NDP leadership 73

Now they just have to make it work.

Good luck to them on that one. It's a daunting 'techno-organizational' task.

This while they have little matters like trying to make their fundraising contact work much more efficiently, and massively changing theie administrative structure [assuming they can come to agreement on how].

Talk the big dreams by people who for over 5 years have failed at making progress on the desperately needed modest aspirations of improvement.

Yeah, Wilf. Just read up on it. You have to become a supporter... fill out a form to declare your support of the Liberal party... be 18+... and must not be a supporter or member of another party. So essentially, you become a member but don't pay for it...

Not such a big deal.

Wilf, you've seen Nathan Cullen's video about joining the NDP, though, haven't you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnJdSOf2b5s

It's really great!

On the aggregate level, dues are a much lesser factor in why people do or do not join a party.

The real hurdle is that concept of 'joining'.

What leadership campaigns and nomination battles do is give people a material/tangible reason for joining that oversomes that reservation.

Advertising the low cost of membership would I think have almost no effect,

While not having to pay dues is what gets TALKED about around the Liberal idea, I'm sure the idea was hatched asa means to get over that hurdle of joining. I've always been skeptical whether the target audience will see supporter as any different.... and the wording of what a 'Supporter' is confirms that. The target audience would not generally know that it sounds the same as what is expected of Members.... but I think that at the 'smell test' level the take-up of the idea is going to be 'gee, this sounds like joining.' Duh.

But it will be an interesting experiment to see what happens. Though it sure as hell isnt going to be the silver bullet of getting lots more participation. Then again, maybe its mostly about the optics.... of the Liberals sounding more open.

Before Pierre Ducasse ran as a candidate here, the Liberal organization went house-to-house on the Lower North Shore selling memberships for $5. I presume they did this all over the riding. They still lost to the BQ guy. I haven't seen anyone - of any party - going door to door selling memberships since.

writer wrote:

 

Strong NDP turnout to hear leadership candidates

Debate almost didn't happen

 

That's a really great photograph of Nash and Saganash. I know that may seem trivial but I think it captures genuine warmth and humanity.

I can't take Dewar seriously. Not only does he not have adequate French but I hate it when a candidate comes across as bluffing as badly as he did in that interview with Akin.

ottawaobserver wrote:

Hunky_Monkey wrote:

Yeah, Wilf. Just read up on it. You have to become a supporter... fill out a form to declare your support of the Liberal party... be 18+... and must not be a supporter or member of another party. So essentially, you become a member but don't pay for it... Not such a big deal.

H_M, you're missing Wilf's point, which he has made several times, that he thinks the NDP should be funding an expensive ad campaign to encourage people to join the party. I'm not sure that expenditure of funds isn't overkill on top of what the candidates are doing, when the party will have to introduce the new Leader afterwards, but regardless, Cullen's video ad is a great contribution to the overall goal.

I was talking about the new Liberal leadership primary process which I think Wilf described as a "gimmick"... and I agree.

Thats great Samuel.

And I would give a serious thought to the door-to-door memberships.

Here is my thought and experience of that.

The reason that would not have worked in Boom Boom's riding is both because 'yuck, the Liberals' and its a political party. Generally, speaking I wouldnt try that for the NDP either- even where we are popular. People are reluctant to join parties, any kind of conatct is a lot of work, and door-to-door isnt good payoff for all that work.

BUT...

I have done it with a popular local environmental organization, in neighbourhoods where we are going to be close to universally faoured, fit the support demographics, etc. That isnt a political party though- and overcoming that hump people have. But I can see that in your case with the NDP being new and a lot of people being interested to know more, the same dynamic would work.

In many ways door to door is more straightforward- no data gathering required and no finding enough phones- and its very gratifying for volunteers. [You really have to press home to people to keep moving, dont spend to long in people's houses. Sign them up (or not), and call them later to talk more.] If you dont have any data about where your vote and turnout was the best, then make your best guess.

The younger the demographic of a neighbourhood, the less you will have to deal with that reluctance to join. Though you also want high turnout neighbourhhods. People who dont vote are a waste of time when you are on the hunt for members.

This reluctance to join a party may not be as strong in Quebec. But it would still be a resistance and an obstacle.

Almost forgot what is hopefully obvious: having a vote in the choice of leader is a fantistic hook. It is the only time I have found it easy for the riding to do memberships.

ottawaobserver wrote:

WTH, Howard, we have two totally different takes on that then. I found him really warm and engaging in that interview, and communicating just what he wanted to. I think we have a real Mars-Venus thing going on between our perceptions of the same events.

Could be. Maybe I'm also letting past French colour my judgment.

janfromthebruce wrote:

good show Samuel.

This is in Nova Scotia, but as Constituency Pres, I recruited a lot of new members with the hook that they could play a role in the race. I was supporting a candidate, but that was not part of the pitch. I think you get more people that way.

And then later, you can call the same people you recruited and make a pitch for your candidate...  Of course anyone can do that. But the point is as compared to calling person X and making a pitch to join so they can support your candidate... you get more building of your riding organization by breaking that into the two steps, while still making the pitch for your candidate.

It worked very well both for our organization, and the candidate who we were all supporting. And I dont see why it would be any different if the riding activists are supporting different people.