actually, in these times of limited tax monies, and with our huge deficits, I don't think congress should be spending our tax dollars on Holiday specific cards.....we just can't afford it and us tax payers should NOT have to pay for their Christmas etc cards....they should use their own campaign funds to send their own cards out.....
people....citizens are really hurting right now while we ponder taking away the help we are able to give them and spend that money on Christmas cards?????????? sheesh...GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT people!
For God's sake. How many times does it have to get repeated? We ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT sending Christmas cards.
We are talking about the usual run-of-the-*******-mill Congress-critters letters to their constituents.
There are separate issues here. (1) Do we really like the fact that Congress-critters can send what amounts to campaign literature on our tax dime? It's a real question, but not the one in this thread. This thread accepts (for now) the Congressional franking privilege.
(2) GIVEN the Congressional franking privilege exists for sending "important" and "official" news from a Congress-critter to his/her constituents, and GIVEN that we all ******* agree that this should
not be used for the sending of Christmas cards or individual birthday cards or the like, SHOULD there be a Franking Committee "rule" that somehow prevents a Congress-critter from sending a standard run-of-the-mill letter to his/her constituents IF that letter includes a sign-off wishing the constituents a Merry Christmas?
The Franking Committee has an actual legitimate set of rules for a rational coherent valid reason. We really don't want our Congress-critters using their franking privilege for personal reasons. Thus, they shouldn't send out Christmas cards and they shouldn't send out birthday cards or send a payment to the phone company on the public dime. THAT'S why the Franking Committee rules exist.
Where the ******* Franking Committee has crossed a line is when they decide that a SIGN-OFF in a Congressperson's letter to his/her constituents wishing a "Merrry Christsmas" is somehow verboten! **** them and **** their notions of "proper" censorship. Such a wish is not their concern. It's between the Congress-critter and his/her constituents. If I am displeased with a letter from my Congressional Representative, I know how to address the matter. And I do vote.