McDonnell joins Bolling in asking RPV to rescind “loyalty oath” for presidential primary
By Lynn R. Mitchell | Thursday, January 5th, 2012 | Politics, VirginiaGovernor Bob McDonnell joined Lt. Governor Bill Bolling today in asking that the Republican Party of Virginia rescind the proposed “loyalty oath” that all voters seeking to participate in the March GOP Presidential Primary in Virginia would be required to sign before voting.
Bearing Drift took a stand on this issue yesterday, supporting the idea that RPV should ditch the proposed loyalty pledge, and endorsed voter registration by party.
In a statement, the Governor wrote:
“Over the past few days I have reviewed the issue of the proposal that voters sign a loyalty oath as a requirement for participation in our upcoming GOP Presidential Primary in March.
“While I fully understand the reasoning that led to the establishment of this requirement, such an oath is unenforceable and I do not believe it is in the best interests of our Party, or the Commonwealth. The effect of the oath could be one of diminishing participation in the primary, at a time when our Party must be expanding its base and membership as we head into the pivotal 2012 general elections this fall. For these reasons, I urge the State Central Committee to rescind the loyalty oath requirement at its upcoming meeting on the 21st.
“It is true that for political parties to remain viable they must have some means by which to control their own nomination processes. I know the loyalty oath was proposed as a possible good faith solution to this issue in this primary election, but there are other ways. I would support legislation to establish voluntary party registration in Virginia. Such a reform to our electoral system would eliminate the need for any oaths or pledges and greatly simplify the nomination process in the Commonwealth.”
An earlier statement from Lt. Governor Bill Bolling also asked that RPV vote to rescind the “loyalty oath.” A meeting of state central members will take place on January 21, 2012, to readdress this issue.
Cross-posted at LynnRMitchell.com
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About the author
As SWAC Girl (an acronym for Staunton, Waynesboro, and Augusta County), Lynn has been writing in the Virginia political blogosphere since 2006. Active in area politics, she has coordinated campaigns and served in leadership for the past decade. The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia is one of the most beautiful places to call home ... the Republican Party carries her beliefs.
Comments
4 Responses to "McDonnell joins Bolling in asking RPV to rescind “loyalty oath” for presidential primary"
It was a dumb idea to start with but I have to ask, is it legal to resend it once approved by the Commonwealth?
“rescind”
“The effect of the oath could be one of diminishing participation in the primary, at a time when our Party must be expanding its base and membership as we head into the pivotal 2012 general elections this fall.”
This doesn’t really look like “don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” does it?
Someone, who will remain unnamed, needs to decide whether they’re part of the problem or part of the solution.
Both the oath and party registration are bad ideas.
The oath is just stupid, unenforceable and unAmerican. Sign it and tell them “I don’t mean it.” Not a thing they can do about that.
I don’t know why conservatives are so hot for party registration. The real conservative (as opposed to Republican) position and the one that Virginia has followed up to this point is “It’s none of the government’s damn business what political party anybody belongs to.”
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