One phone call doesn't make a difference, just like one vote or one protester. But they will notice a flood of voicemails and letters if they care about re-election.

I have been thinking about this... if they lobbyists pay a better severance package than the government, politicians won't care about re-election. So, it is just a matter of how much. This is why we pay politicians so much salary... so they'll want the job enough to work for their re-election and not need to take side money. And I think the lobbyists can't afford to buy them outright because they'd have to cover all the future lobbyist money that the politician would have made if re-elected.

As such, I like term limits, but I'm realizing that they create lame ducks. If we had a one-term limit for president, the sitting president would never be accountable to voters.

I don't think that on its own is enough, but it's one of the many things that helps put pressure on them, as long as there's a broader strategy it can work

they are not. we usually make these things happen by pressuring them directly in other more tangible ways.

no easy answer to this one, i'm afraid. the modern surveillance stuff is unprecedented, so we will have to figure out what that is.

At the very least you can have your conscience eased that you didn't simply let the country go to shit and fought back in some capacity.

They are listening to whoever holds the money.