I got two pieces of snail mail from the Democratic party today. This fascinates me. I have not been a registered Democrat for more than five years, and I have never been registered as one at my new address. Yet they keep writing to me.

One of today's letters was from Senator Dianne Feinstein — a mean-spirited dinosaur, a shill of the movie and recording industries, and an all-around bad person. I read Dianne's letter. Dianne wants me to pitch in to help re-elect Harry Reid, the Senator from Nevada, the party's Whip. Listen to this drivel:

The product of an impoverished childhood in a Nevada mining town, Harry combines the compassionof one who has gone without basic needs, the determination of a former high school boxing champion and the self-starting ethic of a man who worked his way through high school as a night policeman.

I'll be back when I've wiped the puke up off the floor.

Now then. It costs so much to re-elect a Whip these days, they gotta pump a schmoe like me for money? And we don't need campaign finance reform? We don't have a problem when it comes to money and politics?

The Dems also sent me a "2004 Democratic Leadership Survey," which is confusing; I cannot imagine how I became part of the Democratic Leadership. They actually send me one of these every single year, and it barely changes. It's got a couple dozen questions on it, like:

Which of the two political parties do you rust most when it comes to protecting our environment? () Democrats   () Republicans

They think this is going to tell them something about how I feel about the environment? Is this question really designed to do anything except help them claim that folks trust them more on environmental issues? Madness. This is no way to run a political system.

I really do want off this train. The voters of San Francisco have a chance to elect a Green mayor tomorrow in their runoff election. I very much doubt Mr. Gonzalez will win, but it sure would be fun to see the Greens win something.