“Are you aware that you don’t answer questions?” a constituent asked at Congressman McClintock’s Loomis Town Hall. Unfortunately, evading questions and lack of information is just the tip of the iceberg when looking at the dismissive and detached tactics of California District 4’s representative.
As a member of the “Who are we, McClintock?” calling group (500+ members strong), I regularly communicate with my fellow civically active community members. We discuss our experiences calling the congressman’s offices and compare information and talking points. It has been disheartening, to say the least, to watch the offices of Congressman McClintock implement practices that stifle civic participation. While at the beginning of this term the offices of Congressman McClintock were willing to engage, answer questions, and learn about our concerns, recently that engagement has eroded to the point of hanging up on constituents, refusing to answer questions, and diversion tactics.
I had a family member call last month with concerns about the president giving intelligence information to the Russian ambassador - she is a registered Republican. When she asked questions about the Congressman’s position, the staffer on the phone responded with, “I know what you’re doing!” Taken aback, she said, “Excuse me?” He replied, “You’re just trying to keep me on the phone as long as you can!” No - she wasn’t. She wanted information. She wanted representation. She wanted to know what the congressman was doing to keep us safe. But this exchange seems indicative of a larger problem, the staff confuses civic engagement with a waste of time. McClintock Team, we seek not to waste your time; we seek to be heard, seen, and represented.
Maybe we wouldn’t take up so much precious time on the phones if there were productive avenues of engaging our Congressman and his team, but there are none. According to McClintock’s office, social media is unmonitored. Faxes are counted, but not given a response. Emails are counted, but not given a response. Letters are counted and given a (form) response. Don't even try to ask for the counts of these mediums for various issues - they won't tell you. The congressman doesn’t meet directly with constituents. He doesn’t live in our district, so we can’t chat with him in line at the grocery store. He hosted no public events during his last recess - though you could have paid to go see him speak if you got an invitation.
We have NO access to our representative, but we need to get our messages through. We will continue to call. We will continue to show-up at any and all public events and protests. We will continue to seek representation and engagement.
Congressman, I think your phone is ringing. Maybe it’s time you answer and start listening to the people.