Dumpster Diving for Dirty Direct Mail

OK, so I like to go dumpster diving... But there's no need to wash your hand after you shake mine. This happens at most once a year, only on the eve of Election Day, only near the Post Office, and only for paper.

My dumpster quarry: last-minute, nasty political mass-mailers, discarded by disgusted or just apathetic voters.

This year's prize goes to the Columbia County Republican Party, which evidently sent out a ton of oversized postcards trying to use Governor Eliot Spitzer's driver license plan to drive voter turnout against Dems.

The card blares on the address side:

DRIVER LICENSES  FOR  ILLEGAL ALIENS?

The reverse says:

The 9/11 highjackers had multiple state-issued driver licenses so New York tightened the rules.

NOW GOV. SPITZER WANTS TO GIVE   DRIVER LICENSES TO ILLEGAL ALIENS.

Fortunately, Republican Supervisors   are fighting Spitzer's plan [...]

Send a message about Spitzer's plan for illegal alien driver's licenses. VOTE REPUBLICAN FOR SUPERVISOR.

This, evidently, is the best the local Republicans can do to try to maintain their thin majority on the County Board of Supervisors. And I wouldn't be surprised if this card is being used in other counties (targeting Legislators, rather than Supervisors, since Columbia County is one of the few still using that form of government).

Nevermind that the whole purpose and true ramifications of Spitzer's plans have been grossly distorted by the media and the right wingers... and nevermind that Spitzer should have known this would blow up in his face, if he didn't market the idea correctly.

What burns me is that there are far greater terrorist risks—and far greater threats to voter (dis)enfranchisement, the other fear tactic being invoked by the plan's opponents—but these Republicans could not care less about such lapses, because they can't make any hay out of them.

For example, airport security remains a joke six years after 9/11, with journalists and the government's own testers routinely getting simulated "bombs" onto aircraft. Another infamous lapse: in 2002, the Bush administration's Immigration Service re-issued visas to Mohammed Atta and other hijackers. Yeah, driver licenses are the problem.

Anyway, the rest of the election day mailers were quite tame, at least the ones that were discarded.