Now that the Trump gang has openly declared war on the US Postal Service in an attempt to frustrate Democrat-friendly vote-by-mail, we tend to forget that this isn’t just about political hypocrisy. Conservatives have been at war with the USPS for a long time, and for a variety of purely ideological reasons.

For starters, the mail is a vital service, not just for reasons of personal messaging, but as a conduit for essential communication in commerce and public business. People are willing to pay good money to get letters and parcels delivered, making the Post Office a source of revenue. The business community wants a piece of that action, so the privatization of the postal system has always been a source of potential private profit and a major goal of the Republican constituency.

The cover for this take-over of a public utility for private profit has been disguised by criticism of the postal service as being too expensive and inefficient. This is nonsense, Conservatives never complain about the Niagara of taxpayer- subsidized spam we find in our mailboxes every day. If the GOP were really serious about saving money, all advertising would have to go at first-class rates. Problem solved! And the USPS is the often-final leg of FedEx, UPS and other private carriers, wherever the final delivery is not profitable for private enterprise. No one wants to send a truck to low density rural communities when the Post Office HAS to do it, even at a loss.

There is also one other reason the Conservatives are at war with the Post Office. The Postal Workers Union always supports the Democrats, with money, votes and volunteers. And the GOP hates unions.