CSPAN - Washington Journal Brad Fitch
Aired: 2026-01-27
Duration: 01:58


=== Big Debates vs. Real Influence (01:58) ===

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[00:00:31]  Washington Journal continues.
[00:00:34]  At our table this morning, Brad Fitch.
[00:00:36]  He's the author of Citizens Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials.
[00:00:41]  Mr. Fitch, in 2010, your first appearance on the Washington Journal for the first edition of your book, you said that Americans have more influence over their elected officials than they realize.
[00:00:57]  That's right.
[00:00:57]  Has that changed?
[00:00:58]  No, it hasn't.
[00:00:59]  It's interesting.
[00:01:00]  The book is in two parts, and the second edition is twice the size, and all the changes came in the second part, which is about how to influence them.
[00:01:08]  Congress, in terms of how it interacts with constituents, hasn't changed that much in terms of what motivates them, what influences them.
[00:01:17]  And I realize this is a bit of a counter argument from what people see, but the challenge is that most people don't see most of what the Congress does because you see the big debates over taxes and immigration and abortion and sometimes health care.
[00:01:33]  Most members of Congress, frankly, are not involved in those big debates.
[00:01:37]  That's leadership or committee chairs.
[00:01:39]  Most members of Congress are meeting with constituents to determine whether or not to increase funding for research on Alzheimer's or whether horses should be transported on double-decker trucks.
[00:01:48]  We are going to lead this here to keep our over 45-year commitment to live gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress.
[00:01:54]  The U.S. House is meeting today for what we expect to be a brief session.