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Here's the letter to Shays:

Congressman Christopher Shays
c/o Shays for Congress
98 East Ave.
Rear Building
Norwalk, CT 06851

Dear Congressman Shays:

This letter is in response to your fund raising mailing I recently received. Because of the volume of political fund raising mail I receive I put together a form letter that I’ve attached as the last few paragraphs of this letter. I wanted to take the time to write you a personal thank you.

We have exchanged emails in the past and those emails have reinforced my opinion that you are the smarmy liberal elitist that I thought you were. I was at a political gathering recently and someone commented that you believe that 'every word that comes out of your mouth is a pearl cascading on the ground for the common people to pick up.'

Unfortunately you and your ilk have become the voice of my party. Since I registered Republican on my eighteenth birthday I have been a proud member of the GOP. I have served on town committees, donated generously and faithfully to candidates throughout the years, and have even thought about running for office from time to time.

I wanted to thank you for helping me to realize that I’ve outgrown the Republican party. I am morally and intellectually opposed to so much of what our party has become, but I’ve been hanging on anyway, hoping that my opinions and yours can co-exist under the so-called 'big tent.'

Ronald Reagan is my hero. One of my favorite quotes of his is 'I didn’t leave the Democratic party. It left me.' As Ward Connerly said recently, the Republican party has left me as well.

I cannot share the tent with people that support the weakening of the ability of the American people to voice their political opinions and the right to freely associate with others who share those opinions. That’s exactly what Shays Meehan does. I heard you admit on the Sean Hannity show that 'smaller organizations' will be shut out of the campaign process. That’s un-American, and that’s unconstitutional. More importantly, that’s morally reprehensible, no matter how you couch it.

So the day President Bush signs your bill is my last day as a Republican. I wanted to thank you for forcing me to make that decision.

Best Wishes,
My name

Dear Candidate or Organization:

I received your recent fund raising request. I will not support any candidate, party, or organization that voted for or supported Shay-Meehan or McCain-Feingold, referred to by the media and supporters as Campaign Finance 'Reform.'

Any officeholder who voted for or supported this attack on the U.S. Constitution violated his or her oath of office. I also do not wish to be associated with any organization, party or PAC that supported this abomination.

Please remove me from any supporter list you may have. If you have been using me as a reference, please cease immediately.

Please also remove me from any and all mailing lists.

Thank you,
My name

Chris Shays doesn't care what you have to say. you're irrelevant here. I can't imagine anyone in congress would take you seriously. Perhaps you should share with him your affection for Hillary. That might get you a form letter response.

I have read your letter to Shays et al and I hope you don't think that I'm being critcal in saying that insulting people only makes you more irrelevant. The key is understanding how to win friends and influence people.

By the way, if your letter to Shays doesn't get the results you were looking for, you might try spitting in his face.