Three Letters Thanking

This week I received three letters of thanks from three congressional representatives (or representatives elect), Patrick Murphy (D-08), Allyson Schwartz (D-13), and Joe Sestak (D-07). One was dated November but it was new to me. The three candidates have either an exact or slightly alerted text of the letter on their websites so link away if you want to read what I'm writing about. I looked at them from four viewpoints: writing, unique characteristics, typography / design, and fundraising.

Writing

Looking at the words used and how the letters were structured you do see three different styles. Schwartz was running for second term in office so hers was a bit different. Here are the paragraphis I thought were the most well-written from each:

"Across the nation this November, we made history. We called for an end to cronyism and crooked politics and demanded real change from our government. Now, with a new Democratic Majority, we can move this country in the right direction – working to ensure affordable healthcare, to put on the path to energy independence and to strengthen and secure our nation." (Schwartz)

"Now begins the real journey – not just for me, but for all of us here in the 8th District. We are going to bring back optimism. We are going to bring back hope. And we are going to bring back possibility." (Murphy)

"I believe the voters most want a coming together to bring about a better America, a “commonwealth” approach to solving our nation’s challenges of the future. I intend to bring people together – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – to work hard on the issues that are most important to us all: to raise our children well; to own a home; to provide quality education for our children; to have a comfortable retirement; and to live a healthy life in a safe and prosperous America." (Sestak, with points taken off for overuse of semi-colons)

Most tortured paragraph (enough with security already):

"I entered this race this past February because I believed our country was headed in the wrong direction, and we needed a new course. Congress seemed to have forgotten that true national security begins at home, in the economic, health, and educational security of our citizens. These securities, along with our defense security, were being eroded by the failures of this Congress to act on the issues most important to Americans, and by the tragic misadventure in Iraq. But I believe that if we properly invest and solve our challenges in these four pillars of security, then we have true national security." (Sestak)

Words of Gratitude:

Sestak is thankful and indebted and hopes to live up to our expectations. Murphy is thankful, grateful, and promises to make us proud. Schwartz is humbled. She takes much more of a “we worked together” approach, perhaps indicative of her incumbent status, while the other two were challengers who ousted incumbents.

Unique characteristics:

Schwartz mentions that she is only the second Democratic woman from Pennsylvania to be elected to a second term and the only woman congressional representative from the state. Murphy mentions his army service in Iraq. Sestak mentions his margin of victory – 56% to 44%. Sestak and Murphy sign their first and last names; Schwartz just signs her first name.

Typography / design:

This section involves verbal descriptions of graphics. If you find this annoying, skip to the next section. One of these days I’ll figure out how to use the scanner on the new printer or maybe Santa will bring me a digital camera.

Years ago I took a graduate seminar in printing; we learned to throw type (being able to read upside down and backwards is very useful in typesetting) and I’ve had an interest in typography ever since. It was interesting to note some of the design qualities in the logos and typefaces used. The gentlemen used blue for their logos, both put their surnames in all caps. Sestak used only a surname; Murphy included his first name, also in capital letters. Both used stars – Murphy had one at the end of the Murphy06 logo; Sestak had three, one above and below the initial S and the other to the left of it. Both had “for Congress” under their name, in italics and mixed case for Sestak, Murphy had all caps. Both used sans serif fonts (read about serifs). I couldn’t quite place them (gotten rusty over the years, time was I could name a type face right off). Sestak looked like Eras Demi ITC but that isn’t quite right. Murphy used a thicker font, something similar to a Gill.

Schwartz used red for her logo. She also used a more traditional font. I don’t see anything similar in the Microsoft font list. It looks like an old typewriter font but the serifs on the A are unusual – the serif on top of the capital A is very large and flat. She doesn’t have “for Congress” but instead “U.S. Representative” under her name. Her letter is almost a page and a half; the other two take up the front of the paper only.

All three have a union logo at the bottom of the sheet.

Fundraising:

Schwartz is known for her fundraising abilities and her talents in this area show in her letter. For one thing, she includes a donation card and envelope so you can make a contribution to help with her next election. She even includes this paragraph:

"The end-of-year filing deadline will be used as a measure of my strength. A strong fundraising report on December 31st will send a clear signal that I will not be defeated. Please consider a contribution … to kick off my re-election campaign.”

To make the point even clearer she says earlier in the letter:

"But the truth is victory did not come easily. We helped ensure our success by running a smart campaign and working hard for my re-election right out of the gate. By raising the money early that I needed to run a strong campaign, I sent a message that I was going to have the resources necessary to defend my seat.”

Ummm, as I recall, she didn’t have any real opposition to speak of. She is very adept at fundraising though. Neither Murphy nor Sestak make an outright request for money (take note, fellahs, the GOP is already gunning for you) but their letterheads include campaign website URLs and contributions can be made there. They also include postal addresses and phone numbers. Schwartz’s letter does not have those, but they are included on the donation card and self-addressed envelope. The donation card has an “Allyson Schwartz for Congress” logo on it that has many of the characteristics of the other two – blue color, all caps and use of stars. I’m sure a lot of lawyers have gone over all these details to make sure they conform to FEC regulations. Schwartz is a smart cookie.

Closing

Okay, this is an odd thing to write about, but all three letters arrived within a day or so of each other. As much as I like to tell you my dining room table is clean and uncluttered, it would be a lie. When I was clearing the table off the letters ended up in a pile together and that just naturally suggests comparison. Plus, other than casinos in Philadelphia, there isn’t a lot going on right now. Take note graduate students, there is a thesis somewhere in the study of thank you letters; I'm sure of it.