On Friday, I wrote about U.S. Senator Max Baucus and his mass mailing of a “postcard” telling us about “his” help in authoring the economic stimulus package passed by Congress. He also alerted us about where to go regarding the specifics of the rebate (Hint: IRS).

Of course, the actual work that Baucus did on the economic stimulus package can be disputed.

I wrote that it was perfectly legal for Baucus and other members of Congress to send these updates telling us what they were doing for us in Congress, but that maybe, just maybe, there was a wee bit of campaigning involved in this particular mailing, since we’ve not seen too many mailings from Baucus over the last five years.

No matter, it was a waste of money, and it makes one wonder just how many other senators and representatives are doing the same thing. I also wonder if those senators and representatives up for re-election this year, like Baucus, will send another postcard after the checks are delivered saying, “I want to let you know that your check should have arrived by now. I was proud to help…”

On Friday, according to this Associated Press story, it seems the Internal Revenue Service has decided to send out their own letter to let us know that the checks will be coming.

By the way, the cost to send these letters by the IRS is about $42 million.

Of course, Democrats thought this was a foolish waste of money and blamed President Bush for allowing it to happen.

In the story, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, was quoted as saying, “There are countless better uses for $42 million than a self-congratulatory mailer that gives the president a pat on the back for an idea that wasn’t even his.”

Schumer is correct about better uses for taxpayer money. The same could be said about Max Baucus and other politicians who send a “self-congratulatory mailer” giving themselves a “pat on the back” for an “idea that wasn’t even his.”