Hello, Communist Party Calling': A New Reason to Be on the Do-Not-Dial List

Imagine hearing the phone ring, picking it up, and hearing on the other line, "Hello, Communist Party calling." For some recent Party recruits, that's exactly what's happening. And it all seems part of the continuing campaign to portray comrades as your friendly neighborhood communists:

The Communist Party USA has started a national phone campaign to call people who have recently signed up to become members. And while that may not be surprising, what is is the sheer number of people phone volunteers are calling: 1,500. That's how many people have recently joined the party -- and that's just through the internet.

"It was a great reception. People really want to be a part of the Communist Party," Jonathan, one of the phone bankers, told the CPUSA website People's World. "Several people were very excited and said, 'I was wondering when someone was going to call me.'"

"I spoke with a lot of young people who had signed up on the CPUSA website and were really excited to be having their first conversation with an actual member," said Noah Toler. "Mainly people were interested in what the Party was thinking about this or that issue."

In the past, CPUSA has worked hard to got people to look past the ideology's checkered past. Not only do they have game night, but there's also a bunch of regular Joes joining in:

And just in case there was any doubt that the communists were involved in the recent protest wave sweeping the country, the site confirms it:

Many were already active with the Party and YCL locally, in their unions, or through local struggles. A lot expressed enthusiasm for developments in Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio and the protest wave sweeping the country. They were happy to know the Party and YCL were deeply involved in the fight. [Emphasis added]

"A lot of people were very happy to hear what we were doing," Janet Edburg, another phone volunteer, said. "One member was so excited about what was happening in Wisconsin I thought he was going to jump out of the phone!"

There is some reason for the telemarketing comrades to be excited. According to a recent Rassmusen poll, cited by the Party, "10 percent say that the 'communist system of economics and politics' is better for middle-class Americans," while "eleven percent think 'communism' is a 'morally superior' system to that which is currently in place in the U.S."

That may not seem like a lot until CPUSA puts it into perspective: 11 percent is "roughly 15 million Americans."

Almost makes you want to jump out of something other than Edburg's phone.