St_Francis_P: I wonder how you enforce that.

By keeping the poor, elderly, and minorities away from the polls.

Yeah, that worked out really well for Menelaus.

Wow. Bedtime for democracy, I guess.

You know, I hear about things like the Internet utterly pwning Paul Christoforo, and then I read stuff like this. When are we going to figure out that we're way more powerful than we think we are?

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: St_Francis_P: I wonder how you enforce that.

By keeping the poor, elderly college students, and minorities away from the polls.

Implying that the GOP wouldn't be trying to do this regardless. Also, FTFY

Illegal, no. Completely stupid and unenforceable, yes.

Doesn't that undermine things like... well, the secret ballot? And democracy?

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Because socialism.

Peki: You know, I hear about things like the Internet utterly pwning Paul Christoforo, and then I read stuff like this. When are we going to figure out that we're way more powerful than we think we are?

needs mor lulz

Bloody William: Doesn't that undermine things like... well, the secret ballot? And democracy?

That's the point.

Democrats are sure lucky they don't have a choice on who to vote for in this upcoming primary train wreck.

In Virginia, it's an open primary, which means anybody, regardless of party preferences, can go and vote for any of these derpers. I'll sign anything they want, but my signature will be illegible and the document will not be legally enforceable.

Ron Paul, regardless. He's a joke, but at least not as big a joke as the other clowns (of either party).

/Virginia is filled with stoopid. Sometimes it oozes out from around doorways and windows.

Honestly, this is not a problem... Since when do conservatives have any qualms about lying?

I kind of thought that was a requirement to join the party.

Considering a good chunk of Repubs emptied store shelves of ammo to the point of a shortage after Obama won I'm sure the thought of "it's not enforceable" hasn't occurred to them.

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Because the two-party system is the perfect way to disguise corporate oligarchy as a representative democracy.

the_sidewinder: /Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Dumb Americans.

Bloody William: Doesn't that undermine things like... well, the secret ballot? And democracy?

No. You don't tell them who you voted for and they have no way of checking. It's a completely meaningless "pledge" that's designed to scare Democrats away from voting in the republican primary. Of course, even if a D did sign the pledge, it wouldn't stop them from voting for anyone they wanted come election time.

The Pledge "I, the undersigned, pledge that I intend to support the nominee of the Republican Party for
president."

Operative word here is support. It says support, not vote for.

Walker: Not legal or enforceable. People aren't even registered by party in VA. If I and millions of other VA residents who normally vote for democrats want to f*ck up the GOP primary we can go in and all vote for the craziest candidate....which is hard to narrow down.

FTFA: "Section 24.2-545 of the Code of Virginia allows the political party holding a primary to determine requirements for voting in the primary, including 'the signing of a pledge by the voter of his intention to support the party's candidate when offering to vote in the primary.' "

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

In some states, the party's representation in the Presidential election is decided by a vote that is held on a General Election ballot before the actual election...as early as January, when the Presidential election is held in November. When you get to the polls for the Primary election, you will often (varies by state) get a party-specific ballot; it includes all of the issues of an "independent" ballot, but also party-specific primary choices.

The once great leaders of the free world have been reduced to crap like this. Man, this is genuinely sad. How does a nation as great as America lose its way completely in 50 or so years? Especially after the greatness of the previous 175 years.

Damn, these will be interesting times.

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please


I live here and don't really get it either. I think it's more just so can know how many "registered" members they have (and you need to be registered to a party to vote in its primaries).
The party you're registered to in no way affects who you can vote for in general elections though.

/registered independent

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Because the Republicans don't want someone that identifies themselves as a Democrat changing the outcome of the Republican race, and vice-verse. If you had that the next thing you know the Republican nominee might be Lizard People, and who wants that?

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

It probably has to do with primaries. In some states, you can only vote in the primary of the party which you are registered as. Which for my part seems fair (only voting in your party's primary, not having to register as x).

There is no honor in politics. This is not hard to understand.

I don't see how this could possibly help them. Best case scenario, they lose no votes. Any other scenario will cause them to lose at least some votes. There is no scenario where they will gain votes as a result of this.

Why are fiscal conservatives with a brain not runninig from this train wreck of an organisation as faast as possible?

What if somebody signs the loyalty oath as "Mickey Mouse." Clearly that means that "Mickey Mouse" will be voting fraudulently in the general election so the entire Virginia GOP should therefore be jailed for voter fraud. Better get some poll watchers to the Virginia GOP primaries to a stop to this clear subversion of democracy.

lunchinlewis: Democrats in Virginia do it too.

But Arlington Democratic Committee chairman Peter Rousselot tells me that the loyalty pledge has been part of the caucus process for many years, and is in fact mandated by the state party. "We're asking people as a matter of conscience to make this public statement of intent," he says. Every year, Rousselot says, some Democrats see the pledge and recoil, arguing that it is unfair and inappropriate. But, as a party policy statement puts it, "Prospective voters who are uncomfortable with the pledge need not participate in our endorsement process and are, of course, free to support and vote for whomever they choose in the general election."

Interesting, because I voted in the Democratic primaries in Alexandria, and I never had to sign anything.

ReverendJasen: and you need to be registered to a party to vote in its primaries

Er, in some states, that is.

Allen. The end.: Wow. Bedtime for democracy, I guess.

Yeah! Democracy where all the democrats go vote for the least viable candidate in the republican primary to try to rig the election. Why would we ever want to stop that?

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states

because in the primary, anyone can vote, even people who are not republicans or even sympathetic to their views. it's understandable why the republican (or democratic, or any other party) woudn't want people who have no intention of ever voting for that party in a general election to be involved in selecting their nominee. the solution is to have a closed primary, that is, require voters in the primary to be registered with that party. other states have this, and virginia should follow suit. a registered republican can still vote for whomever he wants in teh general election. voting in a primary is a privelege, not a right, since it's an intra-party affair, but voting in the general election is a right which cannot be infringed or forced as these bozos seem to believe.

pedobearapproved: the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Because the Republicans don't want someone that identifies themselves as a Democrat changing the outcome of the Republican race, and vice-verse. If you had that the next thing you know the Republican nominee might be Lizard People, and who wants that?

[www.lizardpersonornot.com image 225x300]

:raises hand

the_sidewinder: I don't understand why you have to register by party in some states


/Explain it to the dumb Canadian please

Seconded

uhhh yeah, once the time comes and they're making their vote, nobody's gonna be looking over their shoulder and nobody's going to know who they voted for afterwards, so this really doesn't mean anything.

Wadded Beef: Considering a good chunk of Repubs emptied store shelves of ammo to the point of a shortage after Obama won I'm sure the thought of "it's not enforceable" hasn't occurred to them.

This. So much this. A lot.

Am I allowed to cross my fingers when signing the oath?