AOC and Chris Murphy on how you can blunt John McGuire’s bad ideas
Cuts to Medicaid and education aren’t inevitable. Just look at the Affordable Care Act.
Part of what makes the flood of bad ideas coming out of the White House so depressing is that they seem destined to become reality. Of course, that’s by design. But it’s not a foregone conclusion that John McGuire and the rest of the GOP will be able to deliver on their plans—harmful to Americans from every political party, including here in VA-5—to cut Medicaid, gut crucial government agencies, and eliminate federal funding for low-income kids’ education. Last month Chris Murphy, the junior senator from Connecticut, took to Instagram to explain why.
It was February 4. President Trump’s executive orders were in full flood. The DOGE team was going after your personal financial data at Treasury. And the president had just that day declared that the U.S. was going to take over Gaza.
That night, Murphy sat down with drink in hand—“It’s vodka and grapefruit juice, I guess some people call it a Greyhound”—and recorded a 32-minute video about how to make sense of it all.
It’s a terrific talk and I do suggest watching it all the way through if you have the time. But he makes one point in particular that bears repeating. After going through the litany of policy ideas that are already hurting people here in VA-5 and around the country, Murphy takes a step back to 2017 and recalls what happened to Trump’s top priority in his first term: repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Is the ACA gone? “No,” he says. “We stopped their number one agenda item.” How?
What we did in 2017 is we raised the volume level on the political and policy and moral disaster if the Affordable Care Act was repealed. You guys were calling Republicans and Democrats every single day. We had thousands of people showing up to town halls….
Ultimately, that had an impact in two ways. One, it convinced just enough Republicans to say no.
But second, it convinced a bunch of other Republicans who were going to vote yes, to do it quietly. To do it sheepishly. …
So what you’re trying to do with all this is turn a couple votes. And then, try to depress the advocacy of other Republicans.
We still have an opportunity to defeat this billionaire tax cut that’s likely going to be paired with massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But only if we raise the volume.
I love that idea because it lowers the bar for action. You don’t have to believe you can change John McGuire’s mind. You just have to believe you can make him more reluctant to speak it.
How to raise the volume
Of course, if you can attend protests and town halls, that’s great. But not all of us have the time or the capacity for that. (And House leaders have apparently instructed their members not to hold any more in-person town halls, since so many folks showed up to tell them where they can shove their Medicaid cuts. Rep. McGuire has had one town hall so far, by phone, which I attended and wrote about.)
In any case, you can still have an impact from home. Personally, I’m new to political advocacy, but I’ve learned a lot from friends who’ve worked in congressional offices and taken the kind of phone calls and emails that Sen. Murphy is talking about. Here’s what they suggest:
Don’t contact Rep. McGuire unless you live in the 5th district. Office staff ignore anyone who isn’t a constituent. (This is true for all congressional offices, not just McGuire’s.)
Phone calls have the most impact. Emails and letters matter too, but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says that phone calls are the way that Congress measures enthusiasm. In fact, her office was flooded by calls from Republicans when she first arrived in D.C., and she says it gave her a sense of what she was up against.
Write a script if it helps settle your nerves. I’m not great on the phone, so I like to have notes in front of me.
Identify yourself as a constituent. I give my name when I call, but you don’t have to. Definitely say you’re a constituent and voter. Providing your zip code helps the staffer know you’re for real.
Personalize it to your rep. For instance, for McGuire:
“I know he served overseas protecting Americans. Now I’m asking him to protect us here at home by (maybe, keeping our financial information confidential and out of the hands of DOGE)” or “Now I’m asking him to stand up for our values by (maybe, protecting free speech for foreign students like Mahmoud Khalil).”
“President Trump has promised to do X. I’m asking Rep. McGuire to deliver on that promise by…”
Keep it brief. A 30-second call where you simply say “I’m asking Rep. McGuire to do X” has the same effect as a nuanced five-minute speech.
For example: “Hi, my name is ______. I’m a constituent and voter in the 5th district. My zip code is ______. I’m calling to ask Representative McGuire to oppose cuts to Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. President Trump has promised not to cut these programs. I’d like the congressman to deliver on that promise.”
How to reach Rep. McGuire
By phone: (202) 225-4711 for his DC office and (434) 791-2596 for his district office, which is in Lynchburg. I generally call the DC office, but calls to the district office are also effective from what I hear.
By email: Fill out the form on his House website.
In person: His website doesn’t say anything about welcoming visitors, but here’s the address of his local office in case you’re feeling intrepid or want to send a letter:
20564 Timberlake Rd.
Lynchburg, Virginia 24502
Thank you! And if readers want a daily script and action, the Jessica Craven Substack, Cut Wood, Carry Water, makes it easy.