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Wow, talk about lame

2K views 27 replies 23 participants last post by  BIG E 
#1 ·
Some of you may remember that I sent letters to my US Rep. and both Senators concerning the "National Right to Carry" bill that is sitting in committee.

Here is Senator Lieberman's response:

December 13, 2007

Dear Mr. Xxxxxx:

Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns about the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Improvement Act (H.R. 297), which was introduced by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). I appreciate your views on this serious matter, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.

I have long believed that Americans have the right to own guns. With that right, however, come significant responsibilities, including those to ensure that guns are used safely and responsibly, that criminals cannot obtain weapons, and that our children are kept safe from harm. I therefore supported the Brady law, which mandates background checks to ensure that those seeking to buy guns are lawfully allowed to do so; and I have cosponsored legislation that would close the gun show loophole, which allows convicted felons, among others, to evade the Brady background checks. You will also be interested to know that I voted to reauthorize the Assault Weapons Ban, and I supported Senator Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) efforts to broaden the definition of armor piercing ammunition.

As you may know, H.R. 297 would provide grants to states to update the NICS system. States would be able to update their NICS database to include felons, domestic abusers, and other violent criminals.

H.R. 297 is currently pending consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. Please be assured that I will continue to keep in mind the views which you shared should this bill come before the Senate for consideration. To keep track of future actions on this legislation, you can go to the "Bill Tracking" service at http://lieberman.senate.gov/issues/resources.

My official Senate web site is designed to be an on-line office that provides access to constituent services, Connecticut-specific information, and an abundance of information about what I am working on in the Senate on behalf of Connecticut and the nation. I am also pleased to let you know that I have launched an email news update service through my web site. You can sign up for that service by visiting http://lieberman.senate.gov and clicking on the "Subscribe Email News Updates" button at the bottom of the home page. I hope these are informative and useful.

Thank you again for letting me know your views and concerns. Please contact me if you have any additional questions or comments about our work in Congress.

Sincerely,

Joseph I. Lieberman

UNITED STATES SENATOR
How lame is it that he can't even respond properly to my letter. I contacted him concerning S. 388, and he replies back concerning HR 297. Pathetic, just pathetic. :hand1:

Thank God this clown isn't running for President.
 
#2 ·
Here is my reply:

Dear Senator Lieberman,



Thank you for your timely response to my letter. Sadly though, I wrote to you concerning S. 388: To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a national standard in accordance with which nonresidents of a State may carry concealed firearms in the State, NOT HR 297.



Please take the time to review my letter and respond accordingly.



Thank you,


I probably won't even get a response this time. I haven't heard anything from Courtney or Dodd.
 
#3 ·
Good response! Let us know if you get a reply.
 
#6 ·
If possible, might try moving to a free state - something close for you like NH or VT.
 
#8 ·
I don't think the OP indicated if it was from a secretary or not, but regardless I don't think he's disgusted with who sent it as much as the letter addressed the wrong bill. Move to a different state - your representative might actually address your letter - they do in MO and just might in VT or NH.
 
#9 ·
Now you know what a "canned" response looks like! :rofl:

What he really said, (reading between the lines) is: I don't give a rodents behind what YOU think! :yup:
 
#24 ·
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:


Just the line I needed to see before going off to bed. We put!!!
 
#13 ·
Here's a reply I got from Mel Martinez. Gun related, but different topic. It took him a long time to say nothing.......

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). I appreciate hearing from you and would like to respond to your concerns.

On March 21, 2007, President Bush nominated Michael Sullivan to be the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Sullivan has been serving as Acting Director of BATFE since September of 2006.

On November 8, 2007, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary approved Mr. Sullivan's nomination. Currently, Mr. Sullivan's approval is being blocked from floor consideration due to concerns regarding the direction in which he is leading the agency.

BATFE is a principal law enforcement agency within the U.S. Department of Justice dedicated to reducing violent crime, preventing terrorism, and protecting our Nation through enforcing laws and federal criminal regulations regarding firearms and explosives. I can assure you that I will keep your concerns in mind as this important nomination is considered before the full Senate.

Again, thank you for sharing your concerns with me. If you have any additional questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me. In addition, for more information about issues and activities important to Florida, please sign up for my weekly newsletter at http://martinez.senate.gov.


Sincerely,

Mel Martinez
United States Senator
 
#18 ·
I have about fifty letters from legislators in my files and they all say the same thing: nothing. The most I can hope for is that the secretary makes a tally mark "for" or "against" the issue I wrote about.

"I will keep your concerns in mind." That touches me so deeply, I just cry when I think about it.
 
#20 ·
My senators each have four offices, so when I get fired up I call all four . . . always asking the operator what the Senator's position is on the issue. In 100 calls it has always been "the Senator is still researching that but would like to hear your opinion." So they have to take a poll to know how to vote . . . at least I get four check marks for my position. Seems like the only job is to get reelected. -Jim
 
#19 ·
Lieberman probably never saw your original nor your second letter. US Senators usually have cooresponce secretaries that do 90% of the response. Some of these folks are just interns, too.

I work for a state Representative who personally reads every letter and every email that is addressed to him. One of my jobs is to look up the relevant bills or statutes so that he can respond intelligently.

The guy I used to work for would not even read his email unless I printed them out for him. He refused to read them on the computer or type a response.

So, there are good ones and bad ones. The important thing is for citizens to register to vote, learn the issues and vote. Then keep in contact with the person elected, whether you guy won or not, and let them know how you feel.

The majority really do care and try to do their best for their constituents.
 
#23 ·
I just want to talk about the original post for a second. It isn't Lieberman's fault that you got the letter you got. It would be totally impossible for the Senators to respond to each piece of mail they get without preparing form letters that deal with a specific subject. Clearly the majority of gun issues they were getting involved HR 297 rather than S 388. So when they got a your question about concealed carry they just sent you their gun form letter. The staff dropped the ball to some degree, but all Lieberman knows is that they were contacted by someone that supports pro-gun legislation.
 
#25 ·
I got a call tonight...I wasn't here to take the call but my Represenative called my house to talk to me abt the letter I sent him the other day regarding the law here in Arkansas that prohibits conceal carry in a place of worship. He left his number and asked me to call him back so we can discuss this further..will keep y'all advised.
 
#26 ·
Nice to hear that at least one politician will take the time to actually hear what you have to say. Let us know how it goes.

Personally I don't think Lieberman will respond, I think whatever staffer made the mistake and sent me the wrong letter will just delete my response so that he or she doesn't look stupid to his boss.
 
#27 ·
I'm of the opinion that you're better off providing a subject line that indicates solely the bill ID and whether you support it or not, then in the body, make your arguments. And if there's a section or specific item of the bill that you do or don't like try to "encode" that in the subject line.

For instance:

Subject: Vote FOR H.R. 861

or

Subject: Vote FOR S.388

or use AGAINST if it's some bill you disagree with.

This will give the legislator's staff an easy way to tally the publics position without having to read the content. They always have a position, but if their staffers catch on that public sentiment differs from theirs, then sometimes they change that position. If you require them to wade through a huge message to figure out if you support or oppose the bill or certain provisions/amendments, then they're not going to pay attention to you, in most cases that is.
 
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