WASHINGTON – Hundreds of thousands of “pink slips” have been dispatched to members of Congress just this week, raising the total sent by Americans worried about the future of their nation to 4.5 million.

If stacked, the pile of pink would be taller than the Sears Tower and almost three times the height of the Washington Monument. Placed end to end, the “pink slips” would stretch from the District of Columbia to Chicago.

The result is starting to get the attention of Congress. Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., confirmed that today, telling radio talk show host Janet Porter, one of the originators of the plan, “I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful leadership.”

He said members of Congress are talking about the pink slip campaign, but “they’re talking about it behind closed doors, in elevators, in hushed tones. They ask each other how many of those did you get today?”

Joseph Farah, the editor and chief executive officer of WND and another one of the organizers of the effort to rein in spending and Washington power grabs, says now is the time to deliver the message.

He wrote in a column that an ideal way to carry the message to Congress was to attend a rally in Washington today to protest against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plans for the federal takeover of health care.

But he said for those who could not attend, there’s still an open door.

“It’s the ‘pink slip’ campaign I’ve been telling you about for over a month. It’s not too late to flood the Capitol with ‘pink slips’ – putting rogue members of Congress on notice that they will not be returned to office if they do this terrible thing.”

For just $29.95 you can send an individualized notice to every member of Congress in the form of a “pink slip” with their name on it and your name on it.

Boxed and ready to go

But don’t expect to read, hear or see anything about this elsewhere in the “mainstream media,” says Farah.

“This is an unprecedented program, but the rest of the news media seems determined to downplay it – even spike any mention of it,” says Farah. “It’s just like the tea parties and the massive rally in Washington and the town hall coverage – non-existent.”

Members of both the House and Senate are going on the record to commend WND for its dramatic campaign notifying members of Congress that they will be permanently “pink-slipped” in 2010 if they vote for bigger and more intrusive government.

“We’ve already received thousands of pink slips in our office, and I think this is a good wake-up call for Congress,” said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., the latest member of Congress to weigh in. “I’m encouraged that Americans across the country are standing up and speaking out for constitutional, limited government. Congress needs to get the message loud and clear: stop the spending, stop the takeovers, and stand up for our freedoms.”

“This is causing quite a stir in Congress – and we’re just getting started,” said Faith2Action President Janet Porter, who came up with the idea. “It’s unprecedented and has captured the attention of even those who haven’t been listening to the town halls and tea parties. They are starting to trip over boxes with personalized messages they can no longer ignore!”

The program already has also earned the endorsement of members of the House, who are being told that they need to listen to what the voters want.

Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., said private citizens will be the “final judge on the success or failure of the government.”

“The ‘pink slip campaign’ serves as a good reminder of the unavoidable fact that every member of Congress answers to their constituents and that they ignore their voices at their own peril,” Akin said.

Earlier, Minnesota’s Michele Bachmann, a Republican, offered her support for the program.

“The pink slips program is a great way to get the attention of members who have forgotten they will have to answer to the people next year on out-of-control spending and Washington power grabs,” she said. “I support it! And I want my constituents to know I hear them loud and clear.”

WND launched a program several weeks ago allowing Americans to send individually addressed “pink slips” to every member of Congress for a price of just $29.95.

The program is to advise members of the U.S. House and Senate that they could be facing a “pink slip” as early as 2010 if they vote for more spending, socialized medicine, cap-and-trade legislation and a hate-crimes measure.

“I believe this campaign, already tremendously successful beyond my wildest expectations, can have a real impact on politicians whose first priority is getting re-elected,” says Farah. “I think this might be our last chance to give congressional Democrats something to think about before they destroy the country. It might be our last, best hope of stopping the madness.”

The effort clearly reveals, says Farah, “that Americans are mobilized to take action to stop Washington’s plans for bigger, more expensive and more intrusive government.”

WND announced the “Send Congress a Pink Slip” campaign with a stated goal of 5 million notices, individually addressed, personalized with sender’s name and address and delivered to all members of Congress by Fed Ex.

In the first week, suppliers of paper reported the campaign had completely tapped the nation’s reserves of 8.5 x 11 inch pink paper. As the last full pallet of pink paper was delivered to the printer, new supplies had to be ordered and manufactured.

“It’s our version of a stimulus program,” said Farah.

The “Send Congress a Pink Slip” campaign ensures that a brief but poignant message will be delivered by Fed Ex to all 535 members of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate – all for a remarkably low price based on economies of scale.

The cost of each message translates to 6 cents per message – individually addressed for both the recipient and the sender and shipped by Fed Ex.

“We encourage citizens to take individual actions,” said Farah. “But when we act as a group, it’s more cost-effective and the results more dramatic. Just try Fed Exing members of Congress yourself and see what it costs. We have learned from past experience that Fed Ex actually ensures delivery to members. What they do with them at that point is their choice.”

“I believe this is already the most successful grass-roots effort in history,” said Porter. “After all the town halls and tea parties and the massive demonstration in Washington, Congress still hasn’t gotten the message. Now it’s time to show them just how serious we are with a message aimed at what they most care about – getting re-elected.” The “pink slip” officials are getting is a warning that they work for the taxpayers. It lists four key issues that are deemed unacceptable to participants.

• government health care
• cap and trade
• “hate crimes”
• any more spending

“If you vote for any of these, your real pink slip will be issued in the next election,” it warns.

Note: If you’re a member of the media and would like to interview Joseph Farah or Janet Porter, e-mail WND.