$late Mailer Woe$

John Thomas, a Los Angeles Republican political consultant has said “The only thing worse than the mailers themselves are the people that sell them. They're bottom-feeders — fake consultants."

So why do politicians use slate mailers?   Repetition and Economics.

 Say a name long enough, loud enough, at some point you will gain votes; sometimes without most people really knowing what the candidate represents.  The mailers also allow voters to receive a piece of literature with the candidates name,  while sharing the cost with other (possibly unrelated) candidates.

The LA Weekly wrote up an interesting piece back in Feb 2013: “But not all mailers are created equal. Take a lesson from 2012, when a colorful flier sent by "Citizens for Good Government" depicted an American flag and photos of Republicans Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan on its front and on the back an elephant and endorsements for Mitt Romney and Elizabeth Emken.

The inside pages, however, touted some surprising names: Democratic State Assemblyman Mike Gatto and Democratic candidate for district attorney Jackie Lacey. It encouraged a Yes vote on Proposition 30 (raising taxes to plug up the state deficit) and No on Proposition 32 (which aimed to limit unions' ability to raise money for politics) — the exact opposite of the Republican Party line.

So in your mail box – if you live in the 30th Congressional District you may have seen:

Small Business Action Committee Newsletter.  Their disclaimer “published irregularly by Small Business Action Committee Newsletter a project of Small Business Action Committee.  Who is the entity funding, behind SBAC?  

According to Daily Kos there are no small businesses supporting it BUT there is  $19,949,560 from Charles Munger Jr., who’s given millions to the state and county Republican parties, and also bankrolls a California Super PAC called “Spirit of Democracy.” Munger has spent more than $22 million on California elections in recent years, !!!!!!  

A billionaire funded organization declares “Make our Voice Heard!  Vote for Small Business”  but the organization is not funded by small business. 

(FYI - I found of the two Republicans on the ballot - only Mark Reed has not received Munger Money and of course we know Democrat Sherman finances his own campaign (with undisclosed interest earned) but his number one contributor category is INVESTORS)

THIS IS WHY I PREFER VOTER GUIDES and TOSS OUT SLATE MAILERS

The reality is this - voter guides usually provide questions which allow the candidate a yes or no. Typically if the candidate does not answer it is because the question was worded inadequately or they do not want to disclose to voters their long term intentions.   So a good guide should have an option 3 - I don't agree with the wording of the question ..it's leading.

Check the candidate do they have a long list of support from INDIVIDUALS – common citizens with regular sized budgets for their business or household?  Are they vested in the community?

Nevertheless, NumbersUSA is a topical (immigration) voter guide which has an absence of response  by 2 out of 3 candidates, for example, in the 30th Congressional race.

https://www.numbersusa.com/content/elections/races/congressional

Then there is Craig Huey's Judicial guide.  This is particularly important given the fact most of the $late mailers are supplying a list of judges with very little info - how does one judge a judge up for election?  http://www.judgevoterguide.com/

http://smartvoter.org  - which archives past elections and candidates!

http://www.electionforum.org/

The oldest is LeagueOfWomen's Voters but some independent guides - mailed (now emailed) around are based on long-time researchers who have their own independent following.  

Sadly, the reality is during a non-Presidential primary fewer people have any initiative to vote unless there is an initiative on the ballot which strikes a chord or their pocket book.

So, today in light of the focus on Veterans and the mistreatment of their promised and earned benefits.

Let's look at the election process as an investment, a small amount of  our time, to keep candidates and elected officials committed to the troops coming home to  America, to the wounded, to the orphans and widows, and to the security of tomorrow for our Nation.