The RPV has taken a bit of flack for requiring (for the moment) voters to sign an oath to support the eventual nominee before being allowed to vote in the presidential primary. The party’s leadership, plus the Gov. McDonnell and Lt. Gov. Bolling, have all called for the oath to be scrapped. Good for them.
But Republicans aren’t the only ones with an oath fetish. Arlington Democrats, too, have an affinity for such things, as we learn here:
The Arlington Democratic caucus will be held from 7 pm to 9 pm on Jan. 19 at Washington-Lee High School and from 11 am to 7 pm on Jan. 21 at Kenmore Middle School. Persons who wish to vote in the Democratic caucus must sign the following pledge:
I certify that I am a resident of and registered to vote in Arlington County, Virginia; I am a Democrat; I believe in the principles of the Democratic Party; and I do not intend to support, endorse or assist any candidate who is opposed to a Democratic nominee or endorsee in the ensuing election.
Participants in the caucus should take that pledge seriously and make a choice for the nominee carefully.
Sure enough, the caucus rules (11 pages worth) say exactly that (page 5, paragraph “g”). The introductory verbiage before the oath runs like this:
At the door of the Caucus, the participants will receive the Democratic Party declaration form, which will require each participant’s full name and address, and a location for the participant to sign the following pledge…
So if you break the oath, they know where to find you.
This isn’t an apples to apples comparison — the RPV was seeking to impose its oath on a statewide presidential primary electorate, while the Arlington Democrats were holding a county caucus supposedly limited to Democrats.
But this oath requirement stuff isn’t just a Republican thing. It’s a Virginia politics thing. And it stinks.
In the forthcoming issue of Bearing Drift Magazine, the editors call for the one thing that can stop this oath taking madness:
Yet another area where Virginia lags behind the rest of the nation is in official recognition and support for the two party system. While some independents complain that the two party system stifles choice, the reality is that it is so engrained in the American political psyche that the likelihood of it ever going away is next to nil. The current system has resulted in institutional paranoia among Republicans and Democrats, as both parties fear meddling by activists on the other side of the aisle during the candidate selection process. This was less of a problem in the bad old days of the Byrd machine, when most decisions were made at conventions. But as primaries replace conventions as the candidate selection mechanism of choice, it’s time that we allow for official party registration to help administer the primary process. The current system – one that uses unenforceable and distasteful “loyalty oaths” to deter partisan interference – is antiquated and needs reform. While this is a perennial item on the General Assembly’s agenda, it needs to be pushed each year until it passes.
There’s no better time to begin that push than in the forthcoming General Assembly session.
