Disposing of Those Idaho Political Mailings

A friend in Idaho Falls pulled the political cards from her mailbox and spread them on her couch.  End-to-end and layered.  On one day.  What do we do with all of them, now that Primary Day is over?  Some people have told me they burn them in woodstoves or fireplaces, but Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon told me that was hazardous.  I’ve seen a lot of them in blue bins, and I suspect most are destined for a landfill.  As the Lone Ranger said, “To the dump, to the dump, to the dump, dump, dump!”

Some Serious Money Thrown Away

I’ve been told that sending out one mailing to Republicans in a city the size of Twin Falls costs 7,000 dollars.  That’s a lot of money to fill garbage cans.  I went looking online for some instructions, and it seems vague.  Here in Idaho, there isn’t much detail available.  I thought the environmentalists in neighboring Washington would have something in place, but that’s also vague.  A site there suggests grinding up report cards.  I wish I had thought of that 50 years ago!

There was an Old-Fashioned Use

In the old days, the cards could have lined the walls of a prove-up shack, instead of newsprint.  Then you could daily be reminded about candidates who kick dogs, throw cats, and torture goldfish (the claims come straight from the writer’s room at Saturday Night Live).

I saved one mailing for a candidate.  It opposed him, and he didn’t get one in the mail.  He told me he wants to frame it and present it to the political action committee that paid for it.  I should note that he won.