Steve Pokin

SPOKIN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Randy Buckner of Springfield was walking his dog Travis on Wednesday when his letter carrier handed him his mail. Buckner's pulse quickened when he saw right on top of the stack a letter with the bold-faced words "NOTICE OF DELINQUENCY."

The letters were in red. They were scary. And they were embarrassing.

"The letter carrier was right there," he tells me. "Probably thinking — 'What kind of bum is this?'"

Buckner's mind raced. He frantically tried to think of a payment he might have missed.

The return address was of no help. It was a mystery: "Office of Records/Missouri Area Assessment."

He opened the envelope.

It wasn't a real notice of delinquency. Instead, it was a solicitation from the Republican National Committee, under the signature of Reince Priebus, chairman.

He was surprised and angry.

"It set me off," he says. (My sources tell me he even cussed.)

The letter started with:

"This NOTICE OF DELINQUENCY has been sent to you because the Republican Party has contacted you multiple times to ask for your support of our 2016 campaign ..."

Not true. He had never heard from the Republican Party.

Buckner says: "Unless they're counting the out-of-state automated calls I never answer."

And he certainly has not donated to the Republican Party, he says.

Buckner, 51, is the husband of Claudette Riley, our education reporter, my source on the cussing.

Claudette happens to sit next to me. She would have given me Randy's envelope. But she was caught without a notepad and took unrelated notes on it.

That's why the photo I've used here comes from a different source, a website that has a story about the same "notice of delinquency." Only this one was sent to a Wisconsin resident.

The bottom part of both letters looks just like a bill.

At the bottom is a portion labeled a "membership activation form" that can be detached along the perforation. It states that Buckner's "membership status" was PAST DUE.

Buckner was asked to mail it back with a minimum contribution of $25.

In the upper left-hand corner of the detachable part are the words: "Office of Records/Missouri Area Assessment."

As far as I know, there is no such thing, at least in terms of a city or state office.

I suspect the Republican National Committee and Reince Priebus are making things up.

I believe that even in the world of politics — which seems to be twirling ever further down the toilet — this is particularly sleazy.

In essence, people are being scared into reading a solicitation letter.

For comment, I contacted the Republican National Committee, but did not hear back. It occurred to me that in leaving messages I should have identified myself as a big-bucks potential donor. But that would have been misleading and unethical.

I tried closer to home. Jonathon Prouty, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, told me he knew nothing about the mailing and directed me to the Republican National Committee.

It crossed my mind that perhaps the envelope and letter were a political prank. Maybe they were actually mailed by devious Democrats who wanted Republicans to look devious.

Here's why I don't think that's the case. In the solicitation letter, Buckner was asked to send his contribution to 310 First Street, S.E., Washington D.C. 20003 — which happens to be the very real address for the Republican National Committee.

I called the United States Postal Service to ask if there are regulations on what kind of message you can put on an envelope without being grilled by the postmaster general herself. In other words, could a marketer or politician put this on an envelope? "Read this. We have your child."

John Friess, with USPS corporate communications, based in Denver, responded via email:

"Mailpieces sent as standard mail like this mailing can be subject to inspection. The mailing was accepted in compliance with postal regulations. We have received no complaints on the matter."

I don't know where this mailing falls on the Grand Scale of Sleaze. As a longtime reporter, I've reported on a lot of political sleaze.

But this seems different to me. It is open. Mr. Priebus' signature is right there.

It's as if it never crossed anyone's mind in GOP-land that someone — Democrat or Republican — might look at the envelope, fearfully open it and then be madder than hell.

And yes, I assure you, I would have written this same column if the Democratic National Committee had done the same thing. The central issue in my view is political trickery at a very high level.

The mailing made me think of a column I recently wrote about two Ozarks grandmothers who were too savvy to be conned by telephone scammers pretending to be their grandchildren in distress.

Sadly, I also heard tales of many other older Americans fooled on a regular basis by criminals who are increasingly adept at skimming online data to pretend to be someone they're not.

How many older Americans received this mailing from Mr. Priebus and worried their electricity might be turned off?

How much was their lifespan shortened?

And how much money did the committee raise from older American who feared they might lose their home of 40 years?

These are the views of Steve Pokin, the News-Leader's columnist. Pokin has been at the paper four years and over the course of his career has covered just about everything — from courts and cops to features and fitness. He can be reached at 836-1253, spokin@gannett.com, on Twitter @stevepokinNL or by mail at 651 N. Boonville, Springfield, MO 65806.