Here’s a secret I can share after years of working on Capitol Hill: many people who call Congressional offices do not get calls back. With thousands of people calling each day, it’s hard to return them all. And if you’re calling to give the representative or senator a hard time over a vote or policy move, the press people might decide that there’s nothing to be gained from speaking to you–that’s even true if you work for an august institution such as the Huffington Post. The press staff hopes you don’t get in a snit about it, but sometimes the caller takes it personally:
Well, here it is. Thanksgiving has come and gone and Senator Harry Reid’s staff never called me back about the lack of a Mukasey filibuster. They kept saying they would. I called them – in DC – three times, and each time they dutifully took down my information… “Steve Brant… wrote about there being no Mukasey filibuster in The Huffington Post… wants to know why Senator Reid didn’t call for a ‘cloture vote’ that would have permitted a filibuster… your phone number is… got it… we will get back to you.” Nice young guy on the phone each time. Always spoke in such a way that I believed I’d get a call back. And I’m not blaming him. Maybe the message to call me got lost. Three times. Maybe that’s what happened.
I’m sure that must be it.
