Some members of Congress used alternative means of communicating with their constituents while their sites were down. "Our Senate website appears to be struggling tonight, but we're listening here on Twitter," Sen. Chris Coons, D-Conn., tweeted Monday night.

 

After Mr. Obama's appeal, activists pushed their members to reach out to their representatives. And once it became clear that congressional phone lines and websites were overwhelmed, they set up alternate routes of communication.

 

 

The liberal group Americans United for Change established a website where voters could submit their thoughts and let the group fax the message to their respresentative. Americans United for Change said that as of Tuesday morning, they had sent 3,500 faxes, with little publicity of the website beyond Twitter.

 

Liberal groups are also mobilizing their supporters to visit members in person today. A coalition of groups -- Progressive Change Campaign Committee, MoveOn.org and others -- are holding events today in every congressional district. They'll urge Democrats to oppose cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid and tell Republicans to stop pushing for those cuts. The coalition of groups say that, in just 48 hours, they've recruited nearly 20,000 people to participate.