Contact your Congressperson

Like the man said
by Tim F.

Last night Obama asked us all to contact our Representatives and tell them to do the right thing for America. I could not have said it better myself.

Have a Republican congresscritter? Call him and tell him to pull his head out of his ass. Or her ass as the case may be. Democrats could use some support as well, of course, but at this moment in time Republicans need your input more than anyone else. Their staff genuinely may not know that you exist.

As always, use a phone. Email has the same impact as yelling at clouds.

Find your Congresscritter here.

Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

Guide for first-timers here.

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my update: if you are from:
MARYLAND
TENNESSEE
VIRGINIA
NEW MEXICO

tell the Rep or Senator that Moodys has said these STATES ARE FIRST OFF THE CLIFF IF A DEFAULT HAPPENS.

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UPDATED: HOW TO SEND A FAX FOR FREE

From Balloon Juice:

How To Send a Fax for Free
by mistermix

I like to fax my representatives, but I no longer have a fax machine. Here’s how I do it for free using only an Internet connection.

1. Write a respectful, fact-based, and original letter in Microsoft Word. (Or, write it in some other word processing program that creates a .DOC, .DOCX or .PDF file for output). Open Office is a free program that writes Word output.
Be sure to mention that you live in the district and vote.

2. Look up the representatives’s fax number here.

3. Go to FaxZero and create a fax. Attach your Word doc or PDF to the fax. You can send 2 free faxes per day, so do your Member of Congress and most intransigent Senator today, and the lesser asshole Senator tomorrow.

Also, if you’re a Facebook user, lots of representatives have a Facebook page where you can leave comments. I’m sure that amounts to something.

Update: As requested, a letter suggestion after the break.


Here’s my take on a good letter:


Dear Representative/Senator :

I live in your district [, I voted for you – nice to add if it is true, and maybe even if it isn’t]. I’m writing to ask you to vote to increase the debt ceiling.

I know that my job as a [insert your daily toil here] is in danger if the economy gets worse. I also know that the economy will suffer if the United States defaults, and that may mean that I can’t put food on my family’s table. I can’t afford to lose my job over a political food fight.

I think our national debt needs to be addressed, but I also know that when I miss credit card payments, the bank lowers my credit rating and raises my interest rates. If we lose our good credit because of a default, that will only make the deficit bigger.

No matter how I’ve voted in the past, I just can’t vote for anyone who would risk our economy and cost our country billions of dollars in interest in order to make a political point.

Sincerely,

[Your name and Address]