To the editor:

For reasons unknown, I find that I am now receiving daily emails from the Republican National Committee. Their standard format seems to consist of a “survey” of my feelings, promptly followed by a request for a donation. Gosh, it is touching to see that they must really care about how I feel! (I suppose a cynic would say that is a tried-and-true technique for easing the respondents into an active donation mode.)

I like surveys, so I decided to give it a go. Here’s the first question: “Which do you identify as: Republican or Socialist?”

Wow, this is a toughie! I was born a Republican, but that was 80 years ago. I liked Ike, but I haven’t seen much to like in the national Republican Party since then. So it looks like “Socialist” is my only choice. Trouble is, the survey does not define what they actually mean by “Socialist,” but I have noticed that nowadays many Republicans seem to enjoy tossing it around to characterize people they don’t like. Well, I guess I will just skip this “identify” question for now, and look ahead to see if the survey gets any easier.

Ah, here’s one I might be able to handle. Do you agree the mainstream media favors Democrats? Yes or No?

Let’s see … what does the RNC actually mean by “mainstream media”? ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, CNN, MSNBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post? I wish the RNC would be more specific. Whatever, I am sure they would claim Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News is “mainstream,” with national-ranked stars such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson packing ’em in, two or three million at a crack! (Whatever happened to Lou Dobbs?) So, my answer to this survey question obviously has to be No, I don’t think mainstream media favors Democrats.

But I have a feeling the RNC won’t like my answer, nor, come to think of it, will they like any of my answers. If I submit a completed survey, it could result in an unwanted social call by the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers!

Actually, surveys scare me. Guess I will stick to doing crosswords.

John Quenell

Paul Smiths