Senators flooded with record number of calls against Betsy DeVos -- 'one of the worst nominees ever'

[DonViejo]

Source: RawStory



TRAVIS GETTYS
03 FEB 2017 AT 13:24 ET

The nomination fight over Betsy DeVos has triggered a record number of calls to the U.S. Capitol switchboard, according to lawmakers — and they say it’s working.

The U.S. Senate voted unusually early Friday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump’s choice for education secretary, who Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described as “one of the worst nominees that has ever been” chosen.

The full vote is expected Monday, and senators expect to get an earful from their constituents over the weekend.

A spokesman for Schumer said the Senate had been flooded with an average of 1.5 million calls a day this week, and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HA) said Thursday that the previous three days had been the “busiest in Capitol switch board history, by almost double.”



Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/02/senators-flooded-with-record-number-of-calls-against-betsy-devos-one-of-the-worst-nominees-ever/

[hibbing]

1. I've contacted my Senators about 3 nominees

I'm in a total Republican hellscape, but it has energized me. I'm ready to......RESIST.

Peace

[cilla4progress]

2. I'm so sorry for you...

I have 2 Dem women senators, but I still call them. Very fortunate.

I have a GOP congressman so we are almost on a firstname basis!

[spiderpig]

35. If you live in northern CA it can make you passive about contacting your reps

Their positions are already clear, including our House Rep.

(Well, maybe DiFi waffles too much for my taste).

[flygal]

6. me too. I did get rand paul's voice mail

but that coward McConnell is still just hanging up after a recording. I hope at least my call counts.

[rurallib]

7. Me too - I got Ernst and Grassley

I have called I don't know how many times. I call their state offices and Washington both.

I know they will vote for DeVos. Grassley and Ernst are total whores of the Kochs, but I hope I at least put s little discomfort in their staffers.

[old guy]

3. Millions of phone calls, 2 repub senators against her, all for nothing as she will be approved.

She is a cristo-fascist darling doncha know. Resist.

[The Sand Reckoner]

12. It does seem like there is an inevitability about it

And on the one hand, you want to express your dissatisfaction and opposition somehow, but you reach a point where you wonder if a lot of this time and effort wouldn't be better spent working on winning elections in 2018, and taking back at least one house of Congress. Until that happens, all the phone calls in the world are likely to fall on mostly deaf ears.

[CrispyQ]

27. Do both!

Seriously, how long does it take to make a few calls? Most people have their phones with them constantly, anyway.

[tblue37]

21. Not to mention she is Erik Prince's sister. nt

[Aristus]

4. I get a busy signal every time I call Senators Cantwell and Murray.

I hope that means they're swamped with calls!

[raccoon]

30. I got that Sen. Graham's mailbox was full. But I emailed him. nt

[awesomerwb]

5. Now who amongst you received money from her?

It would be great if the donation amounts to those Rep (and Dem?) senators who will be voting for her was made public.

[flygal]

8. it has:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/betsy-devos-donations_us_5893bd80e4b0c1284f251c5f

[awesomerwb]

14. Thank you flygal!

Democracy for sale!

[barbtries]

20. look at both of the senators from NC.

i hate republicans. hate 'em.

[raccoon]

31. Thanks, Flygal! I see Sen. Tim Scott is on the list. I called him. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

9. The Sarah Palin of Education

The more incompetent, the more the GOP plows forward with these miscreants

[The Sand Reckoner]

11. The thing is, she will be competent

at what the Republicans want her to do, which is to undermine public education and help channel even more public school tax money into the (private) hands of their cronies and financial supporters.

[StevieM]

15. Welcome to DU, Sand Reckoner!! Excellent post. She will do a great job from the perspective of

radical Republican activists.

Let's dispel of this notion that Betsy Devos doesn't know what she is doing. She knows exactly what she is doing.

[The Sand Reckoner]

18. Exactly

She just doesn't give a fuck about public education. After all, who benefits from having an educated, informed populace? Certainly no one in her income bracket.

[starshine00]

10. this tactic I believe is going to be far more fruitful than protest

put the fear of the Gods into Congress right now, let them know their behinds are very much on the line

[Liberalagogo]

13. one of the worst nominees that has ever been chosen

I think that honor goes to the RUMP. And pretty much everyone associated with him.

[ailsagirl]

17. 1.5 million calls per day???

[barbtries]

19. i missed making my calls yesterday

and it's like it will be my fault if she's confirmed. even though i'm in NC, i'm working on the theory that the only thing that make a republican senator do the right thing is the fear that they will lose their cushy position if they don't. but in this state and apparently throughout the senate, they're too drunk on power to believe the threat is real.

here's one number: 855 971 2474

you put in your zip code, choose the senator, and they put you through. i left a strong message for Burr and got a busy signal for Tillis. I have at other times reached humans at both offices, though for Burr it was an office somewhere in NC and not in DC

[bucolic_frolic]

22. From the donations list above

Murkowski has signaled intent to vote against her.

It comes down to Rubio or Toomey. The rest are not going to buck
their party.

Which of these 2 will vote against someone who gave their campaigns
$98K and $60K respectively?

Neither. This is the party of money. In God We Trust - all others pay cash.

[TNNurse]

23. My senators are Alexander and Corker

they have made it clear that their constituents are not involved in this.

Wonder if they want to remain senators?

[FairWinds]

24. What really frosts me are those public school teachers . .

who push Reich Wing views on unsuspecting kids;

when Betsy DeVos and the Reich are quite open about
their aim to destroy public education.

[pat_k]

25. They better get used to it. Need to do more face-to-face lobbyng

Find out who the scheduler is. Request a meeting. Tell them what it's about. Bring in people from organization you belong to, like PDA. If they try to fob you off on intern or something, get the names of senior staffers and only settle for one of them.

Get in their faces, even the "hopeless ones." (I'm sick of Republicans being able to say "None of my constituents are for +insert sane legislation+.]

In short, Become a Citizen Lobbyst.

[Rhiannon12866]

26. I attended both public and private schools as a kid

And my only issue with the public schools were all those grizzly bears roaming the halls!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

28. Too bad Western Union doesn't still deliver telegrams.

A million or say a day of those would be very impressive.

[TexasBushwhacker]

29. The thing that's so maddening to me

is that I'm sure there are plenty of QUALIFIED candidates that lean Republican. Why did Trump choose DeVos?

I was definitely no fan of Arne Duncan because he pushed charter schools and high stakes testing. John King was much better because his background was in public education. On the Republican side, Margaret Spellings only qualification was that she attended public schools (with me, from 3rd to 12 grades. She lived down my street.) At least Rod Paige had a background in education as a teacher, dean and superintendant.

[AgadorSparticus]

32. I was told here in az, people could not get through on the phone so i emailed them

But flake jay recently put out a snaking comment on how he loves DeVoid.

[DeminPennswoods]

33. Sen Casey was answering office phones himself!

He also tweeted that calls were up 900% from last year. A record amount of correspondence, too, iirc.

Punxsutawny Pat Toomey is hiding in his burrow. Maybe he'll come back out in 6 more weeks.

[Judi Lynn]

34. Good news. Hope it will make a difference. n/t