Contact Your Representatives

Excerpt from chapter 11 of the book, Creating The Moral Groundswell:

…

Second, make your views known to your elected representatives and to candidates for office. A short, friendly, succinct email, tweet, or similar message will do the trick. These days, it is easier than ever to reach candidates and officials. At the federal level, you can contact the incumbents (those currently in office) at:

Your state is sure to have similar options for contacting the governor, and state senators and representatives. Most elected officials and candidates also have their own web pages along with a social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, etc., as do candidates for office.

You may wonder what impact a single email or tweet may have on a candidate’s position. You’d be surprised. A polite, positively phrased, short message goes a long way. All candidates for higher office have staff or volunteers who gather and classify messages from constituents. Normally, you should focus on reaching candidates who seek to represent the relevant political districts where you live and be sure to let them know you live in their district. And candidates typically have rules of thumb for how many voters a given message represents. This is one way candidates for office put their finger in the air to sense where the wind is blowing.

If you are sold on the idea of promoting the morally Right as explained in this book and you want to influence elected officials and candidates in your area, what should you tell them? Start off with an appropriate greeting, follow with a brief thank you to set a positive tone, state your message, then end politely with your name and address.

For example, if the right to manage your retirement is important to you:

Dear Representative Alvarez,

Thank you for running for office. Morally, my wife and I have the individual right to be in control of our retirement decisions without government involvement. What is you plan for making this a reality?

All the best,

John Smith, Louisville, KY

(270 characters)

If you care about your right to be in control of your healthcare decisions:

Hello Candidate Brown,

Thank you for running for office. Morally, I have the individual right to be in control of my health care decisions without government involvement. What is you plan for making this a reality?

Best regards,

Sue Wilkins, Minneapolis, MN

(254 characters)

And if your children’s education is close to your heart:

Hi Ms. Johnson,

Thanks for running for our school board. Morally, my partner and I have the individual right to be in control of our children’s education without government involvement. What is you plan for making this a reality?

Cheers,

Olivia Hernandez, San Diego, CA

(266 characters)

Rinse and repeat for any other cause where pursuing a morally Right capitalist solution is important to you.

The shorter and more to the point your message is, the more likely it is to register. The above examples meet the Twitter 280-character limit. You can obviously make a message longer in an email, but in this day and age of shortened attention spans, a longer message may not buy you much. Better to spend additional time on reaching out to more people.

You may think that starting a sentence with “Morally” sounds a bit harsh. But remember that we’re creating a moral groundswell, so it’s critical to make it part of your message even if it makes the reader (and you) a tad uncomfortable. And the fact that it’s unusual will make it stand out. The first time it is received, it may be disregarded. But if a second or a third arrives from fellow moral crusaders, the message is more likely to get noticed.

It is important to reach your federal and state frontrunner candidates from both major parties, since a moral crusade to return control of your life to you is currently not a priority on either the political left or right. You’ll be able to reach most candidates in your area with an hour of effort using the approach we just outlined.

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑