Intimate Family-Oriented Letter #3

Your Letterhead Stationery Here (‘Reflex’ Blue Recommended)

[DATE]
NAME
ADDRESS 1
ADDRESS 2
CITY, STATE

Dear [SALUTATION]:

Well, here we are, standing together, and my [HUSBAND/ WIFE] and I want to personally express our untold gratitude for your generous support of my candidacy. Thanks to people like you, we’ve come this far, and with a winning team of dedicated grassroots volunteers and an effective campaign staff, we can go all the way in November.

I’m taking time out of my impossible schedule to remind you of just what’s at stake here and the extent to which I am willing to sacrifice myself for you, the people of the great state of [YOUR STATE].

Just last month my [DAUGHTER/ SON] asked me, “[MOMMY/ DADDY] why are you gone so much?” To which I replied, “Because I’m fighting for the people of [YOUR STATE], and [SWEETHEART/ SONNY] that includes you. I believe in your future.” [HE/ SHE] then went on to ask, “But what should I believe when I hear the dirty things they say about you on television? Why do they say it?”

I told my young representative of AMERICA’S FUTURE, “Because they mean to distort my record, obscure facts, demean and belittle the things Americans like us have died for and believe in most strongly.”

And I want you, [SALUTATION], to know that at this answer, my little jewel wept! [HE/ SHE] then became angry, saying, “Well, what are you going to do about it? You can’t just stand by and let somebody drag your good name through the filth. You’ve got to tell the people about what a bad person your opponent really is, about how your opponent would abandon the people of [YOUR STATE] if given the chance, as evidenced by [HIS/ HER] [VOTING RECORD/ ABUSE OF THE PUBLIC TRUST/ BROKEN PROMISES/ FAILURE TO ACCOMPLISH GOALS/ LACK OF VISION/ MORAL DEPRAVITY].”

I will admit that the words of my child tempted me, and I could see the logic in the suggestion, but what lessons [SALUTATION] are we teaching our children? Recrimination and recrimination, followed by more of the same? Or do we take a stand? Do we look our children in the eye and say, “As beleaguered, weakened, and dubious as my opponent really is, I’m certainly not the sort of person to dignify this attack with a response, and on top of that, who am I, is anybody, to judge another, no matter how personally repellent that person may be.” I told my dear tot a little something my kindly grandmother once told me: “To belittle is to be little, and hey, that’s just not me. I am serving a larger purpose here.”

And this moment, looking into those teary eyes, I witnessed the evil results of the sort of tactics my opponent has resorted to: nothing short of the destruction of innocence, the engendering of public cynicism, and the debasement of all that is good.

At this point, my [BEAUTIFUL/ LOYAL] [WIFE/ HUSBAND] joined in and told me, “Honey, your character is so pure, and you are so resolute, and with your background, sometimes I wonder if you’re even too good for this.”

“I don’t know about all that,” I told [HIM/HER], “Because, like all of us, I too have made my mistakes. The fallout from that [EMBARRASSING INCIDENT/ SEVERE CONTRETEMPS/ SCANDALIZING MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE] was no pleasure cruise, but it did teach me a great deal about my Core Beliefs. I may not know everything, but what I do know is that this country and the noble people of [YOUR STATE] deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity, not humored and disgraced as my opponent believes.”

“All this worrying,” my [WIFE/ HUSBAND] said. “That’s why your [CHARMING MINOR FLAW SUCH AS HAIR] is [GREY/ GONE/ OTHER],” the apple of my eye said. At this my child and [WIFE/ HUSBAND] laughed, and I joined them, and I laughed hard and out loud, because I’m the sort of person who can laugh at themselves. If you can’t laugh at yourself, what sort of person are you?

But all joking aside, I put it to you, [Salutation], how can we answer the cries of our children and the questions of those closest to us while people like [YOUR OPPONENT] continue to degrade the path of public service? We must spread our message.

It is because you and I share Core Beliefs that I am coming to you for help. [ENUMERATED CORE BELIEFS] are as important to us as the oxygen we breathe and the water we drink, and without them we might very well wither and die. How does languishing in the privation of [YOUR OPPONENT]’s dim vision sound to you? Not too hot, I’m guessing.

As a result of your previous, generous contribution, we have already had the great success of…

[GOOD NEWS] (e.g. Poll Numbers)
[GOOD NEWS] (e.g. Parade Turnout)
[GOOD NEWS] (e.g. Press Quote)
And yet, the unscrupulous ends to which my opponent is willing to go have cost us dearly as we see in the …

[BAD NEWS] (e.g. Poll Numbers)
[BAD NEWS] (e.g. Parade Turnout)
[BAD NEWS] (e.g. Press Quote)

Which, if I might be frank—and with you, [Salutation], I feel I can be—is just a lot of hooey, and we cannot let it dampen the spirit of this exciting campaign.

Your last contribution of $XX qualified you for our exclusive [MINUTE MEN/ MILITIA MEN/ FREEDOM/ FREEDOM FIGHTERS/ TRUE BELIEVERS/ BELIEFS MATTER/ KNIGHTS/ GENERALS/ VICTORS/ ACES/ JOLLY GOOD FELLOWS] Club, and we here sure hope you are enjoying your [BUTTON/ BUMBPER STICKER/ WRISTWATCH/ T-SHIRT/ TOTE BAG/ UMBRELLA/ WINDBREAKER]. But I now ask you, dear friend, to join me by making your voice heard yet again with your investment – because that’s what it really is, when you get down to it, an investment –
of $XXX.

I am often asked by you, the voters, “[FIRST NAME], how is it that you have both the inner strength and the will to carry on despite the indignities you’ve suffered from [YOUR OPPONENT]’s unspeakable lies, and, furthermore, has [YOUR OPPONENT]’s savageness diminished your desire to serve us faithfully?”

I will now answer that:

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PERCENT NO! As I look out upon the majestic [MOUNTAINS/ PLAINS/ WATERS] of the incomparable state of [YOUR STATE], I am reminded of our great, rich history, of the many great statesmen such as [GREAT STATESMEN] who came before me, and I wonder if they too were inspired by these same sights, if they too desired to persevere because of the support of such great people, your forefathers and foremothers.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to give up. I sit here, [SALUTATION], writing this letter in the warmth of my home, surrounded by my loving [HUSBAND/ WIFE], my [CHILD/ CHILDREN], even our family [DOG/ CAT], [SNOWTOES/ BLACKTAIL], and from this I draw the strength to continue the fight.

But I need your help to!

With your continued support, I will win on my [PROVEN RECORD/ DESIRE TO SERVE/ FRESHNESS OF VISION]. While my opponent, a shell of the person the professional image-makers portray, is running a hollow, negative campaign, I have the support of Real People Like You.

Come with me [SALUTATION]! Join me in one of the greatest, most important causes in the country by sending in your contribution of $XXX today! Then you can join us at the victory celebration in November, and there I can shake your hand, look you in the eye, and again personally thank you for making the difference.

[SINCERELY/ EARNESTLY/ ON TO VICTORY],

[YOUR SIGNATURE]

[YOUR NAME]