Americans (myself included) do not get involved enough in government. Most of us are content throwing food at the TV and arguing with our friends, rather than actually getting involved and making ourselves truly heard. Politicians need to know the opinions of their constiuents. Yes, lobbyists get them the money, and their opinions will likely have a bit of weight, but it is still your every day constituent that votes them in or out of office.

I have been wondering about this. What about writing to a member of congress who is *not* “mine” but is on a commitee that I care about?

I usually look at the bills that are being released at the beginning of the legislative session, pick four or five that have the most direct impact or personal interest for me, RESEARCH them very well (you will more often than not embarass yourself if you contact your Rep without having actually read some/all of the wording of the bill) and contact my state Rep encouraging her to support or oppose those bills. I always get a reply back within a day or two. A few times I have even received a personal phone call from my Rep. Once, a few years ago, she even stopped by my office to discuss an issue I had emailed her about. We don’t always agree on these issues, but this level of responsiveness has garnered a huge amount of respect and support from me, and that is a rare thing for me to say about a politician.

Since becoming more politically active the last 3 or 4 years, one thing I’ve learned is that, at a bare minimum, if you want to do any good you should make sure a few of your local/municipal office holders and your state Rep know your name. You will help yourself even if you do nothing else but go to a city council / town hall meeting, walk up to them afterwards and say, “I wanted to introduce myself to you because I am a voter who is paying attention and talking about these issues with other voters.”
Then write a short follow up letter basically saying the same thing and thanking them for their time. They will most likely remember you after that.

1) The Senator does not read any mail. Legislative Correspondents read and respond to mail.
2) Email is more effective for a timely response. Mail is thoroughly checked before we even receive it. We may not see the letter until two weeks later. There is also no preference of reading letters over emails.
2) The Senator will never set up a meeting with you unless you are a part of an important organization, just want a picture, or just want to shake hands.
3) Although you will never talk to the Senator via phone call, your comments are tallied on issues for him to see. So essentially your issue is best represented here compared to letter which he does not see. If his phones are blowing up on an issue, he will notice.

Some tips on phone calls:
1) Never call in at the request of a radio host or other medium. Do your research prior to calling in. Senators do not have “districts”.
2) Be brief. Offices receive hundreds of calls a day. A 30 second phone call is more than sufficient. I usually write down the same line for a 30 second call or a 15 minute call on the same topic.
3) Make sure you contact the appropriate office. If it is a local or state issue, do not contact your U.S. Senator.
4) Never be rude. You are less likely to be written down.

I could go on forever. I am not a fan that Senators are so inaccessible, but unfortunately it is modern day politics.

Even the skeptical insider would agree that if enough people write about an issue, regardless of lobbying power, it will have an impact.

I’ve never been around Capitol Hill, but I’d imagine that if a particular vote made a Congressman’s mail double (or better) in volume he or she would take notice. After all, isn’t this how the first bill for the post-2008 big bank bailouts got rejected?