Democratic lawmakers and their aides are frustrated with the Democratic National Committee and its Organizing for America arm because a campaign to deluge state and district offices with health care overhaul supporters has left many constituents mistakenly thinking they had appointments with their representatives.
Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent first reported earlier Wednesday that California Sen. Dianne Feinsteins staff had flagged the issue for White House aides.
But it turns out shes just the tip of the iceberg. Democratic sources say lawmakers in both chambers and across the partys ideological spectrum are frustrated because constituents -- who in some cases drive long distances under the impression that they have a scheduled meeting -- think their elected officials are dodging them.
It can make lawmakers and staff who were unaware of the organized visits look bad. The level of frustration at the DNC folks -- from mild annoyance to anger -- varies by congressional office.
There is some frustration about a lack of coordinated message said an aide to one of the senators affected by the dynamic. In addition to Feinstein the dynamic has played out for Sens. Charles E. Schumer of New York Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas Mark Warner of Virginia Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana Jack Reed of Rhode Island Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and others according to Democratic sources.
Its happening to House members too.
On Tuesday DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan told Notepad the issue was not a widespread problem and characterized contact between lawmakers and the DNC which is the presidents political operation as a couple of questions.
But by Wednesday the scope had grown considerably. Sevugan said it was understandable given the size of the effort that a few people would misinterpret the instructions.
We asked people to visit their representatives to thank them for their work and let them know that they had the support of their constituents in backing health insurance reform this year Sevugan said Wednesday night. Of the tens of thousands of people who signed up a small number may have mistakenly thought they had an appointment. In an effort to serve their constituents some offices called to clarify that we were advising folks that these were visits and not meetings. And we have reiterated that is the case in all our communications.
Heres how the sign-up system works and why it may have been unclear:
On Obamas political homepage supporters are asked to sign up to visit the state and district offices of House members and senators this week picking specific times so that a steady stream of volunteers can express their backing for Obamas health agenda throughout the day. There are any number of suggestions that significant planned interaction with staff or lawmakers is likely.
All this week OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff tell your personal story or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you.
Well provide everything you need: the address phone number and open hours for the office information about how the health care crisis affects your state for you to drop off (with the option of adding your personal story) and a step-by-step guide for your visit.
After clicking on a link each volunteer can enter his or her ZIP code into an engine that spits out the district and state offices of his or her two senators and House member.
Volunteers are asked for their names e-mail addresses telephone numbers and the days and times this week at which they want to show up at the lawmakers office. On this page it is stated clearly for those who want to read the instructions that even though you wont have any meeting scheduled with office staff we want to have someone at each office throughout the day all this week.
But not everyone read or remembered that cautionary note as they filled in the online form.
When users provide their information they get an e-mail confirming the time and location of the office visit (which many volunteers have taken to mean appointment). OFA offers an office-visit tipsheet for volunteers but they have to click on an embedded link to learn for certain that they dont have an actual appointment to meet with staff.
We put together a step-by-step guide you can use to plan your visit and maximize your impact. You can download the guide and additional information to drop off at the office here:
DOWNLOAD YOUR OFFICE VISIT GUIDE
These visits are extremely important. Representatives are feeling the heat from special interests and need to hear from their constituents how important health insurance reform is to them.
For our plan to work we need everyone whos signed up to stop by their Representatives office during the time they agreed to go. Its critical that they hear from as many people in their district as possible. If for some reason you cant make your shift let us know but make sure you drop by sometime during office hours this week.
Thank you for standing up once again to fight for the change our country needs.
The guide itself -- just one click away -- implies that no appointment has been made.
Call Ahead. Some offices may change their office hours with short notice so just call ahead to confirm that the office will be open when you intend to visit. Theres no need to schedule an appointment unless youd like to have a longer conversation with the staff.
However it also tells volunteers that they may be able to meet with caseworkers or the office expert on health care (even though most of those are based in the Washington legislative offices).
A few call-aheads from OFA to Democratic offices might have saved some heartache.
Democratic lawmakers and their aides are frustrated with the Democratic National Committee and its Organizing for America arm because a campaign to deluge state and district offices with health care overhaul supporters has left many constituents mistakenly thinking they had appointments with their representatives.
Washington Post blogger Greg Sargent first reported earlier Wednesday that California Sen. Dianne Feinsteins staff had flagged the issue for White House aides.
But it turns out shes just the tip of the iceberg. Democratic sources say lawmakers in both chambers and across the partys ideological spectrum are frustrated because constituents -- who in some cases drive long distances under the impression that they have a scheduled meeting -- think their elected officials are dodging them.
It can make lawmakers and staff who were unaware of the organized visits look bad. The level of frustration at the DNC folks -- from mild annoyance to anger -- varies by congressional office.
There is some frustration about a lack of coordinated message said an aide to one of the senators affected by the dynamic. In addition to Feinstein the dynamic has played out for Sens. Charles E. Schumer of New York Blanche L. Lincoln of Arkansas Mark Warner of Virginia Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana Jack Reed of Rhode Island Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and others according to Democratic sources.
Its happening to House members too.
On Tuesday DNC spokesman Hari Sevugan told Notepad the issue was not a widespread problem and characterized contact between lawmakers and the DNC which is the presidents political operation as a couple of questions.
But by Wednesday the scope had grown considerably. Sevugan said it was understandable given the size of the effort that a few people would misinterpret the instructions.
We asked people to visit their representatives to thank them for their work and let them know that they had the support of their constituents in backing health insurance reform this year Sevugan said Wednesday night. Of the tens of thousands of people who signed up a small number may have mistakenly thought they had an appointment. In an effort to serve their constituents some offices called to clarify that we were advising folks that these were visits and not meetings. And we have reiterated that is the case in all our communications.
Heres how the sign-up system works and why it may have been unclear:
On Obamas political homepage supporters are asked to sign up to visit the state and district offices of House members and senators this week picking specific times so that a steady stream of volunteers can express their backing for Obamas health agenda throughout the day. There are any number of suggestions that significant planned interaction with staff or lawmakers is likely.
All this week OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff tell your personal story or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you.
Well provide everything you need: the address phone number and open hours for the office information about how the health care crisis affects your state for you to drop off (with the option of adding your personal story) and a step-by-step guide for your visit.
After clicking on a link each volunteer can enter his or her ZIP code into an engine that spits out the district and state offices of his or her two senators and House member.
Volunteers are asked for their names e-mail addresses telephone numbers and the days and times this week at which they want to show up at the lawmakers office. On this page it is stated clearly for those who want to read the instructions that even though you wont have any meeting scheduled with office staff we want to have someone at each office throughout the day all this week.
But not everyone read or remembered that cautionary note as they filled in the online form.
When users provide their information they get an e-mail confirming the time and location of the office visit (which many volunteers have taken to mean appointment). OFA offers an office-visit tipsheet for volunteers but they have to click on an embedded link to learn for certain that they dont have an actual appointment to meet with staff.
We put together a step-by-step guide you can use to plan your visit and maximize your impact. You can download the guide and additional information to drop off at the office here:
DOWNLOAD YOUR OFFICE VISIT GUIDE
These visits are extremely important. Representatives are feeling the heat from special interests and need to hear from their constituents how important health insurance reform is to them.
For our plan to work we need everyone whos signed up to stop by their Representatives office during the time they agreed to go. Its critical that they hear from as many people in their district as possible. If for some reason you cant make your shift let us know but make sure you drop by sometime during office hours this week.
Thank you for standing up once again to fight for the change our country needs.
The guide itself -- just one click away -- implies that no appointment has been made.
Call Ahead. Some offices may change their office hours with short notice so just call ahead to confirm that the office will be open when you intend to visit. Theres no need to schedule an appointment unless youd like to have a longer conversation with the staff.
However it also tells volunteers that they may be able to meet with caseworkers or the office expert on health care (even though most of those are based in the Washington legislative offices).
A few call-aheads from OFA to Democratic offices might have saved some heartache.
