Since the beginning of the current U.S. presidential administration I have been emailing or calling my congressman about once a week on a variety of issues. My congressman is Michael Baumgartner of the fifth district of Washington State (the eastern third of the state). Mr. Baumgartner is a freshman Republican who I did not vote for. However, so far he is not as obnoxious as many MAGA Republicans. I subscribe to his weekly newsletter, and between that and issues raised by 5 Calls, I have plenty of material on which I need to share my opinion. Usually I am advising him to do the opposite of what I know he is going to do, but on rare occasions we agree and I let him know that also.

I don’t pretend that these messages are a two-way conversation. The first time I called his office I did get to speak to a staff person, but subsequent calls have gone directly to voice mail. I know my name is not popping up in his email inbox either. Reports are that congressional offices have been overwhelmed by the volume of calls and letters since DJT became president. My most hopeful guess is all these communication efforts result in a tick mark being placed in the appropriate “for” or “against” columns for each issue. As an aside, communications with an elected representative seem like an area where AI would be useful given the large volume of calls and written communication that have occurred.

I do like that these communications with my representative have made me think in detail why I support or oppose a given issue. Although I wish that there was a different person in that office, I probably would not attempt to communicate as frequently if they were someone whose opinions I largely shared. I am fortunate to live in a state with two talented Democratic senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, but I don’t feel the need to call them often.

Since I am putting some effort into my calls and emails I thought I may as well post these to my blog also. I don’t expect them to be read by anyone else, although if only one person takes the time to scan a post that would match or exceed the number of people reading it in Rep. Baumgartner’s office.

Here is today’s email to Rep. Michael Baumgartner:

Dear Rep. Baumgartner,

I read with interest in your most recent weekly newsletter that you are sponsoring legislation to reform college athletics. I wouldn’t have expected that this subject would have taken your valuable time when the country is experiencing a loss of civil and free speech rights, congressionally mandated programs are being eliminated by an unelected billionaire, and small businesses and farmers are facing financial ruin from reckless tariffs imposed at the whim of the president.

I also am surprised that your proposal is a rejection of capitalism in favor of a socialistic redistribution of income that would otherwise go to top athletes. You also seem to think that the federal government should be heavily regulating the college athletics industry including setting limits on executive (coaches) pay. This is a pretty refreshing attitude for a freshman Republican congressman. I would hope that you will continue on with further legislation that will apply these same principles to the tech industry. That would likely be the largest economic stimulus this country has ever seen.

You frequently open your weekly newsletters by writing that you are reporting to your “bosses”. This “boss” has caught you working on your tournament brackets instead of the job you were hired to do. Get back to work.

Regards, Richard Rupp Colton, WA