In 2012 I contributed money to the reelection of Barack Obama. And while I am not happy with everything our president has done since the election, I am satisfied that on balance the actions of this administration remain far more aligned with my vision for our country than anything I had heard from the opposition party.
However, I have been comparing notes with my friends, and have discovered that we share one unfortunate collateral effect of our collective generosity: many emails a day from all sorts of political groups aligned with the Democratic party.
I get emails from concerned groups in Iowa, from Indiana, and from many other places in the U.S. far from where I live, all explaining that my $2 contribution is the only thing saving the great state of [fill in the blank] from political ruin.
I get urgent personal emails from Barack Obama, or Michelle Obama, or some famous rock star, all of which leave me wondering whether these so-called correspondents even know that such emails are being written in their names.
I receive emails wondering why I have not yet jumped on the absolutely free opportunity to meet Barack Obama. That particular gambit is clearly a way to gather “higher quality” names. If you respond, then you can be tagged as far more likely to donate money.
A few of these groups give you a way to opt out of their list, but most do not. The only way I know of to fight the rising tide is to add filters to my email program. But the people who do this apparently thought of that, because they keep switching the sender’s name and email address. Which makes me wonder — do they think I will send money just because I enjoy being annoyed?
I propose to start a Political Action Committee whose sole mission is to help people fight email spam from their own political party. Unlike most PACs, I believe this one will be equally popular with Republicans and Democrats, with those on the left and those on the right of the political spectrum.
At last, a cause behind which everyone can rally, a truly unifying mission to bring together our sadly divided nation.
We are going to raise so much money. 🙂