Will you tweet this to your Representative?

Will you send this tweet message to your Representative in Congress?:

Dear @_______, you need to #Lead4Reform or else #FeelTheBernHeat. http://campaignfinancereformers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/congress-do-you-feelthebernheat.html

If you will tweet the above to your Representative, I will do it too.

If you want me to go first, tell me who your Representative is, and I will send my tweet and let you know so you can send your tweet.

I have sent tweets to the Iowa and New Hampshire legislative delegations in DC as set out in To: Iowa DC legislative delegation and Bird-dogging in NH today.

I have sent this tweet to my own Representative:

@USRepGaryPalmer Rep. Palmer: Are you starting to #FeelTheBernHeat ? http://t.co/iUcFCCPdds #alpolitics #al06

— Rob Shattuck (@RobShattuckAL06) June 4, 2015

Apologies: I am sending tweets (with links to this page) to tweeters who are using #FeelTheBern hashtag. There are hundreds of tweets daily using that hashtag, with many new tweet names appearing. I am trying to avoid duplicative tweeting based on memory and whether I think a tweet name is a new name to me. Please accept my apologies if you receive duplicative tweets from me.

Getting Bernie tweeters for June 23 Day of Action

I have been making extended efforts to attract Bernie tweeters on behalf of campaign finance reform. See Building Bernie tweeters for CFR.

To try to get them to join in on MAYDAY's June 23rd Day of Action today, I have sent this tweet:

#FeelTheBern #Bernie2016 Bernie tweeters: Please join @maydayus June 23rd Day of Action for reforming elections. https://t.co/Ew75eD8BQU

— Rob Shattuck (@RobShattuckAL06) June 23, 2015

In doing prior tweeting, I have sent individual, directed tweets to tweeters using the #FeelTheBern hashtag. I have solicited others to do this type of tweeting in the past, but I am not aware that anyone has taken up this kind of tweeting.

What do you think? Is individual, directed tweeting a good and worthwhile tactic, or not?  Could or should it be used today to try to attract Bernie supporters to participate in today's Day of Action?

What does MAYDAY think?

Move To Amend has sent out an email The Group "End Citizens United" is Pulling Your Chain. The email says in part:

This shadowy "End Citizens United" group popped up on the scene just as the 2016 Presidential candidates are starting to declare their campaigns. This Super PAC claims to be working against Citizens United and putting an "End to Corporate Personhood" but a visit to their website says otherwise:

• No suggested language as to what the amendment should say.

• No suggestion that corporate personhood is the root problem.

• No information or support for any of the myriad amendments already under consideration, including the We the People Amendment.

• No information about who is behind their group.

• No field operation to help organize people.

Just a petition (to collect names for their database), and a Donate button (to collect money for ??). 
They say they've already collected a million dollars. But what are they going to do with the money since they have no actual campaign against Citizens United?Our sources tell us they are a group of individuals who formed this PAC to raise funds for Democrats running for office in the upcoming election. Recently they updated their website with some information about this, but details on how this will help end corporate personhood are thin at best.

What does MAYDAY think? Should MAYDAY investigate and find out who the Democrats in question are who are running for office and what their bona fides are regarding reform?

Maybe MAYDAY has no resources for anything other than its effort to find 70 additional current members of Congress who are willing to support reform and has no resources for investigating at this time possible candidates to support in the 2016 elections.

Some consideration of the matter seems warranted.

The Group "End Citizens United" is Pulling Your Chain

From: Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, Move to Amend <info@movetoamend.org> Date: Wed, Jun 17, 2015 at 1:17 PM Subject: Beware: Don't be a tool for fools! To: Rob Shattuck <rdshattuck@gmail.com> The National Campaign to End Corporate Personhood and Demand Real Democracy!

About | Donate | Take Action BEWARE: The Group "End Citizens United" is Pulling Your Chain Dear Rob, I'm writing with some troubling information... Are you getting daily emails from a group calling itself "End Citizens United"?We've been getting tons of questions about who this group is, and a bunch of messages from confused people thinking that these emails are coming from Move to Amend. Let me assure you, they are NOT Move to Amend. We've now been asked by dozens and dozens of our supporters to send an email to our full list to shine a light on what's going on here... This shadowy "End Citizens United" group popped up on the scene just as the 2016 Presidential candidates are starting to declare their campaigns. This Super PAC claims to be working against Citizens United and putting an "End to Corporate Personhood" but a visit to their website says otherwise: No suggested language as to what the amendment should say. No suggestion that corporate personhood is the root problem. No information or support for any of the myriad amendments already under consideration, including the We the People Amendment. No information about who is behind their group. No field operation to help organize people. Just a petition (to collect names for their database), and a Donate button (to collect money for ??).  They say they've already collected a million dollars. But what are they going to do with the money since they have no actual campaign against Citizens United?Our sources tell us they are a group of individuals who formed this PAC to raise funds for Democrats running for office in the upcoming election. Recently they updated their website with some information about this, but details on how this will help end corporate personhood are thin at best. They're co-opting the momentum and excitement for our movement to fundraise for candidates who may or may not even support amending the Constitution to "end Citizens United" and who certainly have shown no leadership in addressing the even more root issue of corporate constitutional rights. And even more concerning is that they are turning folks away from our movementwith their careless deluge of messages that basically constitutes spamming. They probably purchased the lists they are using, which is frowned on internet etiquette (we haven't found anyone who started getting their original messages who actually opted in) -- and they send emails daily, sometimes up to three times a day! As the election season heats up, you will undoubtedly be receiving lots more emails than usual from unfamiliar front groups, as both parties exploit our movement to the best of their ability to get your vote. Think before you click—don’t become a tool in their efforts to co-opt our movement! You can help by: Telling your friends what's going on Hitting the "Spam" button when you receive emails from them (unless you signed yourself up for their list) Letting them know that if they want to support an amendment they should contribute to groups like Move to Amend who are actually doing the work to build this grassroots movement.  I hope this helps clarify. As I said, we've been asked to send this message because this PAC is trying to co-opt our collective work. If they want to join the movement to amend, that's great (we could use their help!) -- but so far it doesn't look like that's their agenda. Sincerely, Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap National Director Move to Amend Coalition P.S. In the interest of clarity and transparency on our part, I'd like to share Move to Amend's email policies with you: We will occasionally send two emails a week, or none in a week, for an average of one email a week to our entire list. We only send one fundraising email a month, unless we are in a special campaign where we need to meet a specific goal or timeline, in which case we might send additional messages to folks who haven't yet donated. Our emails always speak to corporate Constitutional rights and money as speech, not just the latter, and carry our banner and contact info. Our messages have a clear suggestion for action to help us reach out and find others to join in our cause. Our local affiliates also send targeted emails to Move to Amend supporters about local events and actions of interest, but never on the same day as a national blast. These emails also always have a MTA banner and local and national contact information.

MOVE TO AMEND COALITION PO Box 610, Eureka CA 95502 | (707) 269-0984 | www.MoveToAmend.org    We, the People of the United States of America, reject the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling and other related cases, and move to amend our Constitution to firmly establish that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

Can Bernie CFR tweeters be organized?

I have gotten lots of reteweets, etc., in working on Building Bernie tweeters for CFR.

Can this interest be converted into actual organized tweeting that is worthwhile?

Maybe not.

Maybe there is a belief that "organized tweeting" would not do anything worthwhile.

If "organized tweeting" is thought to have potential, the support of campaign finance organizations would greatly help in achieving "organized tweeting."

MAYDAY.US is the campaign finance reform organization to which the sought after "organized tweeting" would most lend itself.

But MAYDAY has expressed no interest.

Maybe MAYDAY believes the sought after "organized tweeting" cannot be organized and achieved.

Maybe MAYDAY believes the "organized tweeting," if achieved, would not do anything worthwhile.

Maybe MAYDAY thinks there are more useful things for volunteers to be doing than the sought after "organized tweeting."

In any event, I appreciate all the favorable response I have gotten from Bernie tweeters.

It just needs to be figured out how the interest can be converted into actual organized tweeting.

Please bear with me.

CFR needs Bernie tweeters

Campaign finance reform needs the spirit and enthusiasm of  Bernie tweeters.

It is a slow, tortuous path for CFR.

Look at the struggle of MAYDAY, and where it's at.

The Congressional calling campaign has been very slow in mounting.

Now, MAYDAY has called for a June 23 Day of Action to:

Learn how to get involved in my district

Record a voicemail for MAYDAY to deliver to Congress

Email my friends to record a message for Congress

MAYDAY has very little participation on its #Lead4Reform hashtag.

That is to be compared to the hundreds of tweets daily under Bernie's #FeelTheBern hashtag.

And that is without looking at a number of other Bernie hashtags being used.

I appreciate the great response of Bernie tweeters thus far in Building Bernie tweeters for CFR.

Campaign finance reform needs the spirit and enthusiasm of Bernie tweeters. Please pitch in on the campaign finance reform issue however you may be motivated to do.

I will keep on in trying to encourage that.

Update: See Can Bernie tweeters be organized?

Building Bernie tweeters for CFR

I am gratified by the many retweets, favorites, follows, etc., I received from my tweeting of links to Dear #FeelTheBern tweeters.

I hope this will convert into many Bernie supporters doing tweeting as suggested.

This will take a while to develop.

I have gotten started and done tweeting to the Iowa and New Hampshire legislative delegations, as described and set out in To: Iowa DC legislative delegation and Bird-dogging in NH today.

I will do more tweeting and report about it here.

Hopefully my tweeting will be an example and encourage Bernie supporters to participate.

A couple of months ago I created this Facebook community Tweet to Defeat the Money Monster in Politics. I have not been active on it, and I plan to be more active.

If you have suggestions, please send them to me at rdshattuck@gmail.com.

Please bear with me on this.

Thanks.

Update: See CFR needs Bernie tweeters.