I don't donate to either major political party, because I'm an independent (not a registered Independent, but just not affiliated with any party) voter, but I know someone very well who has donated to the Democratic Party. He's been a lifelong liberal and Democrat, and he's given money on occasion, when he felt the candidate deserved it. The last time he gave money, it was for President Obama's election in 2008. (I was a supporter of Obama's as well in 2008, but I didn't donate to the party, because, you know, Barack Obama had promised McCain to use public financing, so he didn't need our money; and when he broke that promise, I realized he didn't deserve our money, either.)
And what did he get for his money? Well, from what I can tell (and from his complaints), every penny of what he's donated has been spent on junk mail from the Democratic Party to solicit him for more money. He gets letters from President Obama, Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and every congressional candidate and wannabe, including some guy named Joe Kennedy (you know, like JFK's bootlegger father who wanted to be president himself), all of them asking for more money in donations. Plus, he gets gobs of email spam and toll-free telemarketer calls (so many, in fact, that his wife never wants to even answer the phone anymore). So it seems to him (and to me) as though his own money has financed all of this harassment that he now hates. He still believes in the Democratic Party, but I think he'd rather he never gave them any money, nor ever got put on their "sucker list".
Now, I don't know any Republicans (I do, after all, live in Los Angeles, and I'm from New York City, so there you are...), but I'm sure they do the same crap. I even get spam emails from Reince Prebus and Mitt and Ann Romney, and I'm not even a Republican either (and even if I were so inclined, these unwelcome solicitations would drive me away anyhow)! So please don't think I'm trying to besmirch only Democrats. (I'm trying to besmirch them all, actually, and they deserve it!) But if there's one message I'd like to make clear to anyone who is so inclined to read this far, it's this: Don't give any money to political candidates or parties unless you really like junk mail, email spam, and telephone harassment! And if you give, when it happens, realize that you asked for it by giving them money in the first place, and once you're on their list, they'll never leave you alone as long as you live! (No joke.)
So seriously: spare yourself by not sparing them any of your money! No matter what political party it is, they don't deserve it, and they'll only spend your money to finance harassing you to beg for more money forever after. Don't believe me? Then just donate $10 and give them your email. And don't say I didn't warn you!
