Wellstone Action!

posted by Elana Wolowitz

JULY 18, 2008

Yes, I just double-checked on the calendar and no, it's not November yet.  I know that until November, we are supposed to be doing, thinking, and breathing nothing but campaigns and elections.  But here at Wellstone Action HQ we are trying to do something a little unusual this election year - plan for the day after.

Regardless of who sits in the oval office next year, and who walks the halls of Congress, we as citizens are going to have to work hard to pass forward-thinking progressive public policy. In short order, we are going to have to address the myriad challenges facing our nation at this flashpoint in our history.  No one leader will be able to do this alone. 

We are keenly aware that while Wellstone Action is known as the place to go to learn how to win your election while building your base and bringing more people into the political process, 2009 will bring a new set of needs for training and leadership development in the progressive movement.  To address those, we are doing a lot of thinking about how to move an agenda, how to win on your issue.

That's why we were excited to find the recent draft report from the Congressional Management Foundation called "Communicating with Congress: Recommendations for Improving the Democratic Dialogue".  This report is still in draft stage and is available for public comment.  They surveyed over 350 congressional staffers as well as over 10,000 (!) citizens and asked them about their perceptions and practices with constituent communication.  Some of their initial findings will be very helpful in crafting strategy for effective advocacy and grassroots organizing. 

Among the critical issues they identified: the fact that the sheer volume of citizen communication is becoming overwhelming for Congressional offices; Congressional staff mistrust "formulaic" communications that are obviously automatically generated; and that citizens are showing an increasing interest in communicating not just with their representative, but with committee and leadership offices as well.

On the one hand, all of these findings point to something good - a combination of factors (technology, a divided electorate, etc) have led to a dramatic increase in citizen involvement in the process of government.  However, it doesn't appear that an increase in engagement has led to more getting done in Congress and more effective citizen lobbying.    

One hint lies in the second finding above - the volume of communication has increased but not its personal nature.  We need to find a way to demonstrate the power of a large, organized group of people without taking away the impact of direct, individual constituent contact.  And we need to find a way to target the influential committee members and leadership, even when all the communication isn't coming from direct constituents. 

While this study is only about Congress, these principles may apply to smaller-scale advocacy as well. What have been your experiences (good and bad) with communicating with Congress?  What questions or ideas do you have about moving a progressive issue agenda in 2009?  Leave a comment here and help us plan for 2009.