The above quote is the marking on the outside of a large envelope I received today. Inside is a survey and an invitation to serve as a volunteer for 45 and the R party in the upcoming election.
I have no qualms about throwing it away, as I did the first “notice.” I am not interested in giving them even so much validation as to fill in the survey with my real opinions, I don’t want my name on their books any more than they already are.
I’ve seen something like this on advertising for mortgage loan companies, where they call their contents something like “official forms” or something. However, this smacks to me of having enough pseudo-authority behind it to actually cow some people into responding who wouldn’t otherwise. I’ve never seen any previous administration do anything like this, at least not in my district. It’s a small thing, but another example of how this administration pushes at the mostly unspoken rules of society for its own ends, without regard for how this cheapens the words on the envelope into meaninglessness.
Have you gotten one of these? Assuming you don’t support 45, did you fill it in and return it?
My cross-cut shredder LOVES these, and it is bipartisan as well, happily chewing up glurge from both repugnicants and dumbocraps alike, no discrimination there
I haven’t gotten the specific one you described, but I’ve gotten mailings from the Democratic Party with similar wording. I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten similar stuff from organizations like the ACLU looking for a donation as well. Which makes me think, as much as I dislike 45, that this doesn’t have anything to do with the current administration but is simply a marketing tactic used by lots of organizations to try to increase their response rate.
To answer you second question, no, I didn’t fill it in an return it. I’m pretty sure those “surveys” are just “push polls” anyway and they don’t really look at the responses.
I have not got the one in the OP, but the GOP used to sends so-called surveys that ended with pleas for money. The surveys were so obviously slanted I took pleasure in filling them out the opposite way from what they wanted, Then I told them I was a Democrat, and if their info was so poor, how could they possibly run the country properly? It took three of these before they stopped sending them.
I got one of these earlier this week, labelled as “2019 Congressional District Census”. It’s a pretty transparent shakedown for money for Trump’s re-election: I’m told I’m some sort of “Key person” in my district, the “census” consists of a bunch of questions asking me to what precise degree I think Trump is awesome, and it closes with a demand for a donation that should be no less than $15 to pay for the “cost of processing”, but of course some greater amount, up to, say, a thousand dollars, would be better. Into the bin it went.
I welcome them to keep spending their money on sending me these things, and I’ll happily keep tossing them. I’ve never gotten any such transparent bullshit from the Democrats, BTW.
Republicans, does it not give you pause that your own leadership apparently considers you a pack of useful idiots?
But “Do not destroy” used to be a category for some kinds of bulk mail. 1st Class Mail is, of course, returned to sender if not deliverable. Some ther categories only get a delivery-failure notification: other categories are just discarded if not deliverable.
Not that particular one, but I used to get “surveys” from both the Democrats and GOP. (Surveys is in quotes because they’re really just a ruse to get money. The more time you engage with a mailing, the more likely you are to give.) I did fill out some GOP surveys, just so shake things up a bit. I doubt anyone read them.
As others in this thread have noted, this is a fairly standard practice for both political parties (and various other organizations). Do you think Democratic leadership considers you and your fellow partisans to be “useful idiots”?
I’m all for bitching about Trump/GOP as much as anyone but I’m pretty sure I’ve gotten fund-raising mail from the DCCC and DSCC with similarly worded stuff on the envelope before. And, of course, from every penny-ante mortgage company, third-party utility provider and “extended auto warranty” joint out there.
It’s a tactic that is at least decades old in my experience. It’s been used by political parties, insurance companies, lending companies, and even magazines for as long as I can remember.
The last one I threw away was from my bank trying to trick me into a life insurance policy I don’t need.
Attempting to use this as another talking point to disparage an administration you revile is just sad.
Does your postal service have a rule that the recipient pays for unstamped/franked mail? Ours does, or did: my mother used to tear up things like this, put the pieces in an envelope and send it back to the sender without a stamp. Petty, but satisfying.
It’s like the robo-calls I get that start out “Do not hang up!” At least they are considerate enough to let me know up front that they aren’t worth my time.
In the past week or so, I have gotten a handful of “polls” every day in my email that are actually fund-raisers for one or another of the 23 Democrats running. After the first couple, I have deleted them without looking. But if they think this is going to make it more likely I will contribute, they have another think coming. In any case, I will contribute to and vote for whomever they nominate.
If they are in fact doing the same thing, then sure. As I said, however, I’ve never received such a bogus ‘census’ from Democrats. Sorry, I just haven’t; I don’t know why, if they are so common. If you happen to have a link to an example, I’ll certainly take a look at it.
In the meantime, just to make you happy, I’ll assume the Dems are indeed doing something similar. I don’t see how that makes the Republican efforts any more honorable and respectful of their constituency. I guess it does for you.