Congressional Websites Crash After Obama Urges People to Reach Out on Debt

[cal04]

Congressional Websites Crash After Obama Urges People to Reach Out on Debt Ceiling
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/congressional-websites-crash-after-obama-urges-people-to-reach-out-on-debt-ceiling-20110725

When President Obama told Americans to contact their representatives to show support for his debt-ceiling plan, the response was so strong it knocked out several websites for leading GOP House members.

National Journal checks at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. of websites for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., showed a "Server is too busy" response on an otherwise blank screen. Boehner’s separate representative site was down, also, though the district and House Majority Leader sites of Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., were working.

Democrats were affected, too. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., tweeted that his site was struggling but that he was responding to constituents via Twitter. Coons wasn't alone: Boehner was among members of Congress tweeting after the back-to-back prime-time speeches by Obama and the House speaker.



Obama Speech Crashes Congressional Websites
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2011/07/26/obama_speech_crashes_congressional_websites.html

[Enrique]

1. was it because of budget cuts? n/t

[mmonk]

2. Doubt we'll know for sure since both parties support austerity.

[blogslut]

3. HaHa!

Good.

[mod mom]

4. So thats why I couldn't reach my GOP congress person.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. I can't get through to my Representative, but we're talking about someone who...

introduced a birther bill when he got to Congress. I wouldn't be surprised if he's flooding his own server and taken the phone off the hook to avoid his constituents.

[boston bean]

6. I was able to leave message with both senators and my congressman.

The VM's weren't full.

maybe it's where I live.

But still I hope people are calling to demand, hands off SS and Medicare, and against the Grand Bargain Obama wants.

[Recursion]

7. "Crash"... yes... (nt)

[swilton]

8. This article is misleading

so what were the people contacting their congressional leaders asking for? Just because Americans were responding to the president doesn't mean that they support what he is trying to do.

[cal04]

9. Voters Jam Capitol Phone Lines, House phones near capacity

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/voters-jam-capitol-phone-lines.php


After President Obama's call to action Monday night in a televised address to the nation, calls were still pouring into Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, overloading telephone circuits.

The volume was so high mid-morning that House administrators sent out an e-mail to all House offices advising them that the flood of external calls was resulting in outside callers "occasionally getting busy signals." The e-mail gave House offices an alternative extension to pass along to district office and staff so they could get through.

TPM got a busy signal when calling the Capitol operator, but other lines to committee and individual members' offices went through normally. Speaker John Boehner's (R-OH) personal office website appeared to be down and attempts to contact his office through his leadership website, www.speaker.gov, were unsuccessful.


http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/26/house-phones-near-capacity/?hpt=po_bn2
Capitol Hill is ringing busy Tuesday due to a high volume of calls and jammed phone lines in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to an email from the House's call center.

The phone traffic comes after President Barack Obama asked Americans to contact their elected leaders in his primetime speech Monday.

"Due to the high volume of external calls, House telephone circuits serving 202-225-XXXX phone numbers are near capacity resulting in outside callers occasionally getting busy signals," the email said.