Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/03/02/ron-johnson-cowardice.html
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I mean, that seems stupid.
But I can also completely conceive of a scenario that has become genuinely abusive.
Which leaves me torn, I guess.
On the one hand, Johnson is a representative and needs to hear from his constituents.
On the other, it’s possible some of his constituents are abusive dicks.
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Earl Good, a Vietnam veteran and Milwaukee constituent who called Johnson’s office hundreds of times…
Yeah, I think I see why the senator’s office might have a problem with this guy.
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“Please communicate in writing where we can more easily ignore you.”
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Worked for Andy Dufresne though, right? /s
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“Please communicate in writing where we can more easily ignore you.”
“And not tie up our phone lines and staff hours with your repeated complaints, which were duly noted the first 10 times you called.”
“And protect ourselves from your possible mental instability.”
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I wish my Senators would send me one like that, I’d take them up on the offer.
Oh, wait – mine are both good about coming here to meet citizens so I guess I won’t get the chance. My “representative” might be a better bet, since he’s on the run and hiding out from the citizens of his district (please see previous comments regarding the “Siege of Las Cruces.”)
Anyway, I’m really looking forward to having Rep. Pearce take me to court over trying to contact him. It’d be worth the legal cost and besides I’m quite sure it would be over pretty quickly and at minimal expense.
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Hm. I wonder what legal obligations representatives have to their constituents as far as making themselves available. Can they send someone a cease and desist as a way of avoiding talking to them? Doubt anyone here has that particular knowledge but i’d love to see a take from someone in a legal background.
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IANAL
It’s possible (though rare) for a citizen to be permanently barred from use of the court system as the result of a history of serious and continued abuse of said system.
And, while Johnson is a Rep, he’s still entitled to be protected from (what sounds like) abuse.
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“You’re not going to bully the senator into doing his job - there’s no fucking way that coward’s going anywhere near his constituents - so you’re just wasting everyone’s time.”
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And a cease and desist order signed by “Staff” has the legal weight of what?
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- And?
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Assumptions are awesome! I’m choosing to assume that the Senator’s law degree is fake and that he should be removed from the office. WHEE!!!
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No legal weight whatsoever. It was likely sent both as a warning and as a means of memorializing and documenting allegedly abusive behavior, in case police intervention becomes warranted in the future.
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Hey, I did say POSSIBLE.
FWIW, making “hundreds of calls” tips the scales a bit towards “probable.”
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I had the same issue, but in reverse, with my Representative, Anthony Weiner.
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Fair enough. I’m thinking that I’ve called my two senators and one Representative repeatedly before and after the election–nowhere near “100s of times”…probably more like 10-12 times. No time scale is given for his calls that I saw in the linked material (in fact, we’re short of quite a few details to this story), so assumptions are mostly what we’re left with.
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Yeah, I think calling a dozen times is completely normal. There is a point somewhere above that where (a) you made your point in spades, and (b) continuing to call is just a waste of time and abusive of the staffers. It’s not as though the senator is personally taking these calls – you are just being an asshole to some working stiffs in his office.
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The story as presented is one sided and has little context for sure. Would be helpful to present details on the history of communication from both parties
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