David Orchard makes the following amazing assertion in the Globe and Mail today:
If this is true, what would the repercussions be?
Does this reflect any actual change in voter registration/records that would make any kind of real-world difference, or is this just an advertising gimmick?
If it’s the latter, we have similar nonsense in the U.S.
I just got a GWB fundraising letter which addressed me as a fellow Republican - wishful thinking at its finest.
David Orchard WAS a member of the PC party, and for all I know he still may be on the membership rolls; IIRC, PC Party membership was an annual renewal thing, so unless his Sounds like an administrative error, where they’re just mailing new cards to the rank and file that were registered members.
If cards were being mailed to people who had never been members of either of the two conservative parties, that would be cause for concern.
As for what it would mean, not a heck of a lot. What difference would it make if they had you on the rolls? They’d just be wasting postage.
In the US, there wouldn’t be any (legal) repurcussions. Non-profits can send out anything they want (anthrax and letterbombs excluded, of course) to whoever they want, just like anyone else with a stamp and a piece of paper.
A 16 paragraph essay by an ex-member of the PC party that mentions in passing he got an unsolicited party membership card from the new party he has next to nothing in common with? Not that he had a lot in common with the PC party beforehand.
Honestly matt, why the worry?
It just seemed kinda weird. Another thing is as an NDP member, I’m not allowed to take out a membership in any other federal party; if they really were mailing them out to random people, I’d be wondering if it could have any impact on people who are already members of other parties.
Surely the NDP (and I’m pretty sure all the parties have the same rule) would not revoke someone’s membership if they could demonstrate that it was merely an administrative error? That would be an easy case to argue. With all the people who belong to one of the major parties I am sure mistakes happen all the time - people with the same name, for instance.
In fact, I doubt the rule would ever be invoked unless you actually worked or volunteered for one of the other parties, or went public about belonging to two parties, or something like that. It’s not like they comb through your mail and I doubt they share and compare memebrship lists.
Reminds me of the time I received my official membership card in the Beer Drinkers of America, along with a cover letter describing its vast membership and an exhortation to write my Congressman in opposition to a proposed alcohol tax. Turns out Anheuser-Busch had bought the mailing lists to some sports magazines and was doing some lobbying themselves.
I remain a proud, active member, though.