You Can Drunk Dial Congress
If you're just as disappointed as we are about the government shutdown, you can express your disdain and lament about the issues thanks to a little website called Drunk Dial Congress. We don't necessarily think you have to be five beers deep in order to express your concern surrounding such a major governmental issue, but the site does add a little bit of fun to the deeply troubling aspects of the government shutdown.
The website is a product of Revolution Messaging, a progressive digital firm that assists nonprofit organizations with mobile and online strategies. We spoke to Revolution Messaging co-founder and CEO Scott Goodstein about his new website. "It's a microsite that has a Web form where the user simply puts in their phone number and receives a toll-free call," he said. "The call connects you to a random member of Congress' D.C. office or district office for you to yell at these folks and demand an end to the shut down! The microsite also has some talking points with hyperlinks to quick facts about how much the shutdown is hurting America. To make it more fun, we also added some great drink recipes to the site." [pullquote:left]
The idea for the site came to fruition during a brainstorming session at Revolution Messaging. "We were discussing how mad we were that members of Congress were getting drunk the night of the shutdown instead of working together to find a solution," said Goodstein. "We thought, what if we turn that around and use our technology to have America get drunk and yell at these jerks to cooperate?" The site has facilitated more than 900,000 calls to Congress so far, with the goal of forcing Congress to cooperate and work out a positive end to the shutdown.
Shockingly, you will be reaching real members of Congress through the phone call. Revolution Messaging utilizes technology that typically allows for ZIP-code based congressional calls to help organizations connect their members with their exact congressional representative, but Drunk Dial Congress randomizes the numbers so each member of congress can be equally reprimanded. The site even has a list of cocktails that Goodstein created for users to create while they yell at congress. "I did a lot of research on different sour drinks... since the country is BITTER about this shutdown!" Goodstein explained. We're excited to try a few of these drinks and give Congress a piece of our minds!
Click here to see the Southern Congressman Recipe
Click here to see the Fancy Statesman Recipe
Click here to see the Bloody Bastard Recipe