Why is citizen political action in the US so tied to people calling congress members' offices? Seems like an artifact of an odd influence protocol
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i wondered about this too; mused it had something to do with causing direct physical suffering on the part of the staff which bubbled up to the rep
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I think it's something more bureaucratic like the number of callers being some sort of quasi-formal currency
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Having single-member districts is definitely a factor. Relatively open primaries are likely a factor as well.
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Imperfect as it may be, at least it’s an option for citizens. Contrast this with other democracies (I’m thinking of India) where complaining at local level makes little difference, votes are by party line. (It’s left to party leadership to abide by - or ignore - opinion polls)
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Read the Indivisible paper from January 2017







