Neo-Hippie Ramblings - I'm a Non-Conformist Just Like All My Friends: How do you cut down a shrub?

Monday, September 19, 2005

How do you cut down a shrub?





















There's an old saw that project managers like to repeat. It's supposed to help inspire teams that are about to embark on huge projects:
Q. How do you eat an elephant?

A. One bite at a time.
Well, let me suggest an update for the Impeach Bush Coalition:
Q. How do you cut down a shrub?

A. One senator at a time.


Getting the Word Out

That said, we do need to start making Congress aware of our presence.

Earlier this week, Bulldog provided a list of media e-mail addresses to contact. If you haven't pinged him for it already, you should do so tonight! The following is a complement to that list.

E-mail vs. Web Forms

Most members of Congress do not use traditional e-mail addresses. Instead, they capture feedback from the public via web forms. The use of web forms allows them to collect meta-data (who's sending feedback and why) and to filter out spam messages. It takes a bit longer to complete a web form than it does to send an e-mail, so prioritize your efforts.

Every form is a little different, so you'll have to wing it. Once you come up with a message, though, you can cut and paste the text into the main comment box of every form.

Who to Contact
  1. If you only have time to contact two people, make those two people the US Senators who represent your state. Senators pay the most attention to their own constituents, and consider messages originating from elsewhere to be a far lower priority.

  2. Next, contact Senators from the states directly affected by hurricane Katrina and proposed military base closings. These folks and their constituents may already be angry enough to cross well-established party lines and help support impeachment.

  3. Third, contact Democrat and Independent Senators, especially anyone whose name you already recognize as an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration. (Clinton, Kerry, Lieberman, and Reid would be good places to start.)

  4. Finally, contact everyone else that you have time to contact. Even guys like Newt Gingrich have been taking swings at the White House lately, so messages directed to Republican Senators may be worthwhile.
What to Say

Be cordial, honest and brief. Your message will probably be truncated to a hard limit of 1000 characters or so and because of the volume of incoming mail, it's very unlikely that anything past the first 50-100 words or so will be read.

Sample Message

Dear [recipient's name],

I am a member of a group of bloggers called the Impeach Bush Coalition. In the week since this group was formed, approximately 140 blogs have joined. Our goal, of course, is the speedy impeachment of George W. Bush.

I would like to extend you an invitation to visit our site and/or endorse our efforts. Given your standing and influence among [organization or constituency], such an endorsement could prove crucial to our cause.

Our site is here: http://impeachbushcoalition.blogspot.com.

Thank you,

[your name]
The Big Honkin' List of Links

Below is a list of links to all of the US Senators in the 109th Congress -- most open to web forms at senate.gov and a handful open to traditional e-mail addresses:








































































































Senator's NameParty/StateContact Format
Akaka, DanielD - HIE-mail
Alexander, LamarR - TNWeb Form
Allard, WayneR - COWeb Form
Allen, GeorgeR - VAWeb Form
Baucus, MaxD - MTWeb Form
Bayh, EvanD - INWeb Form
Bennett, RobertR - UTWeb Form
Biden, JosephD - DEE-mail
Bingaman, JeffD - NME-mail
Bond, ChristopherR - MOWeb Form
Boxer, BarbaraD - CAWeb Form
Brownback, SamR - KSWeb Form
Bunning, JimR - KYWeb Form
Burns, ConradR - MTWeb Form
Burr, RichardR - NCWeb Form
Byrd, RobertD - WVWeb Form
Cantwell, MariaD - WAWeb Form
Carper, ThomasD - DEWeb Form
Chafee, LincolnR - RIWeb Form
Chambliss, SaxbyR - GAWeb Form
Clinton, HillaryD - NYWeb Form
Coburn, TomR - OKWeb Form
Cochran, ThadR - MSWeb Form
Coleman, NormR - MNWeb Form
Collins, SusanR - MEWeb Form
Conrad, KentD - NDWeb Form
Cornyn, JohnR - TXWeb Form
Corzine, JonD - NJWeb Form
Craig, LarryR - IDWeb Form
Crapo, MichaelR - IDWeb Form
Dayton, MarkD - MNWeb Form
DeMint, JimR - SCWeb Form
DeWine, MikeR - OHWeb Form
Dodd, ChristopherD - CTWeb Form
Dole, ElizabethR - NCWeb Form
Domenici, PeteR - NMWeb Form
Dorgan, ByronD - NDE-mail
Durbin, RichardD - ILWeb Form
Ensign, JohnR - NVWeb Form
Enzi, MichaelR - WYWeb Form
Feingold, RussellD - WIWeb Form
Feinstein, DianneD - CAWeb Form
Frist, BillR - TNWeb Form
Graham, LindseyR - SCWeb Form
Grassley, ChuckR - IAWeb Form
Gregg, JuddR - NHWeb Form
Hagel, ChuckR - NEWeb Form
Harkin, TomD - IAWeb Form
Hatch, OrrinR - UTWeb Form
Hutchison, KayR - TXWeb Form
Inhofe, JamesR - OKWeb Form
Inouye, DanielD - HIWeb Form
Isakson, JohnnyR - GAWeb Form
Jeffords, JamesI - VTWeb Form
Johnson, TimD - SDWeb Form
Kennedy, EdwardD - MAWeb Form
Kerry, JohnD - MAWeb Form
Kohl, HerbD - WIWeb Form
Kyl, JonR - AZWeb Form
Landrieu, MaryD - LAWeb Form
Lautenberg, FrankD - NJWeb Form
Leahy, PatrickD - VTE-mail
Levin, CarlD - MIWeb Form
Lieberman, JosephD - CTWeb Form
Lincoln, BlancheD - ARWeb Form
Lott, TrentR - MSE-mail
Lugar, RichardR - INE-mail
Martinez, MelR - FLWeb Form
McCain, JohnR - AZWeb Form
McConnell, MitchR - KYWeb Form
Mikulski, BarbaraD - MDWeb Form
Murkowski, LisaR - AKWeb Form
Murray, PattyD - WAWeb Form
Nelson, BillD - FLWeb Form
Nelson, BenD - NEWeb Form
Obama, BarackD - ILWeb Form
Pryor, MarkD - ARWeb Form
Reed, JackD - RIWeb Form
Reid, HarryD - NVWeb Form
Roberts, PatR - KSWeb Form
Rockefeller, JohnD - WVWeb Form
Salazar, KenD - COWeb Form
Santorum, RickR - PAWeb Form
Sarbanes, PaulD - MDWeb Form
Schumer, CharlesD - NYWeb Form
Sessions, JeffR - ALWeb Form
Shelby, RichardR - ALE-mail
Smith, GordonR - ORWeb Form
Snowe, OlympiaR - MEE-mail
Specter, ArlenR - PAWeb Form
Stabenow, DebbieD - MIWeb Form
Stevens, TedR - AKWeb Form
Sununu, JohnR - NHWeb Form
Talent, JamesR - MOWeb Form
Thomas, CraigR - WYWeb Form
Thune, JohnR - SDWeb Form
Vitter, DavidR - LAWeb Form
Voinovich, GeorgeR - OHWeb Form
Warner, JohnR - VAWeb Form
Wyden, RonD - ORWeb Form

posted by Rambler Joe Snitty @ 9:47 PM  |

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