Reply from my senator!

[stevejo]

Well, wouldn't you imagine my surprise when I sorted through the mail this morning and found a letter from our senator tossed in the pile the postman left.

Kent Conrad, our ND Senator (yes, we have only one -- ND is small) responded very favorably to the email that I sent -- he stated that he is concerned as well with the possibility of a "back door ban" on alternative products, and that he would be opposed to any legislation that allowed that.

Score one for us guys! I know that a middle-of-nowhere senator supporting our viewpoints really doesn't mean a whole lot, but it is definitely one more mark in the "For" column, and one that will not end up in the "Against" column!

 

[WendyM]

Woot! Great news. Any possibility of posting the letter here?

I wrote my senators but still no word

 

[Rorschach]

That is wonderful news!

And very surprising to get a reply in the first place!

 

[Smokingfreely]

That's great news - as with all states though, you have 2 Senators. The house is based on population, and in the senate we're all equal to protect against the "tyrany of the majority." Your other senator is Byron L Dorgan.

 

[Mitty]

It's nice to see that at least SOMEONE in Washington DC can read.

 

[MVP]

Smokingfreely, we, unfortunately, only have one senator in Minnesota til Coleman gives up his legal challenges.

 

[Vee]

Your senator in "Nowhere", ND, has just as much weight in voting as a NY, CA, or other "big state" senator. Great news and yay to this senator for supporting us!

 

[taz3cat]

It's nice to see that at least SOMEONE in Washington DC can read.

That give us hope, just think someone can read in DC. We all knew they could talk a blue streak.

Steve, I am really please that you received a proper response from you senator.

 

[stevejo]

That's great news - as with all states though, you have 2 Senators. The house is based on population, and in the senate we're all equal to protect against the "tyrany of the majority." Your other senator is Byron L Dorgan.

Figures I would get senate and the house mixed up -- need more sleep and less e-cig excitement, haha!

 

[stevejo]

Smokingfreely, we, unfortunately, only have one senator in Minnesota til Coleman gives up his legal challenges.

Yeah, that is a PITA -- they seriously haven't got that resolved yet? I stopped following all the BS a month or two ago.

 

[kylewinther]

That is awesome to hear! Keep up the good work everyone. Every bit helps!

 

[wegster]

That's good news, now the question is would he back his letter with actions if/when it comes down to it?

 

[MlrGrl]

Hey there, SteveJo;
You guys drying out yet??

I was wondering if you could share the letter you wrote him, either openly or via PM to me?
You must have made some really good points to have him not only respond, but to be ON TOPIC in his comments!! (unlike some Sentors have been doing).

Congrats on the response!!

 

[dijohn76]

I have previously received a "canned" response from my congressman that did not even address my email to him regarding e-cigs, I sent a reply back telling his office they needed a course in remedial reading comprehension, I then received another response with yet another "canned" garbage, again unrelated. Imagine my surprise when this morning I received the following email from our "Junior" senator.

"Dear Diane:

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts about policy related to E-cigs.

I appreciate your taking the time to share your story about transitioning away from nicotine. It is always helpful to hear from people who have direct experience with products that may be the focus of future legislation. I will keep your thoughts in mind as this issue comes before the Senate.

Please do not hesitate to contact me again if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Jon Tester
United States Senator"

I immediately sent him the below response (hoping to keep his interest and do some further study)

"Senator Tester,
I wanted to thank you so much for your actual response, unfortunately the rest of my Montana representatives don't seem to care about their constituents. Senator Baucus has not responded at all and Congressman Rehberg's office just responds with a "canned" response that has nothing at all to do with the subject.
I wanted to give a little more information so that you could research the ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE issue. If you check out www.e-cigarette-forum.com it will give you a wealth of information as to personal experiences (has a membership of over 10,000 and growing), links to health studies done on the E-cigarette in New Zealand and elsewhere, links to a number of doctors and tobacco harm reduction activists who support the E-cigarette.
Again, I really want to stress what a benefit these are and actual live savers to a number of people. While I understand the concern and need for further study I, again, STRONGLY urge that they remain on the market to ADULTS (with a warning label that they have not been fully tested for "long term" effects if you must). Feel free to contact me if you would like any further information from someone who's life has been turned around because of this product.

Sincerely,"

Hopefully this will at least keep the topic somewhere in his mind.

 

[WendyM]

Fantastic Diane! Sounds like he did actually read your letter.

 

[harmony gardens]

Wow, I think he read it, too. I just got a form letter back from my two Senators.

 

[TiggerST67]

I have a strategy I use when writing to elected officials. I email them once a week with the issue I am discussing. IF i get no reply, then the second week I start sending three to four emails a week. Then WHEN I get a reply, and it is a form letter which may have nothing to do with the issue I am discussing, then I reply to the form letter content pointing that fact out, and I do that DAILY! You would be surprised how quickly I get a real response back (from a staffer I am sure), but still it tells me that they finally read what I had to say and reply back in a way that let me know they got the message. (In other words they replied back so I would SHUT UP already! HA HA) I have often wondered what would happen if there were THOUSANDS doing that at once? Would it work a 1000 times faster and to our advantage?

 

[RandallFlagg]

I say we post their office's phone/fax/email information here for all to see.

 

[Spikey]

u guys all rock.. we need to stick tog... there are 10,000 of us at LEAST!!!!

 

[RandallFlagg]

u guys all rock.. we need to stick tog... there are 10,000 of us at LEAST!!!!

Exactly. And more every day.
Before Washington knows what hits them, we'll be everywhere...and we all vote.