Articles
Advocacy - Emails
<p>Particularly if you need your MOC to act on an issue within the next two weeks, sending an email message is one of the more effective ways of communicating with your MOC. It’s easier than sending a letter, and it allows you to present your position more fully than in a short social media message or phone call.</p> <p>Most of the tips for letter writing apply to email messages as well:</p> <ul><li>Limit your message to one issue.</li> <li>Be respectful and professional; avoid spelling and grammatical errors.</li> <li>Be succinct: state your specific “ask” (e.g., to support or oppose a particular bill identified by its nam...</li></ul>
Read MoreAdvocacy - Letters
<p>Writing a personal letter to your MOC has traditionally been regarded as one of the more effective actions you can take, in part because MOCs are aware of the greater level of effort it requires. However, some MOC offices much prefer email as easier to handle. Regular mail is also much slower, because of both usual mail delivery times and the additional time taken to irradiate all mail addressed to Congress. If action on your issue is not needed for two weeks or more, a letter may get greater attention; if action is needed sooner, an email message is a better option.</p> <p>Some tips for letter writi...</p>
Read MoreAdvocacy - Social Media Messaging
<p>Like signing a petition, sending a tweet about your MOC or posting a message on the MOC’s Facebook page (or your own) takes little effort, and hence it may have little if any influence. But some MOC offices do pay attention to social media messaging.</p> <p>If your message is appropriately tagged to the MOC, identifies you as a constituent, and makes a specific “ask,” it may be worth the effort, particularly if it gains wider attention (retweets, additional Facebook comments, etc.) or adds to a trend. But <em>don’t stop there</em>—follow up with one of the other advocacy tools listed on the <a href="/post/act-advocate">main Advocacy pag...</a></p>
Read MoreAdvocacy - Petitions
<p>Signing a petition is an easy but generally ineffective way of influencing your MOCs. Typically, the petition is not targeted to your MOCs specifically, and signatures are not solicited only from your district (for Representatives) or state (for Senators). Plus, the minimal effort each person makes in signing a petition means MOCs are unlikely to give it much weight. As Barney Frank <a href="https://mic.com/articles/167878/barney-frank-heres-how-to-not-waste-your-time-pressuring-lawmakers#.XbsjDWjVO">explains</a>, a goal in any advocacy is to persuade your MOC that you care enough about an issue for it to motivate your voting behavior in the next election. “Simply agreeing to put your name on a list does not convey...</p>
Read MoreAdvocacy Overview
<h1>Advocacy with Members of Congress (MOCs) and Other Elected Officials</h1> <p><em>A lot of information and advice can be found online regarding effective advocacy with MOCs (Senators and Representatives), although not all of it is consistent. Here is some basic information, subject to refinement as we gain experience interacting with our elected officials. The same principles generally apply to advocating with our elected officials at the state and local levels.</em></p> <p>A number of strategies are available for attempting to influence one’s MOCs, including petitions, social media messaging (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)...</p>
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