Hi folks, for those who don’t know me, I’m a relic of the blog’s George W. Bush era. Someone unwisely said my name three times and here I am. Apparently the republic is in trouble again and we need you people to light some fires under Congressional asses.
I’ll be honest, calling Congress feels inadequate at a moment like this. Insofar as the Trumpist mob has any plan, they seem to want some combination of the Argentine dirty war, the Handmaid’s Tale, and Rwanda. If a Republican leader knowingly signs onto that then there’s no reaching them with phone calls.
However, I can assure you that not every Republican wants to wear an armband and pick up a machete. You have never Trumpers like the Lincoln Project, Amash, Walsh, etc of course. And yes, while that whole crew could fit in a laundromat, you can tell that in-party disunity stings by how bitterly Trump cultists loathe them. Among Republicans who stayed loyal, you can see that plenty of them put up with Trump exclusively for the judges. Well, the judges are confirmed now. The tax cut’s passed and signed. Since Biden won, Trump’s value for the Party has depreciated faster than a 500-Guilder tulip.
Why do you suppose Republicans are pleading for unity now? They don’t want national unity and they never did. We all know they’d gladly rule with a plurality like they won a landslide. Republicans want “unity” because Republicans are divided. Mitch and his old guard loathe Trump’s drooling maniacs, and Trump loathes Mitch so much that he threw his “$2,000 checks” grenade into the Georgia elections just to spite him. The party is at each other’s throats and eunuchs like Rubio are begging Democrats to help calm things down. Party leadership is desperately scared that party members who want to jettison the Trumpers will find a voice.
So why not help them? Obviously, wavering Republicans will only waver as long as Democrats stand together. I think we can count on that for the moment, but we should encourage it anyway. Call the Democrats who represent you and demand a full and relentless accountability for violent insurgents and those who aid them. However, if you have a Republican Congressperson or Senator(s), then you have an even more important job. Trumper maniacs are certainly mobbing the phone lines right now, but they always do that. What your average GOP office doesn’t hear is voices urging them to do the right thing. Get on the phone with a Republican’s office and urge them to stand up for American democracy, and I promise your call will have an impact.
If you make a call, please note how staff responds to you. I will post a thread later to collect how offices are responding, especially Republicans who might back an impeachment vote. We can use that information to target specific officials for follow-up calls.
If you’ve never called a Congressional office before, here is an old thread telling you how to do it. The only things I would add are:
1. the Senate switchboard is (202) 224-3121.
2. DC offices are likely in turmoil across the board. I would suggest using Google to find the number for your Representative / Senator’s local office(s) and call those instead.
What about email? Don’t use email. Pressure groups use online forms to send emails in batches of thousands at a time, and no one ever reads it. Unless you have the private address of someone in the office your email will go straight to the junk bin. Use the phone.