrats need to win in the 2018 midterms to gain control of the Senate.

Foster Campbell's campaign team has apparently been swamped with volunteer offers, and is most in need of financial donations right now.

1. You can donate directly to the campaign at http://www.fostercampbell2016.com/

2. You can contact your Democratic representatives in the Senate and Congress (if you have any) and ask them to contribute to Campbell's campaign. They all have their own PAC and can contribute more than an individual. (Suggestion from a commenter at Dailykos.)

ETA: Thanks to tielan for suggesting we post about this over in our Suggestions post. Feel free to leave ideas for topics or current events you think we should cover.

Overwhelmed? Take a deep breath. You got this.

[tassosss]

Okay, so after starting this, and seeing all the calls to action and everything, today my introverted self had a little bit of a freakout. And I'm probably not the only one, so if you're feeling frozen about what to do by the firehose of all the info, you are not alone.

Someone even made a website to that effect: Holy Fuck The Election
It points you both to cute animals and organizations you can donate time and money to.

My suggestion, if you're feeling frozen with all the overwhelm is to make yourself a plan of action.
1. Write it on a piece of paper, or what you use for a to do list or app.

2. Keep the list short and specific. No more than 3 items. If that feels like too much, take it down to 1 or 2.

3. Take each of your items and break them down into their components.
--If one of your items is donate money, break it down into
--------------1) pick an organization, 2) get your wallet, 3) go to website, 4) donate.
--If it's call your representative,
--------------1) find the phone number, 2) program it into you phone, 3) find or write a script, (more scripts here for many issues) 4) call

The big thing to remember is you don't have to do all of the items on the same day or at the same time. If it's overwhelming, then do one item, check it off, give yourself a break or a reward. Then ....

4. Make an appointment with yourself for the next step. Find free time in your schedule. Mentally prepare yourself that that is the time you will take to do the thing. You can set a calendar reminder for yourself, which can be especially handy if it's a day or two out.

5. Don't break your appointment with yourself. It's tempting, especially with phone calls, but it really won't take that much time and then it's done.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until your list is done.

7. Yay! You did it! Bask in your ability to Get Shit Done.


Now. Here's the really hard part: Make another list.


If you have other strategies, please share them. Also, I'm willing to make bingo cards and badges if that will help.