response 12 of 54:

Jan 20 09:11 UTC 2006

Re#9 I interned for one of the senators from my home state at the
time (Dodd, CT) for a semester.  My primary responsibility was to
reply to constituent letters.

Most letters were from people trying to get into the military, out
of the military or asking about an INS related issue.  After that,
were those expressing an opinion on a particular issue.  Given the
volume of mail we handled, there was a well structured process for
sorting and counting (opinion letters were considered very valuable
polling data) so that we could pass on an accurate read of constituent
views to the Senators senior staff.

Computers weren't nearly as common at the time...we banged out each
response (everyone got a response) by hand on an IBM Selectrex, and
I'm certain the process is far more automated, but each letter was
considered very important.  It was assumed that anyone bothering
to write/type and mail something to their representative could be
assumed to speak for some number of others who did not bother or
have the wherewithall to do so themselves.

The responses to views pro/con/alternative on key or common issues
did have prewritten material which would be included in whatever
else was sent in the reply to the constituent but they did change.
I saw the "boiler plate" updated on several issues in the 6months
I worked there as the Senator evolved or outright changed his views.