Sai Lakshmi SubramanianFeb 9, 2023
Sheril Kirshenbaum

Many congressional staffers I interview in my research say they wish that the same science groups visiting the other party's offices would also reach out to them.

When some staff feel ignored by scientists, they may not seek out their guidance on legislation.

The result is two different policy conversations happening on single issues by each party across Capitol Hill. That’s bad for democracy & chips away at the ability to compromise.

New post: https://sheril.substack.com/p/we-need-to-talk #politics

We Need to Talk

But we don't.

Unelected Representative
Feb 9, 2023 at 2:31amWeb
Show threadSheril KirshenbaumFeb 9, 2023

* New friends on Mastodon - The link above is to Unelected Representative, a newsletter solely focused on my current research/dissertation about scientific decision making in the U.S. Congress.

I started writing on substack last December & so far it’s been quite helpful & interesting to explore & unpack ideas there. Thanks to those reading along! /2

Show threadnyorkFeb 9, 2023
@Sheril so disappointing - but maybe not surprising - to hear some of the excuses scientists gave for not engaging with congressional offices opposite their own political affiliation
Show threadDrew MochakFeb 9, 2023
@Sheril There was an informational hearing on Gain of Function research in the previous congress that the Democrats did not even attend. I was actually stunned--what kind of a message does that send? Anyway, it just allowed the Republicans to write the entire narrative, which seems like a bad outcome for Democrats?