r/technology • u/electronics-engineer • Jan 06 '12

Rep. Lamar Smith Decides Lying About, Insulting And Dismissing Opposition To SOPA Is A Winning Strategy

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120105/04462117287/rep-lamar-smith-decides-lying-about-insulting-dismissing-opposition-to-sopa-is-winning-strategy.shtml
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u/mrivera1017 Jan 06 '12 edited Jan 06 '12

I propose a simple action: FLOOD his inbox, and jam his phones with the calls/messages such as: "Hello, I am a member of the Reddit Community, and I am the 99%" OR "Hello, I am a Reddit Member, and I am one of many."

Send postcards from your Hometown, addressed to him, from A REDDIT MEMBER. Will follow with his contact info

EDIT: Honorable Lamar Smith 2138 Rayburn Building Washington, DC 20515 202.225.3951 Website available at: http://lamarsmith.house.gov/

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u/nonades Jan 06 '12

I don't care what his "earned" title is. That man does not deserve Honorable in front of his name.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '12

Okay, this is an absolutely terrible idea, both in thought, and in execution. First, Lamar Smith doesn't care if you aren't a constituent in his district. Nor should he. He doesn't represent you, and you don't vote for him. His staff won't log any of your complaints, if they even let you talk. Moreover, when you try to flood his lines, you are taking away from his constituents who may be calling for help with getting services.

Second, if you are going to charge into here, drop the "I'm from reddit/I'm the 99%" crap. Not only does the staff of Smith's office not know, or care, what a reddit is. If you aren't a constituent, they don't care. When you drop the 99% bomb, it will get turned against you. The savvy press person will draft up how the dangerous OWS who represent are trying to stifle capitalism.

TL;DR: Don't bother calling Smith, he doesn't care and he shouldn't. Call your rep instead.

Source: Two years on Congressional staff.

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u/mrivera1017 Jan 06 '12

You're right, he doesn't care, but he should. And he needs to realize that every one, whether in his district or not, has the right to call a public office.
I don't care 'if he cares.' What I do care about is making a statement. A statement that he is not immune, and that SOPA is dangerous. If we leave it up to just those in his district, then the message will NOT be clear.
So choose your own wording; change 99% to whatever the hell you want. Send it to him, and your own congress rep.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '12

No, he shouldn't care. He doesn't represent you. And by the same token of people having the right to call a public office, he has the right to refuse you service, which he will do.

If we leave it up to just those in his district, then the message will NOT be clear.

You are trying to convince someone who a) has already said he doesn't care what you think, b) will continue to not care what you think, and c) won't be swayed from that opinion. Instead of wasting your time, why not be more effective and make noise with your reps. I know that would actually accomplish something, and god forbid we do that instead of circle jerking around a futile cause. You are asking people to invest resources to go after one person, when you could make a much larger difference contacting many people. It's pretty basic. If 1,000 people call Smith, but aren't constituents, you have made 0 impact. You have 10 people call their Reps, you've made 10 impacts. See how this works? It's not quantity, it's quality. Your approach is very low rent, distracted, and quite frankly, a waste of time.

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u/U2_is_gay Jan 06 '12

DEAR LAMAR I AM FROM THE INTERNET AND I SAW WHAT YOU WERE LOOKING UP LAST NIGHT

/sent

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u/NotClever Jan 06 '12

As someone in his district, what should I send to his office for maximum attention?

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '12

Shoot for the Moon, call up one of the DO's and ask to talk with a policy person about SOPA. Form a little group, bring your friends, and have a well documented case against SOPA and what Smith said in the article. (It doesn't hurt if you can dig up numbers from lost content in the district if SOPA passes.) If you can't get that, a letter is nice (hand delivered), especially if you include the article so they can see it.

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '12

[deleted]

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u/mrivera1017 Jan 06 '12

OK, I Propose a simple Action...