One Round Would Get You All

When I was in the army, we had two modes of operation in the field, tactical and administrative. When we were in the tactical mode, we were supposed to stay at least five meters apart from each other. Human nature being what it is, we would sometimes drift closer together if we weren't paying attention. When that happened, the sergeant would shout, "Spread out, one round would get you all!" I don't know how you can feel safe living where you live. Chicago was considered to be a prime nuclear target back in the day. Nobody seems to worry about that anymore, now they worry about a terrorist attack, but the same principal applies. Any time people are clustered together in large groups, they are a prime target. Maybe having a gun wouldn't save you, but at least you would go down fighting like Davy Crockett at the Alamo. Better that than kissing up to the bad guys, which probably wouldn't work anyway.

I've been thinking about this party membership thing, and it seems there are two kinds of party members. The term "card carrying members" doesn't work because it appears that the Democrats don't issue cards. They do, however, have a list of names, and I'm sure the Republicans do too, the cards are just something they give out to make their members feel important. So let's call these guys "enrolled members". If your name is on the list you are an enrolled member, if your name is not on the list you are not an enrolled member. Enrolled members don't seem to have any function in the party except to donate money. That's why the parties keep their lists, so they know who to periodically ask for more money. The more I think of it, that's the kind of member I was with the Libertarian Party back in the day.

The other kind of party member attends meetings and conventions, votes on party issues and party officials, and may have the opportunity of becoming a party official himself some day. Let's call these guys "active members". According to the Cook County Democratic Party by-laws, the ward or township committee persons are active members because they get to vote on stuff. The only thing the enrolled members get to vote on is who is going to be their committee person. When you were a committee person back in the day, you must have been an active member, assuming that your county's rules were the same as Cook County's rules are now. If, as you have said, they only let you do "grunt work", it was probably because you didn't go to the meetings and rub elbows with the higher ups.

So, in answer to "What is the difference?", there isn't much difference between being an enrolled member and a non member, but there is substantial difference between being an active member and a  non member. I am still puzzled by your statement, "or if such a procedure even exists". Are you still saying that there is no such thing as joining a political party? If that's the case, where do all those delegates and party officials come from? Who will be attending the national conventions this summer? Do they just open the doors and let anybody come in off the street?

The way it seems to work in Michigan, at least with the Libertarians and Republicans, is if you want to become an active member, you go to one of the meetings in your county and join the county party organization. The county organization is affiliated with the state organization which, in turn is affiliated with the national organization, but I think you have to join at the county level. That's what I did with the Republicans back in '76, but I couldn't do it with the Libertarians because there was no Cheboygan County Libertarian Party. If I could have recruited a few other people, I suppose we could have started our own Cheboygan County chapter. I seem to remember that I was a member of the Cheboygan County chapter of the American Independent Party back in '72. I think there were four of us, and we were recruited by a Mrs. Hall, who we had met at a John Birch Society meeting. Our local Birch chapter didn't last long, and our county party chapter didn't last much longer. Two of our members moved out of the county, and Mrs. Hall said she was getting too busy to handle the party chairmanship anymore, and suggested that I take it over. So it came to pass that, with the departure of Mrs. Hall, I became a party of one, and voted unanimously to discontinue the meetings.