Write a letter: Rehberg Talking Points

I had promised that I would draft a memo with information on writing a letter of objection regarding Rep. Denny Rehberg’s recent “prank.” The only newspaper to cover this story has been The Hill, a congressional trade rag, and that story is appended at the end of this post.

Please email me your letters, with your first and last name, and a mailing address, so that I can forward these to newspapers and our congressional delegates.

Tips for writing letters:

1. Keep them short. Most newspapers have a 200 word limit for signed readers’ letters.
2. Letters to both newspapers and congress need to have your first and last name, as well as the city in which you reside.
• For newspapers, they will also need your address to verify that you are who you say you are
• For congress, they need it to determine if you’re a resident or a constituent.
3. Keep your main point clear. If you have any sub points, keep them to no more than three. Repeat your main point in your closing.
• It helps to “sign-post”- this means stating where you are in your letter. “Firstly, Rehberg… Secondly, he…”, etc.
• Your main point should answer the reader’s question: why should I care?
• Your supporting points should do that: support and complement your main point.
4. This is your opinion. Take a stand and ask for action. Otherwise, why bother writing?

Major talking points to include in your letters:

• Rehberg is not a comedian or a celebrity whose actions only get mentioned when the paparazzi want to sell a magazine. He is an elected official expected to behave accordingly.
• As an elected official, representing a state-wide constituency, his actions impact and influence legislature and attitudes.
• As an elected official of a small rural state, he will never know that his actions offended unless his constituency tells him so.
• Gay people have long been the butt of jokes that in any other minority would be considered racist, sexist, or extremely discriminatory.
• Had this been a racist or sexist comment/joke, Rehberg would be facing a censure from his Congressional colleagues.
• Jokes about being gay have deadly consequences: 15-year-old Lawrence King of Oxnard, Cal. He was shot in the back of the head last week, by one of his classmates who thought the jokes about King being gay were true.
• If homophobia weren’t still prominent in our society, we could let this slide as a simple prank. However the fact that homophobia still prevails and dominates, social discourse especially in Montana

___________

In the Know, The Hill, February 14, 2008
by Betsy Rothstein

Rep. Rehberg’s practical plane joke

When you’re from Montana, it’s hard to find things to do - so practical jokes come in handy.

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) recently played a gag on Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) on their Middle East congressional delegation trip last month.

Rehberg left an “Idaho Travel Package” on Simpson’s airplane seat.

Contents included a stuffed sheep with gloves attached to it (draw your own conclusions), a Village People CD, books on cross-dressing and sign language and a T-shirt that reads, “My senator may not be gay, but my governor is Butch.”

Rehberg is proud of the gift bag. “I spent a bit of time putting the things together,” he boasted.

Simpson was amused but not surprised that Rehberg was the bearer of such presents. “You can always find those materials in Montana,” he said, laughing.