After reading this weekend about the egregious assault on our democracy, I am alarmed more than I have ever been.
I encourage everyone to watch the video of Heather Cox Richardson putting recent events in perspective and describing the danger we are in. But she also reminds us that there is still much we can do to save our democracy. The video is about 30 minutes long, but worth your time. Then please read below for suggestions on what you can do.
What action can you take right now? Contact your representatives in Congress.
You may have seen the rather long and detailed set of suggestions making the rounds right now. Admittedly, I do not know the author, other than an attribution to a "high-level staffer for a Senator". However, the advice makes sense to me, so I have distilled it down for readability.
Don’t bother with online petitions or emailing. Face-to-face time with your Congressperson is the best but for most of us it’s rarely a realistic option.
But you can make phone calls. Every day.
Make a phone call to each of your Senators’ DC offices. Call their local offices too. Senators get daily reports about how many phone calls were received and the the top three topics. For readers in NYS, here are links for those phone numbers (suggestion: put them in your cell's contacts):
Call your Representative. For those in NY-21, I honestly do not know what advice to share about contacting our Congresswoman, as she is supposed to be confirmed this Thursday morning as UN Ambassador. I do not know if this means she will resign from Congress immediately, or if she can delay in order to maintain the slim GOP majority as long as possible. As futile as it may seem to contact her, I would be remiss if I do not include her contact information: Contact Elise Stefanik. Obviously, this will change after the special election for NY-21.
For those not in NYS or in New York but not NY-21, here is the link to find your Senators’ and House Members’ phone numbers - USA.Gov.
Ahead of your call, identify one or two specific topics you want to call about. When you call the DC office, ask for the staffer in charge of your topic. Local offices may not have that many staff members, so talk to whoever answers your call. Talking to a real person is preferable to leaving a message.
They’ll ask for your zip code so be ready to give it to them. It’s standard procedure.
If you can make it personal, do so. 'I voted for you in the last election and I'm worried/happy/whatever' or 'I'm a teacher, and . . .', 'as a single mother' or 'as a white, middle class woman', or whatever." Your real story will make an impact.
You prepared ahead of time so focus on one topic, two at most.
Be clear about what you want the Congressperson to do. If there’s a specific bill or nomination you wish for him or her to vote for or against, let them know.
Here’s what I’m saying when I call: Personally, I am alarmed and very frightened at recent events involving Elon Musk and the six computer engineers who have taken over control of the OMB and USAID. These extra-constitutional members of an "agency" with no legal standing and with no security clearances, have access to everyone's banking, tax, and Social Security information. They are breaking the law, and we need Congress to stop them and hold them accountable.
Congress is a co-equal branch of government and our elected officials should be working for us, not acting as a servant of the President.
Call your Congresspersons and demand they do not surrender their Constitutional authority and responsibility to the American people.
Onward,
Mary Lou
 | A guest post by
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Today a group of us are going to Albany to ask Senator Schumer and Gillibrand’s to fight back. If you would like to participate please see below.
https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/752743/
Excellent!!! Yes....flood the lines. Thank you! The lyrics to "What's Up? " with 4 Non Blondes is my theme song. I listen to it everyday while reading Substack. Now to the phone calls! Thank you Marylou!