This is NOT a “woe is them” post to earn your pity for elected officials. When they step into the public arena, legislators assume a certain level of public exposure. But I have a question for would-be advocates and their managers: when you’re telling your volunteers about the congressional calendar, and “a day in the life” of legislators, how are you framing the topic?
I’m probably being a bit nit-picky here, but I promise that I come by it honestly. I can’t possibly count the number of times that I’ve heard professional advocates refer to congressional recesses, like the current two-week Easter recess as, of all things, vacation.
Congress has a long history of allowing members predictable periods to plan on being back in their districts. It’s evolved over time. Before the modern conveniences of air travel, the schedule looked quite different; condensed to allow members and their families to relocate to Washington together for longer stretches of time, and consequently allowing greater stretches of time back home in front of their constituents.
It’s an important balancing act. With modern travel resources, members often leave their families back home, traveling to and from the national capital region on a weekly basis during session weeks. The legislative calendar has stretched, giving members less consecutive time at home, but hey they get the weekends right?
By now you should expect me to say, no. Quite wrong. Regrettably, I recently heard a colleague encourage advocates to approach legislators and decision makers when they see them at the gas station, restaurants, out with their families, etc. DO NOT DO THIS. It is a sure fire way to get your issues sidelined.
Again, not a “woe is them” post, but I think good advocacy organizations need to train their advocates to understand the imbalance that exists between personal and professional lives for our elected officials – especially state and federal legislators.
Even when they aren’t in session they are engaging in public meetings, participating in community events, meeting constituents in need, and importantly, still fielding questions from other legislators on the pressing business of the day. Honestly, until you spend a day in the car with a member of congress who’s back home “on vacation” you may not fully understand the way work creeps into every aspect of their lives.
But that’s where we can step in as advocacy organizations to help our volunteers develop more meaningful bonds with their representatives. Part of relationship building is trying, in earnest, to understand the challenges and hurdles your target faces. In the world of modern politics, where greater access exists through social and legacy media, the boundary between public and private life has eroded to a dismaying degree. Those who jump in to the field as an act of service should be applauded, and respected. And it can start with the words we choose when discussing their work.
As an organization, consider reframing how you speak about the little things in the lives of our legislators, like recesses. Instead of referring to it as a recess (or God forbid a VACATION), consider discussing those periods (anywhere from a week per month up to the 6~ weeks around August recess) as “District Work Periods.”
It seems like semantics, I’m sure, but it will convey to your advocates that we have to honor the schedule. The average member of congress, after all, represents over 730,000 of our neighbors. There simply isn’t time in every recess to see each and every organization. Yet, by displaying the simplest level of respect for their calendars (and thus their personal lives) you’ll stand out in the eyes of the member. More importantly, that member’s staff will start to see you and your volunteer advocates as a trusted resource.
So, start small. Stop calling it a vacation, and tell the full story to your advocates.
P.S. – I know, strange that there’s a postscript. BUT – there are still a handful of spots left for you to enter a special giveaway. Last Tuesday I launched a reader survey, and I’d appreciate you contributing to the effort. The survey takes less than 5 minutes, and the winner (to be drawn in April) will receive a special gift! Thanks again for taking a moment to offer some feedback!
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