I know your first impulse is to despair. To say we’re fucked. To feel desperate and hopeless. I feel it. We all feel it.
But Notorious RBG would not have wanted us to lie down and accept defeat.
She’d have wanted us to fight like hell. And that’s what we’re going to do.
Call your house rep: Find them by Zipcode
Script: “Hi, my name is ____ I am one of your constituents. I am calling to ask Congressperson ______ to go on the record saying they will respect Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dying wishes as well as the precedent set in 2016 to not nominate a new Justice until after a new president is installed. Thanks for your time.”
Call your senator:
(202) 224-3121 Capitol Switchboard
Don’t know who your senator is? Find your senatorScript: “Hi, my name is ________ and I live in (STATE). I am calling to ask Senator ______ to go on the record saying the Senate will not hold hearings on any potential replacement for Justice Ginsburg until after a new president is installed, per Justice Ginsburg’s last wishes and the precedent set in 2016. Thank you for your time.”
*sigh*
I really wish people would learn how our government actually works, because it’s a big part of the problem.
Don’t call your reps. They have nothing to do with SC appointments. The SENATE confirms nominations to the Supreme Court. Also, RBG’s final wish will not be a swaying point for any republican planning on confirming the nominee. It has no legal basis. Precedent, on the other hand, is a tool with which to bargain. Mitch McConnell set the precedent in 2016. It should be followed.
Do call your Senators, but not through the Capitol switchboard. The staff there is not responsible for speaking with constituents and your calls will fall on deaf ears (if you can get transferred to their office at all). Call their local offices. Their numbers should be easily accessible. E-mails are also good. Also contact their campaign offices (which should be separate from their established Congrssional offices within the state, but aren’t always) if they are running for re-election. And make sure you are calling YOUR senator, and not someone else’s. Also, make sure you use your own words, not a script, and do what you can to call during business hours and speak to a person. Voicemails do not always get listened to. The point of calling is to fill the time of the people working in the offices and bug the bejezuss out of them. Call during regular business hours.
Phone calls will also be much more effective once a nominee has been named. Then you will have concrete reasons why you want them to oppose the confirmation, as opposed to just not wanting a conservative judge confirmed.