Podcast Summary: Smart Girl Dumb Questions

Episode Title: Calling Congress ... Does It Work? with Rep. Melanie Stansbury
Host: Nayeema Raza
Guest: Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM)
Date: January 29, 2026

Overview

This episode centers on a deceptively simple but widely relevant question: Does contacting your member of Congress—especially calling—matter? Host Nayeema Raza interviews Representative Melanie Stansbury, diving into the current climate of American politics, how Congress responds to constituent engagement, and whether such traditional forms of participation still hold power. Stansbury offers a rare inside look at the processes and realities behind the public’s attempts to influence their government, touching on oversight, institutional distrust, and the personal side of legislative life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The State of "Normal" in American Politics

• The episode opens with Nayeema recalling how Stansbury became nationally known for holding a sign reading, “This is not normal” while standing behind President Trump.
  • “I don’t even know what you call this. We’re so beyond anything normal… I have a friend who, she has this theory that when they turned on the hadron particle collider in Europe, that it took us into… an alternate universe.” – Rep. Stansbury [00:46]
• Both agree the political climate keeps growing more surreal and chaotic.

2. The Crisis in Minnesota and Executive Power

• Context is given about recent ICE-involved shootings in Minnesota, federal actions, and administration responses.
• Stansbury expresses skepticism that Republicans or the administration’s surface gestures indicate meaningful change:
  • “Should we even be having this as a national debate?… Do they exercise any kind of constitutional oversight? No, they don’t. So I hope that they do… but I am not confident.” – Stansbury [05:19]
• The host discusses what Congress can actually do, highlighting the power imbalances and lack of Republican support for executive accountability.

3. What Congress Can Do – And Its Limits

• Stansbury outlines three avenues for action: Congress, the courts, and community organizing.
  • Congressional options: oversight, investigation, impeachment, budget control
  • Right now, Democrats have filed to impeach Secretary Kristi Noem but lack the votes for meaningful progress.
  • Major action on budget bills lies with the Senate; public calls to action are focused there.

4. Does Contacting Your Lawmaker Make a Difference?

• Nayeema shares her doubts and her experiment in lobbying her own congressman, Jerry Nadler, directly:
  • “People wrote back saying it doesn’t do anything, doesn’t mean anything. So is… calling your congressperson right now… does it even matter?” – Nayeema [10:33]
• Stansbury’s unequivocal answer:
  • “It absolutely does mean something. …If you have the personal relationship with your representatives, absolutely. Call them, text them, let them know how you’re feeling. If you don’t, you can call their general line or send a general email. …If 90% of the calls I got yesterday are from New Mexicans in my zip code… I know that my constituency is telling me that’s my job. So it absolutely impacts what I do.” – Stansbury [11:05]
• She details the process by which calls, emails, and letters are logged, batched into issue “campaigns,” and communicated to her directly.

Breakdown of Constituent Contact [12:43–14:53]

• Offices have both staff and interns answering calls; all communications are cataloged and reviewed (“I actually get a sack of mail every week. And I read your mail.”)
• District of ~700,000 people; thousands of emails and calls per week, often spiking with news events.
• Social media feedback is also tracked and factored in, but traditional outreach still matters.

How Volume & Mood Shape Action [16:26–18:10]

• Large, sudden spikes in constituent contact (calls, emails, social media) are treated as major alerts.
  • “That is like the alarm went off—if New Mexicans are freaked out about this, we need to be listening.” – Stansbury [17:29]

5. Social Media vs. Calls vs. Polls

• Stansbury argues calls and in-person engagement are irreplaceable:
  • “Not all members of Congress are even on social media... But calls? Calls are always useful.” [18:20–21:11]
  • She views polls as “least useful” and slow to capture the moment; social media is important but self-selecting in audience.
  • If forced to rank: “keep the calls, consult social media, and consult polls infrequently.” [21:56]

6. Impact of Constituent Calls – Real Examples

• Stansbury cites major policy shifts resulting from public outcry, such as the Gaza debate and the fight over public lands in a recent budget bill:
  • “There was a broad coalition and movement online and calling members on both sides of the aisle… And ultimately there were five Republicans in the House who said, ‘I won’t vote for this.’ …One of them said, ‘Well, I had to because the calls wouldn’t stop. So if you wonder if your calls matter, they absolutely matter.’” [27:22]

7. The Value and Flaws of Congressional Power

• Discussion moves to Congress’s relevance in the era of executive overreach:
  • “If the answer to [does democracy matter?] is yes, then Congress absolutely matters, because the foundation of democracy is checks and balances... But Trump and his allies are testing the boundaries. Still, the courts are holding the executive in check, and Congress controls the purse.” – Stansbury [29:35–32:35]
• Stansbury believes the crimes of the current administration will eventually be prosecuted.

8. Low Congressional Trust and Representation

• Both discuss the deep cultural mistrust of government, tracing causes from American individualism to present dysfunction.
  • “Even when people say, ‘I hate politics,’ you’re sending your friend clips of people talking about politics… When you ask someone in a poll, ‘do you like Congress?’ I’m going to say, I don’t like Congress… But you asked me, do I believe that democracy is important? I’m going to say yes.” – Stansbury [33:01]
• Stansbury speaks on the recent surge in women and diverse candidates reshaping Congress since 2018.

9. “Performance Politics”: Congress as Spectacle

• Nayeema suggests that, due to social media and viral moments, Congress feels “performative”—with even obscure committee disputes being clipped for internet culture.
• Stansbury explains some lawmakers are always on-brand, but that many are more “everyday people” than viewers assume. She describes a private bipartisan women’s lounge as a place for real, off-camera relationships:
  • “Their private persona is completely normal. And then when the cameras go on, you’re like, oh, okay, we’re back to that.” – Stansbury [42:36]

10. The Mechanics of Congressional Decision-Making

• Lawmakers constantly weigh constituent communication, personal conscience, and political pressure, especially in “gotcha” legislation.
• Stansbury’s approach:
  • “My mother always said to me, do what’s right. Do what your conscience and your heart tell you. And so I try to keep a fidelity to that.” [59:00]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On constituent calls making a difference:
  “If you wonder if your calls matter, they absolutely matter.” – Stansbury [27:22]
• On the strange ‘normal’ of politics:
  “I think we are officially in an alternate universe.” – Stansbury [00:45]
• On “spectacle Congress”:
  “Everyone’s always performing… everything is clipped and cut up and disseminated, and therefore it changes people’s behaviors.” – Nayeema [41:05]
• On democracy’s resilience:
  “...it may appear that it doesn’t matter right now, but I do believe our country’s been through some rough and dark times, and I think we’re going to come out of this and you better believe, we’re going to hold all these people accountable.” – Stansbury [32:11]
• On what would have changed the escalation of violence:
  “We could have elected Kamala Harris as president. That’s the most important thing we could have done.” – Stansbury [64:36]
• On astrology, self-awareness, and Congress (!):
  “Whether it’s nature in the cosmos or it’s nurture, every Aquarius I know is, like, deeply concerned about…the state of humanity and public service and creative. I’m not just trying to pump myself up.” – Stansbury [69:02] “Maybe you should do an Aquarius lounge—that could be the path to bipartisanship.” – Nayeema [69:35]

Notable Timestamps

• 00:46 – The “alternate universe” of current politics
• 04:57 – Congressional skepticism about conservative accountability
• 06:31 – Three spheres of action: Congress, courts, communities
• 10:33 – Does calling Congress matter?
• 12:43–14:53 – The process: who hears your calls, what happens with mail
• 16:26–18:10 – Measuring impact: volume of contact, vibe checks, social media immediacy
• 21:11–22:02 – Polls vs. calls vs. social media: utility ranking
• 27:22–28:11 – Calls causing policy change: public lands case example
• 29:35–32:35 – Does Congress still matter, or is democracy at stake?
• 33:01–36:43 – America’s suspicion of politicians and institutional trust
• 41:05–43:21 – Congress as entertainment and spectacle
• 57:01–60:51 – The psyche of voting: constituent pressure, personal conscience, and political cost
• 64:36–66:41 – What could have been done differently in the face of executive overreach

Actionable Takeaways

• Calls and emails matter. Don’t be dissuaded—mass constituent contact can prompt representatives to pay attention or even change course, especially during major events.
• Congress is still a key player. Its powers may be limited by current political dynamics, but oversight, legislation, and funding remain real tools.
• Local and state-level engagement is powerful. Run for office, help competitive candidates, and especially focus on state legislatures, which are front lines for rights and protections.
• Beyond calling: Direct action, legal challenges, and community organizing are all essential complements to lobbying Congress.

The Fun/Dumb Question

What’s something Rep. Stansbury doesn’t know and wants to?
“What is it about astrology that impacts people’s personality, their life course, what calls people to certain professions?” [66:41]

Final Host Reflection

Nayeema closes with a renewed belief in contacting lawmakers:

• “…what an impact and dent it could make on a person and a position. I guess sometimes we forget, like, we live in this democracy and we actually have a way to change the course of things … next time I pick up the phone and drunk text my lawmaker or drunk email them, I will always remember that.” [70:46]

For Listeners Short on Time

Best Segments to Hear:

• [10:33–14:53] – Does calling work? The nuts and bolts
• [27:22–28:11] – Concrete policy example of citizen calls moving votes
• [29:35–32:35] – The “meta” question: does Congress still matter?
• [41:05–43:21] – Congress as spectacle vs. private reality

Summary curated and structured to reflect the rich, candid, and sometimes irreverent tone of the conversation between Nayeema Raza and Rep. Melanie Stansbury on the perpetual, democratic question: does your voice count? On this evidence, the answer is yes—often more powerfully than you think.