筋金入りの card-carrying

オバマ議員が民主党候補の指名を確実にした。先日はケネディ議員について書いたばかりだが、アメリカの政治ということで連想したのが card-carrying という単語である。「会員証を持っています」ということから、「正式の会員（党員）である」、「正規の」、さらに「心酔した、傾倒した」といった意味になる。

英英辞典の定義である。

- registered as a member of a political party or trade union
a card-carrying member of the Conservative party

- (often humorous) confirmed in or dedicated to a specific pursuit or outlook
a card-carrying pessimist
a card-carrying humanist

実例としては、

- I was a flag-waving member, a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party, and I was proud to be part of the largest freshman class in the history of Congress,...
( http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june00/green_6-26.html )

- Conservatives and Republicans have frequently criticized the ACLU. One well-known example occurred during the 1988 presidential election, then-Vice President George H. W. Bush noted that his opponent Michael Dukakis had described himself as a "card-carrying member of the ACLU" and used that as evidence that Dukakis was "a strong, passionate liberal" and "out of the mainstream."
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACLU )

下の例に出てくる ACLU とは The American Civil Liberties Union という団体だが、今のアメリカ大統領の父親であるブッシュ氏のこの発言は、当時かなり取り沙汰されたらしい。1988年の候補者討論では、質問者の一人、ニュースキャスターの故ピーター・ジェニングスが、ブッシュ候補にこう質問している。

You've used the phrase "card carrying" so many times since Governor Dukakis first acknowledged that he was a card carrying member of the ACLU that some people have come to believe that you've used it to brand him in some way, to identify him as people were identified in the 1950's as less than patriotic. I'd like to know why you keep repeating the phrase, and what's the important issue here?
( http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showdebate.php?debateid=13 )