5 Calls will give you your reps, their party (so you can avoid calling any republicans and getting yourself put on a potential retaliation list), multiple methods for contacting each rep (displayed in the order you should consider them), and then a script for what to say for any one of several dozen issues at hand.
Call your reps, and push them to do their jobs!
What do you expect Democrats to do without a Constitutional majority in either House of Congress, and in none of the 3 Branches? They have no power. Young Democrats didn’t vote. Young Republicans, and more Arab and Latino Americans voted for Donald Trump than have ever voted for any Republican candidate before in history. Do you think they can chant some incantations over sage? What job you do imaging Democrats in government can perform without the Constitutional power to perform them?
They can actually do a significant amount, like force a recorded vote. That means that everyone has to stand by and admit, on the record, what they’re voting for, which becomes voting fodder later. It also significantly slows down the passage of bad bills and allows them to potentially be tied up.
They can also make frequent quorum calls, which also allow things to be tied up. Remember, these people are not working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year- if you stall things enough they fall off the agenda entirely and suddenly republicans have to start prioritizing what shit they’re trying to ram down our throats.
Additionally they can not do repugnant shit like agree to a unanimous consent time agreement, which speeds republicans atrocities through the senate- which Democrats literally just now did to fast track Gabbard through confirmation as the Director of National Intelligence.
The minority party can ABSOLUTELY gum things up- there’s all KINDS of dilatory motions the minority party can do, but right now democrats seem wholly uninterested in actually being an opposition party. In fact, top Democrats are actually mad that progressives are calling for them to be an opposition group in a meeting on tuesday!
Show any semblance of desire to help their countrymen? Not vote in favor of confirming right-wing extremists to the administration and judiciary?
They’ve so far refused to do anything but capitulate when they have a majority or a minority.
i mean sure, they can do that, it’s a non action, but you mean in protest, because it’s not going to change the outcome, thereby giving up any leverage they might have in negotiating anythign at all with republicans. ok, fair enough, fine, but it’s not a job to perform, it’s a job not to perform. ok.
The problem is that they’re not even negotiating, and also it’s been proven time and again that if you give concessions to republicans so you can ‘negotiate later’, they’ll take the concession now and wring another one out of the Democrats later. Negotiation does not work when the other party is not interested in it.