How to email all the senators - a step-by-step tutorial.

Dear friends,

I've been getting requests for a step-by-step tutorial on how to email all the US senators to make our voices heard, so here it is. Please use it to your heart's content. Share it with friends. Hold letter-writing parties. Let's inundate the people in power with the collective power of our voices.

When I started my letter-writing campaign back in February, my techy friend Susan created this handy dandy spreadsheet with links to every senator's contact page. For those of you more comfortable with phoning than writing, you'll find the senators' phone numbers in Column J. Bookmark this link because you will need it A LOT.

Step 1. Write what you want to say on a word doc or some other platform for easy copy & paste use. Wondering what you want to say? Check out some reliable sources (Heather Cox Richardson, Jay Kuo & Rebecca Solnit are my g0-to's for up-to-date reports of the horrors happening on the regular under the current regime.)

Step 2. Pick your senators from the spreadsheet. I've been omitting Senator Lisa Murkowski (Anchorage, Alaska) from my rants lately because, as far as I can tell, she's the only Republican senator with enough cojones to stand up to the orange menace. So, I usually start with Senator Sullivan from Fairbanks, Alaska.

Step 3. Click on the senator's contact info in Column L.

Step 4. Fill in your information, but be sure to change your city and zip code to match the senator's city and zip code. (In case you're worried that I've just shared my address & phone number with the world, I've changed them for this screenshot).

And, just like that, I'm Doc Marshall's constituent from his hometown of Wichita!

Step 5. Pick a subject matter from the dropdown menu that best represents your concerns (I love the fact that some senators have an 'Impeachment' category!). Write a catchy subject line, then copy and paste your message into the 'message' section.

The magic of the copy & paste option makes it easier to email allllll the senators.

Step 6. Hit 'send' and be prepared to watch your inbox fill with auto-replies with your very own catchy subject line. I can highly recommend responding promptly when a senator sends an actual response to your concerns. Don't let them off the hook with their bullshit excuses!

Pro tip - Please don't worry about your letters being eloquent or even particularly good. The country is in the hands of a babbling idiot who spews garbled messages of vitriol and lies and utter nonsense. Anything you write will be like a doctorate thesis compared to what is now accepted as normal communication. The important thing is to choose something that has you furious/terrified/anxious... and give the senators a piece of your mind. Be noisy!

I know I mainly write about my rants that I send to Republicans, but I also make a habit of sending emails of gratitude when I learn about a senator doing something good. Of course I sent a big fat THANK YOU to Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) when he held the Senate floor for an epic 25 hour. I've even sent Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) a few thank you notes for standing up to the orange menace. These politicians need to feel supported when they do the right thing.

I hope you enjoy this form of resistance and much as I do. Please let me know how it goes for you. Share the emails you send and the responses you receive. Get some friends to join in the fun! The more noise we make, the harder we are to ignore!

Jessica