A tale of two senators

Burr takes action while Dole twiddles thumbs

By: J.D. Lewis

Posted: 10/18/07

Last week I shared with you my idea of requiring the U.S. Postal Service to place recycling bins in their facilities for the depositing of unwanted sales papers and other junk mail. I also shared that of all the elected officials I had contacted concerning this, the only one to respond was Sen. Elizabeth Dole. I stated that I had not expected much from her or Sen. Richard Burr, meaning that the Republican Party isn't synonymous with environmentalism. I now believe that I spoke too soon as far as Burr is concerned.

I suppose I should have been more optimistic about Burr. After all, he had already served the people of North Carolina for 10 years in the U.S. House while Sen. Dole took the Hillary Clinton carpetbagger route to the Senate (yes, I know she was born in North Carolina, but nearly 40 years in Washington, D.C. and Kansas, a North Carolinian do not make).

Dole's letter to me began, "Thank you so much for taking time to write to me with your concerns. Receiving your ideas and concerns is so important in order for me to represent you, and our state, to the best of my ability in the United States Senate."

Okay. So far, so good.

She continued, "The issue you describe is indeed important and deserves review. I very much appreciate you sharing your opinions and thoughts with me regarding this matter. Please be assured that I will keep your insights in mind should pertinent legislation be considered in the Senate."

Now, I'm no expert on Senate procedure, but as a senator, couldn't she introduce the pertinent legislation herself?

She concluded, "Thank you again for taking the time to share your ideas and concerns. If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me."

Further assistance? She wasn't of any assistance! The only thing we established is that she's thankful I wasted my time on her.

I received Sen. Burr's reply over the weekend. While he did take three months to get back to me, his letter was a lot more positive.

"Thank you for contacting me about requiring recycling bins in the Post Office. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue."

I like that he specified the issue, which indicates that he actually read my letter and took the time to respond instead of signing off on a form letter.

He continued, "I certainly understand how frustrating it can be to open a mail box only to find it packed with advertisements and other junk mail. I also recognize the amount of waste associated with this issue. Your solution to the problem makes a whole lot of sense. In fact, I have asked my staff to inquire with the Postal Service to see if it has any plans to provide recycling bins in local branches."

Isn't that a whole lot better response than that drivel I received from Sen. Dole? Okay, so it's doubtful Sen. Burr is another Al Gore when it comes to environmental issues (that's not necessarily a bad thing), and his response in no way guarantees a solution to the problem, but at least he recognizes there is a problem and is willing to try and do something about it ... unlike his senior colleague.

I apologize to my readers, and to Sen. Burr, for jumping to the wrong conclusion and disparaging his constituent service without his having a chance to respond to me. Hopefully with his help, something good might yet come from the nightmare of junk mail.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.