With our tendencies toward unabashed liberalism, we were pleased recently to receive a solicitation from the American Civil Liberties Union in the mail.
Our long-standing position on the ACLU has been that each cause it takes on which we personally disagree with is an indication the organization is doing its job. But what sealed the deal for us within this mailing was a line used on both the first and last pages of the package’s four-page letter: ACLU president Nadine Strossen invites each recipient to become a “card-carrying member” of the organization.
You may recall that the phrase “card-carrying member” entered the popular vocabulary during the 1988 election, when Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis was so labeled by his Republican opponents in an effort to discredit him.
We say bully to the ACLU for declawing this baiting phrase and successfully incorporating it into its solicitations. By the time a reader discovers the tangible benefits of membership – voting privileges, bulletins and updates – that are spelled out on the reply card, the mailing has already made its most effective pitch.
Sign us up.
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