If you write to a candidate thanking them, and their only response is the canned one,

[Deja Q]

should one vote for them again?

[valerief]

1. I hate it when they send me cans. nt

[Deja Q]

2. So you have plenty of cans already.

Nice ones, I hope? :D

[valerief]

4. Just a few lima beans. I hate lima beans. nt

[dipsydoodle]

3. No - they are saying in effect.

You're a nobody. So - fuck 'em.

[Mist]

5. I don't think a "canned" reply would change my desire to get more Dems in office. nt

[ccpup]

6. if that candidate or their office

has enough time to personally respond to each and every letter they receive, they're not doing the job they were elected -- or want to get elected -- to do.

[EST]

7. Given the huge amount of confusion and stress in a candidate's

life, a reply of any sort would be welcomed, even if disappointing. Taking offense at the notion that prioritizing a few thousand pieces of mail ends up putting my response at a lower priority than I would like doesn't seem responsible ot me.

[Deja Q]

11. Very true, thank you.

I've written to some before.

Got back letters from two. Mind you, those weren't letters of "thanks", those were letters asking questions. Especially when one of them came back from a Republican.

And the letter I'd sent included what I thought was not an unreasonable question to ask at the end.

[mondo joe]

8. I don't expect my reps to spend their time writing personal notes.

My ego is not as important as my agenda.

[lonestarnot]

9. So tonight play a neighborhood game of kick the can. It's fun.

[MonkeyFunk]

10. No

if they can't be bothered to hand-write a personal note and send it along with some flowers or maybe a nice cheesecake, you should give up on them forever. No politician is too important to spend 24-hours a day writing thank-you notes.

[Raejeanowl]

12. I'm More Worried About Canned Responses to Criticism

Elected officials don't have time to respond personally to every letter, phone call or email, positive or negative. You don't want them to be that available, believe me. Get over it.

When they do respond in some manner other than the form letter, it's because your communication has been culled out by a staff person as exceptional for some reason. Even in response to praise, you might only get a very brief marginal note.

However, standardized letters answering your negative commentary are often brush-offs of convenience. They're going through the motions of being responsive and stating a position without really answering you, in many cases.

Or you may get an aggravatingly detailed answer that you still can't support.

Still, it's important to write, and if you really want the maximum attention and leverage, add a cc line and send a copy of it to the editor of your local newspaper. If you receive a personalized response that speaks directly to your comments, you've written an exceptionally cogent letter and your representative has taken the time to tell you it made him/her stop and review the issue. Congratulations.

Should you have the opportunity to address your rep in a public forum, do so in the proscribed manner, even it's just to shake a hand, give your name and home area, and say you supported or opposed a stance/bill, thank you. You don't have a constitutional right to commandeer all of their public time or harass and harangue them. Unless they invite you to explain further, be direct, concise, effective.

Finally, you don't need stacks of form letters to tell you when it's time to change your vote. The legislative record will be there.

[EST]

15. Very good synopsis.

I would suggest "prescribed" rather than "proscribed," however.

"to address your rep in a public forum, do so in the proscribed manner,"

[Raejeanowl]

16. Thanks

You're right. My mental Thesaurus isn't getting any younger.

[TheDoorbellRang]

13. I don't mind a canned response if it relates to my original query

But a few years ago I sent a letter to my ex-senator (Talent R-MO) complaining about his position on something, and got a canned letter back thanking me for my support of his position. Now that really p*ssed me off.

[H2O Man]

14. Sure.

It would be highly unrealistic to expect candidates to make a personal response to one's letters.