Why Would Anyone Join a Political Party?

I haven’t posted much lately. That is because, for the last 6 weeks, I have been focused on calling and meeting people one-on-one to invite them to join the BC Conservative Party. I will be continuing my primary focus there for the next few weeks as well. It is an extremely encouraging process.

The question I get most frequently, is:  “With so many people disillusioned with all parties, why would anyone join one?”  This is my response.

1)      In a democracy, our strength comes only from our people. We live in a democracy only to the extent that our citizens are involved with the parties and candidates/representatives.

2)      Being a part of a party allows you to have greater input into the guidelines, policies and platform of your party. Ideas are brought in by the local members, debated and moved up to the provincial level and the good ones, eventually become policy. Even if you have no ideas to suggest, you can listen to and evaluate others and be part of what pushes up the line.

3)      Particularly now, when nominations are in full swing, being a part of the party of your choice allows you to have direct input into who will represent your party. Win or lose in the election, your party’s representative has the most influence during an election to shift people’s thinking. It is critical to ensure that the right person is in place to bring your platform to the public.

4)      All of the above combine to make active party membership a wonderful way to serve your province and/or country and to ensure that we remain a democratic society.

The next question that I get asked is, “Do I have to donate?” No. beyond the meager fee to sign up, you do not have to donate. However, you should consider it because.

1)      No party can win an election without the means to advertise. That means that each candidate needs a minimum of $50,000 to mount a credible campaign.  The main party needs hundreds of thousands or more to manage the provincial coordination.  This is just the way it is.

2)      In BC, our parties run largely off corporate and union donations. This is something that we would like to stop, so that the party that is elected does not owe anything to its large sponsors. This would also reduce the money required to campaign as no party would have access to large sponsorship. However, it means that individuals must step up to the plate as much as they can.

3)      Until such time as corporate and union donations are banned, they look at the personal donation levels to determine the strength of a candidate and whether or not they are worth supporting. So, personal donations multiply because they attract larger sponsorship.

4)      A large amount of a political donation in BC is returned on your taxes (75% of the first $100, 50% of the next $450 and 33% of the next $600 for a total possible return of $500 on a donation of $1150). The reason this is done, is to encourage public participation.

Not everyone can donate but most people can give $100, especially knowing that they will get $75 back and so it only costs them $25 to support their party in this way.  200 members, giving $100 = $20,000. That is enough to kick start a campaign and drawn in corporate sponsorship to make it viable.

I am humbled by the response of the people in the Shuswap to the BC Conservative Party. We are succeeding in drawing the members and donations we need and I give my thanks to our membership.  I would encourage everyone to consider how they will participate in our democracy.