What Have I Been Doing?: Iowa Mail Program

Well I know it's been a few days since I made a post and I wanted to let everyone know why.

My husband and I committed to sending 500 letters to Iowan voters. This is an opportunity that the campaign made available about a week ago. You can find out more information here if you are interested. Just be sure you know that these letters need mailed ASAP and you are expected to pay for postage. We must allow at least 4-5 days for transit time, so the latest I would mail them is Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

Everyone can do at least 20 letters. Really if you do it the way my husband and I did, each person could do 100 if they had a few hours of time available. This is something you could do while watching T.V. and we all waste way too much time that way now!

Do not handwrite the whole letter. I know the campaign says that they would like them handwritten, but let me give you my reasons why I think it's a dumb idea.

1. People with bad handwriting automatically are turned off
2. It drastically limits the number of letters you can complete
3. You will get carpal tunnel after writing out 20 letters.
4. Even though it is a personal letter it will look sloppy and hard to read

Number 1 and 2 are key here. When I heard of this I knew right away I was NOT going to handwrite them. My writing is not the nicest looking and it would have cut my 500 down to about 100. Now does handwriting the whole letter outweigh losing 400 potential straw poll voters? NOPE!

So this is what we did and you can copy the letter I will post below. This letter was put together with input of a poster by the name of DavyDuke17 here.

First, I addressed ALL envelopes by hand. This part you MUST handwrite because it will get the letter opened, which is extremely important in our case.

Now according to USPS, you do not need to put a return address as long as you refrain from using the pre-printed labels for your postage. If you want your letters opened, you should be using a real stamp any way. Do not use those pre-printed machines because it will look like junk mail.

Lastly, the letter inside should be signed on the bottom. It will make it more personable.

The Letter: *Drum Roll* Spacing and HTML is a little off because I had to paste it first into notepad for this to work. I went back and tried to fix up the styling. It fits perfectly on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.


Dear Friend,

We are unpaid volunteers writing to you in support of presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. Like most Americans, we believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction and Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate that offers real hope for America.

What would make us devote our free time writing you today in support of this man?

Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term in Congress and has proved time and again that he votes on principle before party. He takes his vow to uphold the Constitution very seriously, as well as his commitment to lowering taxes and lowering the size of the federal government.

Here is a Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

*He has never voted to raise taxes.

*He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

*He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

*He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

*He has never taken a government-paid junket.

*He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

*He voted against the Patriot Act.

*He voted against regulating the Internet.

*He voted against the Iraq war.

*He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.

*He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.


Congressman Ron Paul is very tough on the fight against illegal immigration. While he agrees that strong border enforcement is crucial, he realizes that we must end the incentives that cause the flood of illegal immigrants to come into this country. This includes ending the free handouts for illegal aliens that we cannot afford and putting an end to birthright citizenship or "anchor babies".


Ron Paul has been an outspoken leader against the Iraq War since before the invasion and advocates a humble foreign policy overseas while keeping us strong here at home. The Iraq War has diverted us from our fight against Al Qaeda and our hunt for Osama Bin Laden, which has only strengthened our enemy.


We would like you to consider supporting Paul for President at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Saturday, August 11 from 10 am to 6 pm.


We invite you to visit his website at www.ronpaul2008.com or call toll free at 1-800-Ron-Paul to learn more about him and his positions. The best way to support him is to vote for Ron Paul at the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa. To RSVP and get more information, go to www.ronpaul2008.com and click the Iowa icon at the top of the page. We hope you can join us and we appreciate your time.

Sincerely,

The Brown Family

"In times of change, the Patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."

The overall cost for sending 500 letters came out to about $300. Here were the expenses so you know what you may be getting yourself into.

• Envelopes w/ sticker seal - $20 for 500 Envelope
• Paper/Off-white color - $8 for 500 sheets
• Stamps - $205 for 500 stamps
• Copies - $37 for 501 copies @ $0.07 a piece
• My Time - $0 ;-)
• Total $270

If you want to add any inserts to your letters watch out for the weight of your letters. You may accidentally bump yourself into the next tier of postage costs.

Feel free to post this anywhere, where more people could become involved in this program. We need more people to take action! Any questions, please put them in the comments section. TY!