As we've been reminded over and over, our representatives are going to be "checking the temperature" in their constituencies back home during the August Recess.  If your state is anything like my birth state (I am an American Citizen, honest), and has a significant agricultural segment (we called them farmers), one of the places he/she will be sure to visit is the local State Fair.  In Minnesota both parties have booths and the elected officials head out to press the flesh.  I expect Al Franken will be at the Minnesota State Fair at the end of the month, as will Amy Klobuchar.  I expect Max Baucus will show up at the Western Montana State Fair, August 11 - 16, Kent Conrad at the North Dakota State Fair before it closes August 1, and Charles Grassley at the Iowa State Fair August 3 - 13.

A pretty good list of State Fair dates can be found here. So have your talking points ready, keep your eyeballs peeled for your Senators and Representatives, and buttonhole them to convince them to vote for health care reform.  You can also have a lot of fun eating fried ice cream and turkey drumsticks and oooh-ing and aaaah-ing over the prize pigs (some almost as large as the Wall Street Bankers).  If you've never been to a State Fair, you've missed a bit of Americana for too long.

Iowans: Challenge Grassley to a Cow Chip Throwing Contest.  You probably won't win, as he's been throwing the bull a very long time, but the secret is "all in the wrist".



Even if your local fair isn't within the Official August Recess, it is likely your representative or his representative will show up at the fair, so you'll have a chance to buttonhole them in a fun environment and turn the encounter into a teachable moment.