Dear Senator Pat Toomey, I am going to keep your 51¢ and not send any money.

While writing this blog post to express my frustration with political fund raising, I got two phone

calls asking me for money. The first was someone telling me he was on a recorded line and he was calling on behalf of President Donald Trump. I cut him off and told him I was just now looking at a pile of mail solicitations and was in no mood to even listen to his pitch.

The other call was from Senator Ted Cruz.  I know it was from Senator Cruz because the little window on my phone told me that was who the call was from. I just picked up the receiver and set it back down. If it really was Senator Cruz, I'm sorry I missed his call. He probably wanted my opinion on some really important issue.

I am so sick of being solicited for political contributions. Look at the pile of solicitations in today's mail.  I say "today's" mail but this is probably about a weeks worth, because I only retrieve my mail from the mail box about once a week. I never get anything important in the mail. All of my important stuff is sent by email or FedEX. So while what you are looking at in the picture is mail from more than one day, that is not all of the solicitation; some are not pictured.

I do open the letters. I open them because a lot of them contain self-addressed stamped envelopes with real stamps.  I am kind of cheap. A stamp cost 47¢, or at lease I think that is the current cost of a first class stamp.  I take out the envelope and save it to reuse. I but a blank label over the address and use it for the rare occasions I do need to send something U.S. mail. I like the letters where the stamp is not affixed to an envelop but is papercliped to the letter inside and visible through the envelop window.  I always save those stamps. The solicitation from Senator Toomey I opened because I am not just going to throw 51¢ in the trash. I did not read the letter however.

In additions to enticing me to open the letter by putting coin in the window, they try to entice me to open the letter by making me feel really important. One of the letters says, "DO NOT DESTROY OFFICIAL DOCUMENT," and "FINAL NOTICE."  And, it is to be delivered "exclusively" to Rod Williams. It is a 2018 Congressional District Census with a document tracking code. It is from the Republican National Committee and they want my opinion on several issue AND they want me to send them some money.

Judicial Watch sent me the "2015 Illegal Alien Election Impact Survey of Judicial Watch Members;" and, a solicitation for money.

A letter from Steve Forbes was an "EXPEDITED DELIVERY GRAM," complete with a little "SPECIAL NOTES ON ENCLOSURE," section telling me how much the letter weighed and the declared value and telling me it was time sensitive.  I didn't read it but opened it, but unfortunately there was no envelope in it with a real stamp. Cheapskate!

Some of the charitable solicitations are as about as bad as the political ones.  Doctors Without Borders sent me a nice tote bag.  If Doctors Without Borders can send me a tote bag unsolicited, I will use it anyway but I am not going to sent them any money until I get in the mood.

I know direct mail solicitation work are they wouldn't keep doing it.  However, if whatever cause Senator Toomey was raising money for can sent me 51¢, they don't need my money. 

I do support causes and candidates from time to time, but once you give to one cause, they must sell your name to a dozen other groups. I don't know if liberal causes and Democrats are as bad as conservative causes and Republicans, but I bet they are. I am thinking about sending a Democrat $5.  I am sure in the next year they would spend a couple hundred dollars soliciting me for money. The solicitation they send me that contain envelopes with stamps, I could get the stamps. For those solicitations they send me with self addressed envelopes with a permit instead of a stamp, I could return and they would have to pay the return postage. If Dems are as bad as Repubs, a $5 contribution could cost them hundreds if I worked it right.

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