I hate politics. I don’t “get political”. It’s not a political issue for me. I don’t make my political opinions known. I don’t fit in to the party system that consumes America.

Just this afternoon, I got a letter from the Roskam for Congress Committee, with Roskam’s signature at the very end. It was a two-page, double-sided smear letter against the democrats. It made me angry. It made me sick. Here is my exact email response to his campaign about the letter:

Dear Committee,

I would appreciate it if you would pass this along to Mr. Roskam himself, as this has very much to do with his political future. Thanks!

Congratulations! You have just lost yourself a vote, Mr. Roskam!

Just this afternoon, I received in the mail a letter paid for by the Roskam for Congress Committee.

For starters, don’t address a letter “Dear Friend.” It’s insulting. I don’t know you. And you obviously don’t even care enough about knowing your constituents to address them by name. Also, take me off of your mailing lists and call lists. Oh yeah, I’ve already asked you to do that six different times.

I can’t believe you people. You continue to send out letters, run ads, and the like, that just bash people in the democratic party (and the opposite happens, too). It’s sickening. It makes me hate our system of government. You’re what’s wrong with politics in America. I’m not saying that whoever you’re demonizing in your campaigns isn’t also in the wrong, but it’s clear that you somehow think that you can use fear and smear to win an election. And maybe you can.

I’m not in to “politicking”, as I call it, and I’m not even in to politics. I’m not a democrat. I’m not a republican. I’m just an ordinary American – like so many – who just want our elected officials to do the right thing.

I promised a long, long time ago – and I have stuck to it – that I will vote against any candidate who uses negative campaign tactics. Many times, that has led me to vote for candidates who, in our current system, don’t really stand a chance of winning. But this is changing. More people are starting to think as I do.

For your information, I’ve posted a statement about your letter on my blog. If you’d care to read it, you may do so here:

http://jaymathes.blogspot.com

I truly hope that, as this country moves forward, Roskam and all of the other politicians get real. It’s sickening to see how out of touch you all are with the people whom you represent. Until you learn that you can’t expect our country to succeed by looking out for your own interests as a politician (IE: winning an election by running smears), you are not fit to represent me in office.

I now await a better day – one beyond party lines, politicians motivated by self-interest, and, yes, a broken system of government.

Politically Not Yours,

Jay Mathes