After plea from Obama, Republican congressmen report "slight" increase in call volume

The day after President Obama called for Americans to reach out to their representatives and express support his debt ceiling vision, staffers of Tennessee congressmen are reporting a "manageable" increase in phone activity. "We've seen a slight uptick in our call and email volume, and are handling each them on an individual basis," Jordan Powell, press secretary for Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, said. "This is an important issue, and we understand this is a normal occurrence when hot topics arise." Powell said that comments from calls and e-mails were being relayed to the congressman, but could not provide detail as to how many of the messages were to express solidarity with Fleischmann or to ask the congressman to reconsider his stance. Alice Turner, a Chattanooga resident, e-mailed Fleischmann to express her disappointment in his performance regarding the debt issue, along with his fellow Republican congressmen.