Here are some ideas about calling his office, even if you’re 1) not a GOPer, or 2) not in or from Kentucky, humbly submitted:
- If you lived there beforehand, or grew up there. Keep your old address/zip code handy, in case they ask. They often do.
- If you went to school there - keep the campus address/zip code handy in case you were a dormie.
- If you have family there. Keep their address/zip code handy.
- If you have good friends there. Especially if you’ve visited there.
And what did you do there when you visited?
You supported the local economy. Bought stuff - food, drinks, via restaurant or fast-food or grocery store; you filled the car with gas; you picked up a souvenir or two, postcards, stamps, etc.; went to a movie or other ticketed event or sports pursuit; bought food/other stuff there, and so forth. Longer stays mean you’ll spend more.
You’re also inevitably using the local infrastructure, acquainting yourself with the neighborhood and general area and the people in it. How they celebrate the holidays or special events. What kinds of signature specialties or iniquities there are. The local cuisine and other public artistic expressions. Dialects and cultures. You’re getting to know the scenic parts, residential enclaves, commercial districts, “hot spots” and trends, weather, seasons, tourism...
I submit that this gives you a personal stake in that community in that state. However brief. Especially if there are people there about whom you care deeply. When YOU are there, yourself, you ARE one of them. Even temporarily. And you are thus directly and personally affected and personally impacted by the rules, laws, customs, and physical conditions there.
That’s why I feel strongly that this entitles you to have a say. However small.
ALSO - if you contributed to their campaigns. Even from out-of-state. I’d even go so far as to say - if your parents voted for whoever the Senator/Rep is, and even if it’s a GOPer. I still think that gives you a legitimate or at least reasonable authorization to call in and register your opinion.
I’ve shared the anecdote here before - about how I called Heidi Heitkamp’s Senate office to lodge a complaint about something she said on “Goid Morning America”. But I think it’s worth repeating. It was right after Newtown and she was asked about the many calls to limit or outlaw assault weapons. She vehemently objected, saying she had no intention of supporting such a move. So I called in, trying to contain my outrage. I told the staffer, politely, that I was a donor to her campaign to win that Senate seat two years earlier, and that her campaign was VERY happy to take MY California money, and didn’t reject it because I wasn’t a constituent. So by Jove she’s going to hear from me now. And her staffer listened rather than scold me because I wasn’t a constituent and they’re only interested in callers from her state.
I’ve actually received that scolding, calling from California to complain to Susan Collins’s office about some position she took. I was rudely confronted by a young male staffer - “And WHAT does this have to do with THE STATE OF MAINE???”
Oh poo - sorry this is so long...
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