A reader sends this along:
Just got off the phone with a very up-beat young lady from the “Republican Issues Campaign” or something close to that. This was the approximate conversation after she confirmed that I was me and introduced herself: HER: Do you approve or disapprove of the job President Bush is doing? ME: I approve of about half of it. HER: (Laughs) Well, that’s better than disapproving. We’ll take what we can get. Now as you know… [goes into boilerplate about how the Democrats want to raise taxes, cut defense spending, yada, yada, yada… “Hillary in 2008”, yada, yada, yada – obviously reading from a script.] Can we count on your support? If we send you an envelope, can you help us out with a donation of $75? ME: NO! Not one thin dime to any Republican organization as long as the President continues to support this idiotic amnesty plan, refuses to fire Gonzalez and keeps kissing Teddy Kennedy’s butt. HER: OK, well thanks anyway. You have a good evening… [*click*, dial tone] Last week, before the amnesty bill was beaten back, I got a call from Norm Coleman’s campaign. I sent him a check the last time he ran, but laughed out loud when they called to ask for my support this time. “He’ll get my support when I get his – in the form of a vote against this Al Frankenstein Monster of a illegal immigrant amnesty bill.” Guess I owe Norm a check now. Today I sent off 17 letters to various Republican officer holders and party leaders from the President on down to the local county chairman, including the entire House and Senate leadership teams and both Hill campaign committees. Each form letter was slightly modified to fit the recipient, each stressed the need to reform the party and return it to conservative principles and each had a shiny Roosevelt dime neatly centered and super-glued to the bottom of the page – the last dime that that individual or organization can expect to see from me until they get their collective act together up in D.C. Unfortunately I had already mailed Mel Martinez’s letter before I heard about his moronic call for a presidential debate in Spanish. I’ll have to send him an e-mail tomorrow from the form on his site. In ENGLISH. Conservatives need to turn off the money spigot. We can turn it back on in plenty of time for the general election next year, but right now we need to stop writing checks to any GOP organization and to any candidate who is not explicitly supporting a conservative agenda. If money is the lifeblood of politics, we need to apply a tourniquet and NOW if we’re going to get our so-called elected representatives to pay any attention to us and get their heads out of the D.C. bubble. (He said, being charitable.) Regards, Joe