Daily Kos publishes guide to effective citizen action

From our member Ruth Afifi comes this, an item published on the Daily Kos website during the last week. Although the writer includes at least one clear bias in their article, the method the writer describes in the article is both sound and effective. From the Daily Kos:

It is absolutely true that (the healthcare reform) battle is between the insurance companies with their TV ads and their lobbyists, and the people. The problem is that the people don't always show up in these fights. To some extent, the Internet has been a detriment in the battle, as many are satisfied merely to ... occasionally send an e-mail out about the public option.

But, to win this battle, here is what you need to do:

1. Write a letter to your elected representative, making sure to mention the public option. Send it to the Washington office.
   
   
2. Get as many people as you know who live in your district to write similar, but not identical letters.
   
   
3. When you get a response from their office, check to see if the response actually mentions the public option. If your letter does not, check your friend's letters that they get back from your representatives. When and if your representative starts sending out canned responses that specifically mention the public option, then you know that they are getting enough such letters that a staffer has been assigned to this specific issue.
   
   
4. When their canned response shows the congressional office is reacting to the issue, call your representative' local office, and ask them for a meeting about healthcare. Tell them that you are going to bring a group of voters (10 would be nice, but even 5 will do). Tell them you will fax them a letter with the names of the potential attendees and their addresses. It would be nice to meet with the actual congressperson, but a meeting with the Chief of Staff is actually more effective.
   
   
5. Fax and mail over the letter to the local office, to the attention of their chief of staff, and follow up with phone calls.
   
   
6. Have the meeting, and specifically request that the congressperson do a specific action, whether it be co-sponsor a specific bill, or make a specific vote.
   
   
7. Follow up with as many letters from constituents as possible making the identical specific request.

If [we] would do the above, we would be 100 times more effective.... The above technique actually works, and is measurable.

For more information, see the full article on the Daily Kos website.