The most commonly overlooked aspect of American government is that laws are separated by locality. It seems obvious to us when we think about traffic laws, gun laws, or age of consent — but when we need help, that distinction never seems to cross our mind. When people have a problem with government, they go to the government. But people often aren’t approaching their issue at the right level of government — namely, people contact the federal government regarding problems over which the federal government has little to no jurisdiction.

Here’s one quick question that people can’t seem to answer consistently: If you have a problem with the Texas Workforce Commission, who do you call?

The answer is obvious — and in the name. You call Texas government, because the organization is run by Texas.

So what makes so many Texans think that federal government (namely members of Congress) will be able to help you solve a problem handled by the Texas government?

One conversation I had when redirecting a constituent to his State Represenative went roughly so:

“Sir, the Texas Workforce Commission is a Texas agency. I can redirect you to your Texas State Senator and Representative, who may be able to help you.”

“Well I contacted them already… but I thought maybe if you got Charlie (Rep. Charles Gonzalez, D-TX) to bring out the big guns, things might get done faster.”

“I can take note of your complaint, but it would be inappropriate for the Congressman to step outside of the limits of his office.”

“Well let him know, I’m sure when he hears this he’ll get on it. You know, I met his father…”

Seriously? Is this how uneducated the citizenry is? I get calls about City Public Service, local/state crime (those incarcerated in state detention facilities love contacting US Congressmen to ask for pardons), neighbor complaints, and all sorts of bizarre things that have nothing to do with the federal government and probably never will (despite complaints that we’re becoming some sort of socialist state, we enjoy remarkable freedom of self-government).

The next time you want to call an official, think: on of what level of government does your agency sit?

Then call.

Calling one’s congressperson is for obvious reasons the most effective way to participate in American political discourse. Yet with each Representative representing some  500,000-600,000 constituents, it’s necessary to keep a realistic (not pessimistic) perspective on how much your opinion can affect policy. There are a couple of obvious things — if your congressperson is not middle-of-the-road, asking him to transgress party platform lines is not going to change his opinion. Additionally, responding to legislation that has already passed means you’re too late right off the bat. Does that mean you should’t call? No. You should call even if you will not get your way, because that is how you are heard, and that is how we know that constituents are not complacent.

By far the worst sin concerned Americans make when taking action is calling the congressperson of a district in which they have not established constituency. Reasons for doing so include ignorance, and more justifiably, calling regarding a committee. However, there are a number of tools to help you check constituency; here in San Antonio we usually use the Bexar County election’s homepage because the vast majority of misdirected calls are due to changing district lines.

That is no excuse. If you are calling because you want to know who your congressman is, that’s fine, and we’re more than happy to get you where you need to go. Otherwise, it’s time to go back to government class.

America is a Representative Democracy.

If you are not a constituent of a congressperson, they do NOT represent you. They are not obligated to listen to you just because you pay taxes. Individuals with limited sight get pissy and tell all of their friends when I explain to them that their taxes go toward their own representative. You don’t vote for 434 of 435 Representatives, and you don’t vote for 48 out of 50 of United States Senators. They really don’t have to care about you outside of the possibility that you might come campaign against them — and that’s a job done by party organizations, anyway.

That isn’t to say there aren’t times when it is totally appropriate to contact other congressmen — but it’s worth knowing that nine times out of ten, you’re going to get redirected back to the office you should really be calling.

I’m working for Representative Charlie Gonzalez (TX-20) at his District Office in San Antonio. Thus, I found material for this blog!

From now on, you’ll see posts about interning in a Congressional Office interspersed with political commentary coming from that perspective.

I’m small game in the political world (if you can call answering the phone and writing letters participation), but I this is an important perspective — not from the outside in, or from the inside out, from from the bottom up.