Reply #141: I don't suppose anyone would like to imagine what it's like being one of the inundated staffers? [View All]

[Hekate]

Especially when the callers are vociferous and long-winded? Do you think our Reps each have a phone bank at their disposal? -- or maybe just a usual office staff. Do you think the staffers are writing down each word?

Let me tell you what I observed in my Senator's office when I dropped by during Bill Clinton's impeachment debate to get a ticket to sit in the gallery and watch the Senators bloviate for an hour. The one person I saw taking calls from the public had a yellow legal pad in front of him, marked off into different categories or sections. Each caller was responded to politely -- and a simple hatch mark was put into one of the categories. It was like a phone-in poll. For impeachment... against impeachment... The calls kept coming, one after the other.

So now when I send an email I am very careful about two things: my subject line and my first paragraph. If they can't slot it into a category fast, my point will be lost. Same thing with my phone calls.

Voice mail is just an automated version of that yellow legal pad, after all, and as you know from your home use it avoids having to hire a butler to take your calls when you're not available. Senators and Reps do not have a budget for a phone bank. Someone will listen to your message -- but they won't take dictation.

I'm a bit irked at Diane Feinstein that I can never get through at all just now. The line in Washington is always busy, and the voice mailbox in Los Angeles is full. On the other hand, it's not personal, is it? It just means that many people other than myself are phoning in.

It's not personal.

Hekate