With the holidays coming up...

[MonteLukast]

... and since we've been talking about cards, I must admit I've forgotten... how have the members of this board gone about sending JK a Christmas card? Do we usually send them individually or as a group? And, are there any better addresses to send them to besides his office?

[beachmom]

1. Actually, if people send holiday cards to Sen. Kerry, they do so

privately.

Some here have actually received a xmas card from the Senator and his wife, but it is extremely random. I have never received one.

I'm sticking with family and friends on this one.

Edit: but if you do want to send one, just check the Senate site for an address.

[ObamaKerryDem]

2. Thanks for posting this--I had been thinking about that as well

I'd like to send him one too, since he's been such an inspiration to me, this past year especially. :) Do you guys think the DC office address would be better to send it to--or the Boston office?

[karynnj]

3. We haven't as a group, likely because his birthday is the same month

Personally, I would never on my own have sent either a birthday card or holiday card, because I personally don't know them. (There were years his PAC sent cards, but that is not the same.) I am glad that after procrastinating the first year, I did join the chain and sign that card and also participated in the other years. I was there in 2006, the second year with about 40 others when he opened his card. I agree with the overall view on the birthday thread that the time for that may be over.

It is clear he values our support, as he values support of many people - some having supported him in enormous ways since the 1970s. Many spent their time and money traveling the country supporting Kerry in 2004. (It was cool meeting one of "his" vets in Boston on election day 2008. He is someone with a real personal connection to Kerry.) Kerry was generous with his time meeting with us in 2006, but he had not ruled out a Presidential run. It was to our credit that his people thought we were worth meeting with.

Many have spoken of his reserve. I respect that and realize that while all of us have a very minor connection to his public life, we have absolutely no connection to his private life. For that reason, I would not send a holiday card - and if I did it would be to his office. Now, I look at the parts of his private life that he allows people to see and am happy that this good man has the support and love of family and friends, but I am completely aware that there is a line between public and private. I think in today's world, because we see so much, there is a tendency to feel that we "know" people that we really do not know. What we know well about Kerry is his record and his vision on many issues, as expressed over the years. Through that we can see character and integrity.

[ObamaKerryDem]

4. Oh I agree and think that sending the cards to his office would probably be most appropriate..

..if people are going to send them. I know that I would just like to take the opportunity to thank him for all he's done and continues to do for this country, as well as to wish a happy holiday, of course. I don't think that's too personal myself, but at the same time, I appreciate and respect how people would have differing views on the subject. I think it's pretty much a matter of opinion/style, if that makes sense. :)

"Kerry was generous with his time meeting with us in 2006, but he had not ruled out a Presidential run. It was to our credit that his people thought we were worth meeting with."---That is so awesome, both that he made time for you guys like that and that you got a meeting with him in the first place. Are there any old threads on here about this event (I understand if not, though)? :)

[MBS]

5. if you decide to send cards, I think the Boston office is a better

bet than the D.C. office. IMHO.

[ObamaKerryDem]

9. Thanks :) n/t

[MonteLukast]

6. I think it might be too intrusive to send an individual birthday card

... while a group one from all of us would be OK. People expect to get Christmas cards; they're not as personal.

The Boston office sounds good to me.

[beachmom]

8. Thank you cards are appropriate 365 days a year. :)

Everything I have read is that the personal note to an elected official thanking them for something they did on the job is a true treasure.

[ObamaKerryDem]

10. Oh I agree. :) And that's kind of what I'm going for with mine.

Just to thank him for being such a strong, Progressive voice in the Senate (even though he may not be "my" Senator in that I don't live in MA--I live in AZ--but I still feel he represents me in that sense, far more than McCain or Kyl.....lol) and to congratulate him on all his accomplishments in the past year. I've actually been wanting to write something like that for some time . I mean, I've been a Kerry supporter since 2004--he was my first ever vote for President :)-- and I've always found him interesting but I've become especially interested in the past year or so, in terms of keeping track of his actions in the Senate, the SFRC his various causes, etc and after just reading and learning more about him and his story in general. So a holiday card is just the premise because of the season, but it's as good a time as any, I suppose. :)

[MBS]

11. My sympathies

We left town, but, when we were there, our congressman was Shadegg (ugh!). Our first election, the Dem party was so weak they couldn't even find a candidate to run against him!

[beachmom]

7. Thanks for saying what I was thinking.

We support Sen. Kerry politically, but that is as far as it goes. The birthday card made sense because it was political to a certain extent: hey, you still have supporters! And actually, a holiday card would make perfect sense if it was to thank him for something he did as a Senator. But beyond that, it really is inappropriate. The whole Cult of Celebrity is something we all have to guard against. There is something delusional about television that gives false intimacy. We don't truly know him, nor does he know us. Beyond what we have in common which is politics.