Is your party ready for '06?

I thought I'd finally take the plunge and sign up to be an official Democrat. I go to my local party website and it's hardly what I'd call interesting. The layout is crappy and it's hardly a recruiting tool. So I click on the join button and a PDF file opens and this is what I get

http://www.cuydem.com/index.htm

Become a member of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Today!

The Cuyahoga County Democratic Party welcomes your participation. It is through members like you that we stake a claim in a future while standing strong in the democratic ideals of our past. Thank you for joining today. (WTF? Who writes this shit?)

So below that is a form for name, address, blah, blah, blah and down at the bottom, there's this golden nugget. "Please enclose $15 payment with this form. Make checks payable to: Cuyahoga County Democratic Party." First of all, is it really a good idea to hit up new members for cash and a stamp to even sign up? Shit, the Republican Party damn near pays it's members to sign up and you want to charge people $15 for some undersold benefit. How are we supposed to recruit people in poor neighborhoods when there's a fee to even sign up to work for free. Does this seem colossally stupid and self-defeating to anyone else or am I just a cheap bastard?

Now, don't get me wrong, I still plan on joining and doing my part to help kick the living shit out of these lunatics but you gotta give me something I can sell. There's got to be some sort of welcome center or Democratic Guidance Counselor where I can send new recruits. A crappy website and a $15 dollar entrance fee hardly seems like a welcome wagon. You should be rolling out the red carpet for people like me, not bumming coffee money.

I know a lot of party members read this site, maybe it's time to take stock and prepare for '06. Are you ready to recruit and train new Democrats? Are you ready to define who you are and what you stand for? Are you ready to channel all the energy coming your way in 11 months?

I am a new prospective Democrat, yet I have voted Democrat in the last 2 elections. I canvassed with Reform Ohio Now in Cleveland. I have spoken to the office of my Congressman on several occasions and he is a Democrat and yet I am still a new prospective Democrat. Why haven't I been contacted? Why am I just a prospective Democrat and not already a party member? Shit, I can't even buy something at Best-Buy without having to give them my telephone number and yet I'm shopping in your store and the salesman wants to charge for a demo.

What's your County party like? Is the website informative and inviting? Does it cost to join? Does it spell out what the responsibilities of a party member are and what benefits go along with being a member? Could you send someone to your local party and know that they would be managed effectively? Is your party ready for '06?

Why did no one else answer this post. This is the way we win elections at the grassroots level!

"you gotta give me something I can sell"

How about...
"Democrats are committed to:
* Winning the war on terrorism and making our country more secure.
* Protecting your Social Security, pension and retirement savings.
* Investing in America to create good jobs.
* Cutting prescription drug costs and providing Medicare drug coverage for every senior.
* Improving education by reducing class size with additional, qualified teachers.
* Keeping our air and water clean."

http://www.cuydem.com/About.htm


There's also a page where you can volunteer....