Mondo Times Political Poll Archive

This poll ran from September 22 to 28, 2008.

Mondo Stars Poll Results

Are politicians interested in what you have to say? Yes 120/12% No 900/88%

Votes: 1020

The "Upfront" section of eWeek magazine from June 16, 2008, reported that "The majority of people who contact Congress do not believe lawmakers are interested in what they have to say. Nevertheless, driven by online advocacy campaigns, people are writing to their lawmakers in record numbers.

"According to a new report by the Congressional Management Foundation, almost half of voting-age Americans -- 44 percent -- contacted a U.S. senator or representative sometime in the past five years. Among the Internet users who sent a message to Congress, 84 percent were asked to do so by a third party such as an advocacy group.

"Just four years ago, a similar survey showed only 18 percent of voting-age Americans had contacted their lawmakers.

"We found the Internet has contributed to millions more people learning about, and joining in, policy debates that used to be conducted by those operating inside the Beltway," said Beverly Bell, executive director of the nonprofit CMF. "These people are politically aware and politically active, and communicating with them should be a priority for every member of Congress."

"But it's not. Why? It's really hard for any lawmaker's staff to deal with, say, the millions of emails that arrived this morning. All say the same thing -- they all demand the same vote for or against an issue. Even the CMF admits, "the constituent expectation for on-demand, online information can place a strain on many congressional offices already struggling with resource limitations and communications strategies designed for old media."

"In summary, the same technology that empowers millions to mass email form letters to lawmakers also drives members of Congress to mass email boilerplate responses to constituents in return."

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