Even Political Staffers Are Uninformed!

Recently I was calling state legislators to find out the position of each on the question of adopting an amendment to the constitution to overturn the Citizens United vs. FEC decision.  While I had them on the phone I asked about various issues.  I found that most (lack of actual data because it didn't occur to me to count) of the staff persons with whom I spoke were not familiar with the issues.  It was suggested by an acquaintance of mine that they were feigning ignorance on the topics, and simply avoiding discussions of representatives' positions.  I considered that as a possibility, but in most cases (again not adequately quantified) I needed to slow down and often spell for the staffer as they wrote down my questions and comments for the elected official they represented.  In many cases they attempted to relate my questions and statements to specific legislation in order to provide themselves a frame of reference from which to speak.  My conclusion from these discussions is that people, even those who work very closely with elected officials, are woefully uninformed on issues of the day.  If these folks are truly uninformed the general population could reasonably be expected to be mostly clueless!
Armed with only a fair amount of information while speaking on issues to the staff person of a well-known, longtime U.S. Senator, I was accused of being "the press" masquerading as a private citizen.  The staffer was having a very difficult time discussing the issue for which he is the Senator's spokesperson to constituents.  He informed me that he was terminating the discussion and, if I wanted a media statement, he would need to refer me elsewhere.  I am not now nor have I ever been "the media."