Posted on 02/07/2009 4:42:47 PM PST by nomoremods
We need to be calling all of our senators, folks. But some might need more attention than others. That said, I just finished calling every Republican in the Senate, plus Joe Lieberman. I kept a tally of who gave a firm no, and who seemed to be a little more on the squishy side. The ones who gave a firm no should still get phone calls, mind you, to make sure they don’t change their position. But it’s the squishy ones who really need our attention. Here’s the tally:
FIRMLY OPPOSES: I only put someone down in the “no” column if the response I got from the office was a firm no. Any wavering or talk of compromise and bipartisanship got them in the “squish” column. So, here are the senators currently planning on voting no: # Jeff Sessions # Kit Bond # Jon Kyl # John McCain # Mike Johann # John Ensign # Richard Burr # Tom Coburn # James Inhofe # Mike Crapo # James Risch # Jim DeMint # Lindsay Graham # Sam Brownback # Pat Roberts # John Thune # Jim Bunning # Mitch McConnell # Bob Corker # David Vitter # Robert Bennett # John Barrasso
Now, just because they’re saying they oppose it right now doesn’t mean that decision is carved in stone, so don’t hesitate to continue contacting them. Let them know you support their decision and tell them that they’re doing the right thing. Encourage them. Be nice.
Now, for the rest of the group.
THE SQUISHES: These are the people whose votes are liable to change, along with any notes I wrote down about my conversations with them. # Richard Shelby — I got busy signals on both lines, so I just put him in the squish column. # Lisa Murkowski — definite squish; plus, her staffer was a huge asshat on the phone. # Thad Cochran # Judd Gregg — said he was abstaining from voting. # Joe Lieberman # Mel Martinez # Saxby Chambliss — said he currently opposed it, but was “open to compromise” # George Voinovich — voted no in appropriations but is still open to voting for the bill # Johnny Isakson # Arlen Specter — both of his lines were busy, I never actually got through # Richard Lugar # Chuck Grassley # Roger Wicker # Lamar Alexander — likely a “no” vote, but still possibly squishy # John Cornyn — no answer on either line # Kay Bailey Hutchison — busy on both lines # Susan Collins # Olympia Snowe # Michael Enzi — “leaning towards no”
So folks, that’s where we stand right now on the positions of the Republican senators. Let’s light up those phones now. You can get their phone numbers here.
I’ve had no problem getting through to John Cornyn’s Texas offices. I’ve been told he’s a ‘No’ vote, but that was a couple of days ago.
Arkansas Senators and McCaskill are our best chances of Dems jumping. They were with us on the amnesty fight....they need to be reminded of how it felt to be on the side of the American people that they work for
PS..Enzi is the only accountant in the Senate..he knows how bad this bill smells..he will be a no
They are not squishy and don’t have a clue where this person came up with these names. Both of my Senator’s offices said there are two and maybe three at most which are Specter, Snowe, and Collins. They said the rest are solid and that is the impression that all the speakers have given.
The problem with targeting like this is that some people tend to yell at staffers of Senators that are firmly on board voting NO and it accomplishes ZERO, ZIP, NADA except irritate the heck out of them.
Don’t have a clue who put this list together and why.
Cornyn is 100% NO and why this who thread makes no sense. The Republicans named except for the three traitors are solidly NO. Cornyn has been with Coburn and Inhofe for a long time against pork and earmarks.
I got though to the Republican cloakroom today. Had a nice conversation with the young man you answered the phone. I told him to get a message to Arlen Specter - I listed all the things wrong about his support for this disaster. I asked him, if along with the message if he could throw a shoe at him for me.
True, but she did vote against the September bailout. So she’s at least worth contacting.
The election is over and McVain lost; you can stop defending the squish RINO now.
Don't bet on it. She will wait until she sees how the wind is blowing. If it is really close she may vote for it. If she sees there are enough votes to pass it, she will vote no. This is the way KBH always plays.
She doesn't need to vote for it, she gets to have it both ways.
Read the post - she explains that she phoned each one of their offices and only received “wobbly” responses from the staff. We don’t have time to play nice. If they yell at their staffers, perhaps the staffers will be more apt to signal to their employers, US, that the Senator in question is actually going to vote no rather than give an evasive answer.
If they are leaving wiggle room by not giving firm answers to constituents, then they deserve the calls. Irritate them? I really don’t care if they’re irritated; this is $1 trillion of our money that they’re playing around with and I don’t give one flying fig if phone calls irritate them. They work for us!
Some tips:
Staffers will not say how their Senator is voting until he has either told them or made a public statement. Some of you forget you are not dealing with the Senator but his aides. If you are not sure how your Senator is voting, then use the ploy of thanking them for their NO vote and trust me you most likely will get a big thank you which speaks volumes. You are also more likely to get a conversation going with your local office then DC.
Yelling at staffers even at the ones of Collins, etc. is not smart. State your reasons rationally. If you get angry, you get marked in a separate category and they pay zero attention to you.
Be polite and firm in your conviction when asking them to vote NO. Can tell you now if you are calling from outside their area codes, they won’t even mark you down. They don’t work for you. If you block your number, they also won’t mark you down. They are interested in what their constituents are saying not what someone from Middle America is saying.
Don’t think some on here understand how these offices are run and that the person at the end could be the age of their young 20’s. What better way to turn them off then to get mad at them.
HINT: If you are not from their State, they don’t care how you want them to vote because you are not their constituent and you may be tying up the lines for someone from their state. It is better to find people in their state to call. Go to our State lists on here and ask them, their friends and family to call. Flooding voice mail when you are not from Maine? Hope it made you feel better. Senators are elected to support their constituents.
You might have better luck calling the State GOP Chair and the county chairs along with their national committee people to put pressure on them. These are the people like all of us and they help raise money including from out of state to fund their Senator campaigns along with providing grassroots people to help in the campaign. State Chair tells the Senate office that money and help is going to dry up then the Senator MIGHT listen.
Another idea is to call Sen Cornyn at the NRSC and ask them to cut off any funds for the turncoats and then call the Senate office of one of the three and tell them what you have done. The problem with Collins is she just got re-elected.
Be imaginative in finding people from their State to call.
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