Yesterday, I posted a diary asking people to commit to making calls and emails to the media and to their Congressional representatives in support of the American Jobs Act.
My thought was that we needed a grassroots effort to change the media narrative about poor support for Obama's proposal, and that if we could get everyone to write one day a week -- every Wednesday -- then we had a good chance of influencing the framing of the debate.
I called the effort "WE HAVE YOUR BACK, BARACK" (WHYBB) because I was moved to write after hearing the President ask bluntly, directly, and repeatedly for our help in the effort to influence Congress and the public on the Jobs Act.
Follow me below the fold and I'll respond to some of the issues raised in the comments.
Yesterdays diary (entitled "We Have Your Back, Barack (WHYBB))"
unfortunately did not generate the response I had hoped for, with several commenters suggesting that they were holding off on their decision whether or not to support the President because they had been "burned" before by hoping for results that had not come.
But my diary was not about supporting the president's reelection or campaign, my diary was a plea to respond to the president's direct request for help from us to throw our grassroots support behind the Jobs Act, because only with overwhelming calls from constituents to PASS THIS BILL will Congress respond.
It is clear to me that a big mistake Obama made in the first few years was to think that his job was to convince Republicans of the wisdom and reasonableness of various policies or programs. Like many of you, I feel that Republicans in Congress don't care about policies and programs to help the economy if helping the economy means helping Obama's chances for reelection.
Only the voices of constituents -- grassroots voices not driven by any existing group, may have an effect. The President is asking for our help on this. If we agree with the Jobs Act, then we should respond with our help to get the message to Congress and the media.
So yes, I was disappointed that "only" 20 people responded that they were willing to help in the effort to contact their representatives and the media to advise them that, on this matter, we have the President's back on this, and we support the Jobs Act, and we want Congress to PASS THIS BILL.
But then I said, OK -- 20 people tomorrow is a start. I'm not giving up on this because there's some apathy out there, or a lack of belief in the ability to influence the narrative. If I don't do it, then I can't expect anyone else to do so.
So this morning, I wrote my Representative (the Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy) as follows:
The American people deserve a representative who votes for what is best for us, not one who is in lockstep with party ideology, partisan agendas, or ill-advised "pledges" to lobbyists.
Investing in repairing roads and bridges is good for business, and good for our economy. Investing in our schools and their teachers is an investment in our future. This idea that government should stop spending because families are tightening their belts in the middle of the worst economic downturn in our lifetime is just wrong. Yes, we need to cut out waste and eliminate programs that don't work, but investing in our future is needed now more than ever. When families are struggling, they cut spending on things that are not important, but they will still do everything possible to ensure that their children have the best education possible, and that the investments they have made in their homes are maintained by putting new roofs on when needed. We need to compete against a world that is outspending us on science and education, and that is investing in infrastructure and research.
Just read about Japan's "lost decade" and the worsening of the Great Depression and you will see that following the path of austerity now will lead us to economic disaster.
I don't agree with President Obama on everything, but I have his back on this:
Stop playing politics and PASS THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT.
If you were one of the 20 people who agreed yesterday with the premise, please post your efforts as comments below, or as a diary of your own. If anyone knows how to post the entire contact list for Representatives, including phone numbers and email addresses, that would be a big help. I'm not a big techie, and I apologize for not making this a "fill in the blanks" effort for other people, but the important thing is to start somewhere -- anywhere, and tell Congress we will not stand idly by while they put partisanship above the general welfare of ordinary Americans.
Anything anyone can suggest to improve this effort and make it grow is much appreciated.