on calling both DC and local offices

[hermionesviolin]

I ended up on some local Indivisible list and saw a post from last month that asserts there's value in calling your federal congressionals' DC and local office, because they don't cross-reference the call lists across offices and "Every single day, the Senior Staff and the Senator get a report of the 3 most-called-about topics for that day at each of their offices (in DC and local offices), and exactly how many people said what about each of those topics."

(This post also reiterates the advice I have seen elsewhere to only talk about 1 issue per call -- I think because of the way calls get tallied.)

I had been thinking of phonecalls as like, "Okay, I told my elected what I thought on this issue and now they know that and I shouldn't call again on future days unless it's REALLY important," but this is motivating me to call more often about stuff.

A longer excerpt of the post is behind the cut. (I also cross-posted this to thisfinecrew.)

For those of you looking to turn your despair into action, here’s some advice from a high-level staffer for a Senator via Debi Jackson on Facebook combined with advice from Indivisible co-founders who worked in congressional offices and know how things work in Congress.

After in-person meetings, CALLS ARE THE BEST WAY TO CONTACT YOUR MOC. Members of Congress (MOC) have offices in DC, but they also have offices in their home district that they represent. Target phone calls to your local office and you’ll have an easier time getting their attention. And while it should go without saying, only contact your representatives.

For Senate Issues:

You should make 4 calls a day per issue/nomination:

2 each (DC office and your local office) to your 2 Senators

[...]

For House Issues:

You should make 2 calls a day per issue/nomination: the DC office and the regional office.

Put the 2 numbers in your phone which makes it really easy to click down the list each day.

[...]

Why call both offices? They aren’t cross-referencing lists

[...]

Every single day, the Senior Staff and the Senator get a report of the 3 most-called-about topics for that day at each of their offices (in DC and local offices), and exactly how many people said what about each of those topics. They’re also sorted by zip code and area code. She said that Republican callers generally outnumber Democrat callers 4-1, and when it’s a particular issue that single-issue-voters pay attention to (like gun control, or planned parenthood funding, etc…), it’s often closer to 11-1, and that’s recently pushed Republican congressmen on the fence to vote with the Republicans. In the last 8 years, Republicans have called, and Democrats haven’t.

So, when you call:

If you leave a message- be clear and concise. One issue per phone call. Follow the directions about what information to leave. Do not use profanity.

[...]

They may get to know your voice or name — it doesn’t matter. The people answering the phones generally turn over every 6 weeks, so a new person will soon be tallying messages or answering the phone.