Answer #2 to "Why a political party?"

My second answer to my question I posted on the Nebraska Democratic Party CD3 Facebook page of "why does a political party exist?" 

#2 (with more to follow): A political party exists to serve its membership by providing up-to-date information and all means of support that its membership requires.

 A political party should provide a useful service that is attuned to the needs of its adherents. This means that all documents, policies, rules, etc. that delineate the rights and responsibilities of the various officers and members are kept up to date and made readily available to all of its members at all times. It should be responsible for doing all it can to assist its constituents in the sharing of ideas and following their wishes in how the party is governed. It should serve as a hub for the free flow of communication and sharing of ideas and opinions. What we currently have within the NDP is an office in Lincoln that serves to suck money out of every Nebraska Democrat that it can, a center that disseminates propaganda generated by a very few "authorized" spokesmen of the party, a leader that continues a policy of censorship against any party members that hold heretical thoughts, and an absolute dearth of current, necessary information. 

A county chair or committee that exists outside of Lincoln or Omaha has practically no influence over the guidance of our party. They also have practically no access to the tools that they actually need. The are given a Vote Builder that may be helpful in the cities, but is absolutely worthless in the rural areas. Help that does come is usually late and inappropriate. I remember getting a packet of materials for our county fair two weeks after it was over, mostly consisting of flyers to sign up and send your dollars to the state office. This did nothing to help us in my county. 

The NDP website is a disgrace. The current NDP Constitution and Bylaws has not been updated. The one displayed, if you can find it, was approved by the 2010 State Convention. The lists of officers, county chairs, SCC and SEC members, committee members, etc. is all outdated. The website serves only to put out propaganda from the hierarchy. There is nowhere on there that a common registered Democrat can have his/her voice heard. And as far as I am concerned, the common registered Democrat in this state is our party's "most important Democrat." 

We have an excellent opportunity to place a Democrat in the Governor's Mansion and to send three Democratic Representatives and one Senator to Washington in 2014. We need to find valid candidates for the Unicameral and all of the open statewide offices as well. But if a common Democrat in this state can't even find the information of how to go about it, what good has our party done them? Most Nebraska Democrats only know the party as that pain-in-the-ass that keeps begging them for money.