A question I thought of because of a recent thread on political party membership.
At various times in my life, I have been a registered member of the Republican and Democratic Parties. And neither one ever issued me a card. But we’ve all heard about card-carrying members of the Communist Party.
Were members of the Communist Party actually issued cards? Or was that just an expression? If they were, what was the purpose? Was it like an ID card so you could get in the meetings? Or was it a sign you were paid up on your dues?
And why is Discourse telling me this topic is similar to a 2003 thread titled “Why did I think Carrie-Anne Moss was a lesbian?”
No cite I’m afraid, but my dim memory is the claim that in order to ensure legitimacy in voting on important questions (and by implication prevent stacking of votes by non party members intent on disrupting events) votes required membership cards to be presented. So “card carrying member” was not so much that all members carried cards, but that those that were committed to the pursuit of the internal politics of the party (as opposed to the political aims of the party) were those that were sure to be found carrying their card.
I’m no Communist so can’t answer the OPs specific question, but many political parties issue membership cards. I was a member of the British Labour Party and had one, and the Conservatives here issue one too. I don’t think I ever had call to use it, except maybe as reference for my membership number when I was registering to vote on an internal matter.
I guess it might be useful for attending meetings, if they want to make sure only members are attending.
Early in the Cold War, there were Communist Party members who kept membership cards, although many also hid their membership.[3] Possibly the earliest mention of the phrase comes from a 1912 article in the Daily People , which mentioned “‘Union-card’ carrying members”. A closer reference to the modern term was a 1918 piece in the New York Tribune , which described members of the Industrial Workers of the World, a prominent socialist union, as “red-card-carrying ‘wobblies’”.[3]
Because of the advent of digital technology, the contemporary Communist Party USA does not issue membership cards.[3]
It is a simple fact that labor unions, political parties (well, some, if the OP is correct about the Republican and Democratic parties), and similar organisations issue(d?) actual little cards to members which the latter keep and the stamps in which serve as an independent record that their dues are paid up. (It might be necessary to prove this in order to have a right to vote at meetings, depending on the specific rules in effect.) I don’t think there is much more to it than that.
I never thought about it, and assumed a “card-carrying member” was just a way of saying the person was enrolled in, paid up, and possibly active in the union/party, as opposed to giving lip service and claiming to be a Communist/Republican/for workers’ rights. You wouldn’t need to literally carry the card everywhere. I mean, you’d take it to an actual meeting, but why would even a hard-core member need it when picking up a carton of milk at the grocer’s?
Yeah, I just think it’s a way of making you feel part of the club/prove your allegiance. I don’t think many do the ‘stamps’ thing nowadays though. Mine looked more like a credit card.
I’ll just mention here that activists of unions often have to travel to meetings of their committees, loads of reasons from deciding how to construct conference motions (in the hope of them being adopted as policy) through to organising recruiting campaigns or political lobbying, these are the ones who will be carrying their card all the time, ordinary members generally do not.
Those activists will generally claim expenses - to cover their costs, obviously producing receipts and the like - point being that when you fill out your expenses claim form you also have to include your membership number which is on your card.
That allows the treasurer to verify you are a member and also up to date on your subscriptions.
Further on when the accounts are reconciled there is also a traceable record of who claimed what.
This is not to be underestimated, I have seen quite a few controversies over expenses claims where activists has chosen to incur higher expenses that are not justifiable - such as traveling first class, or staying in hotels that are too costly.
I have seen regional and group chairps have real issues when seeking re-election because of claims that were marginal.
Ordinary members of the union would be entitled to claim expenses if they happened to be involved in official union tasks which is generally irregular and pretty uncommon but usually they don’t carry their cards and most often give their time for free.
I’m a card-carrying member of a political party (not a Communist one). The card is just a piece of laminated paper with my name, the branch I’m a member of, and the date that my membership expires. It serves as proof that I am a paid-up member and therefore entitled to vote at meetings of my local branch. These days the card isn’t actually necessary because the branch secretary can look up the membership rolls on a web app; but I imagine in the pre-computer days the cards might have been more important in the process.
But I’m not in the US, and I get the impression that party membership in the US (at least for the two main parties) is a much looser concept. At least, I hear a lot about people being a “registered Democrat” or “registered Republican” and it seems to be basically part of their voter registration, not actual membership of a structured organisation. Is there a distinction between being a “registered Democrat” and being a “member of the Democratic Party”?
That’s going to vary by state. In Washington (State, not DC), when you register to vote with the state, you do not declare a party affiliation. In order to vote in a party’s primary, you attest on the ballot that you consider yourself to be a member of that party. You can’t declare yourself a member of more than one party in an election, but there’s nothing stopping you from switching back and forth between elections. That information is a public record (as is the fact that you voted. Who you voted for is secret.) As a result the local Democratic parties have my name on a list as someone who considers himself a member. That’s all there is - no dues or anything.
Members of trade unions were traditionally given numbered badges, and some had membership books , which were sometimes called cards, in which weekly payments of dues, health benefits etc were recorded. A very nice site here shows some pictures.
In the socialist paradise of Sydney we still have clubs who have a weekly badge draw [essentially a raffle for paid up members] for a meat tray or whatever
Also Alexei Sayle’s bingo call included, from memory, ‘Lenin’s Party Card - number 1’
As far as I know (and I’ve been a party officer for over 40 years now) political parties in the USA have not issued actual ‘cards’ to members since at least the 1960s. Including the American Communist Party – possibly even earlier for them. When they were issued, they were more a fund-raising gimmick – only donors who contributed over $x got an actual card. And sometimes there were special, nicer ones for bigger donors, or hard party workers. (Like having a Gold American Express credit card.)
But from about the 1970s or so, it was easier to maintain membership/mailing lists on computers. (Or even earlier technology – first one I worked with used boxes of metal Addressograph plates). But it was easier to maintain & update a list rather than membership cards, and you could add extra information, like party office, donation amounts, issues, etc.
For voting purposes, at political conventions, etc. (as DPRK mentioned), now we use those lists to generate sign-in sheets or pre-printed delegate badges that members pick up when they arrive.at the meeting/convention.
(Right now, because of the pandemic, it’s all being done online: voting delegates & alternates are emailed info & videos from candidates, and a coded link to an individual ballot which they fill out and return online.)
So (purely factual question here), how do members or registered supporters get to take part in the business of the party other than selecting candidates for elections?
I’m used to the UK system where the parties have an internal structure mainly based on the parliamentary constituencies, together with organisations/conferences for Scotland and Wales, and varying degrees of representation/weight for special interest groups. There’s usually a regular process for policy development and discussion of party management, culminating in an annual conference, which can be just a rally/showcase for the leadership or a focus of real trouble for them, depending on the moods of the various groups and currents of opinion in the party.
Because our party leaderships here are tied to the parliamentary leadership (and, if in government, the executive government leadership as well), and most of what we hear about in the US is the candidate selections/primaries (and then mainly for the Presidential nomination), it’s hard to get one’s head around how a US political party operates when it’s not choosing candidates.
In the UK party different parties have differing rules.
All party members can take part in the donkey work - such as doorstepping and leafletting but usually they are given a specific brief on the main issues so that they all speak the same message.
Most of the local constituencies will be rather like the old working mens clubs - so they will have a local committee, bar, entertainments, social events and here ordinary members can become involved in the day to day running and management.
Local committees will also invite and decide upon motions to be forwarded to the regional and national party conferences in the hope that these may be adopted as policy. In general any paid up member can write a motion but of course will need to present it and debate in its favour. That motion , if adopted locally, can make its way right through the party conference system right through to the national events.
All the parties have ‘wings’ or rather groups with specific interests or expertise - those wings will be spread around the country and will brief their advocates to promote their positions within the local parties, and this will definitely include forwarding motions with the idea that many local constituency will then forward virtually identical motions to national conference - which they hope will demonstrate wider support and hence greater chance of being adopted as party policy.
Paid up members can take part in all these activities which is seen as essential to the very existence of the political parties.
Boris Johnson is facing a grassroots Tory backlash over plans to require people to wear face masks when visiting shops in England.
Conservative party members took to social media to post pictures of their cut-up membership cards and declare themselves “politically homeless” over the policy, which comes in on 24 July.
The move, which is backed by scientific evidence and resembles similar approaches brought in in around 120 countries over the world, is overwhelmingly popular with the wider public.
Note for young people who might have wound up here by accident: cards just used to be much more common. I had a credit card (now I use my phone), a public transport card (now I use my phone), a business card, a collection of the business cards of other people and other businesses. A student card, loyalty cards, medical insurance, car insurance, and membership cards of half a dozen club, gyms and other associations.
I only /carried/ the cards for stuff I was actively involved in, because the book that held all my cards was just too big.
I think one of the earlier posts had it - for situations where the membership needed to vote on executive, policy, or other aspects - people coming in the hall had to show a membership card to prove they were eligible to participate in a debate and vote. Presumably for privacy (in those days, for some reason, leftist groups could be paranoid about police spies) in some cases the general public was not allowed in to observe. proceedings. I assume membership cards in many organizations required paying dues, and the expression “card-carrying” implied the person was more than an occasional sympathizer, they actually put their money where their mouth was and were fully committed to the aims of the organization.
