The History of the Republican Loyalty Oath and Why the RPV is a National Joke

The Republican Party of Virginia

The decision by the 86-member Virginia Republican State Central Committee, meeting in Crystal City, came after a public outcry over the pledge and mounting concern among party leaders that it could drive independents and moderate Republicans away from GOP candidates.

“We have heard the voice of the people,” said John H. Hager, the state party chairman. “It’s a new day, and our job has to be to build the party. We welcome new people into the party. We want as many people as possible participating if they share our principles and values.”

The reversal occurred less than a week after the State Board of Elections approved a party request to require that voters sign a piece of paper that said, “I, the undersigned, pledge that I intend to support the nominee of the Republican Party for President.”

The pledge included instructions saying that anyone who refused to sign it “will not be permitted to vote” — a requirement that would have been difficult to enforce.

GOP officials said the pledge was designed to keep Democrats from voting in the primary, which is open to all voters, but it prompted many Republicans to call or send angry e-mails to state party headquarters this week.

Some party activists say the pledge would have sent a signal that Virginia Republicans do not want to reach out to the many voters who are not affiliated with either party but who often decide statewide races.

So the idea was scrapped in the 2008 primary because Republicans hated the idea. Mostly because it makes the Republican Party unwelcoming to new participants and places a barrier to attracting new party members.

So what happened in the 2012 Presidential Primary?

Well, the definition of insanity (stupidity?) is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

The Stupid Republican Party of Virginia did an “Oops I did it again” move:

Yep. Oops I did it again.

The RPV demanded a loyalty oath.

But this time it was different. Everyone loved the idea of preventing people from participating in the primary if they would not sign a loyalty oath. JUST KIDDING!!!

The Republican rank and file blasted the idiots that keep doing this. Even the Republican Governor Bob McDonnell thought it was a lousy idea.

And again the WaPo reported on the RPV retreat:

Virginia Republicans announced Tuesday night that they will scrap plans to require voters to pledge support for the party’s eventual nominee at the presidential primary March 6.

Pat Mullins, party chairman, wrote on his Facebook page that he had informed the State Board of Elections that he will rescind the “loyalty oath” after informally polling the state GOP’s governing board .

“We welcome all newcomers like these to our party with open arms as we build a coalition to bring our Country back to greatness once again,’’ he wrote.

Late last month, the State Board of Elections approved the “loyalty oath,” a form for primary voters that would say: “I, the undersigned, pledge that I intend to support the nominee of the Republican Party for president.”

But since then the state GOP has received a slew of criticism. Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) and Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling (R) opposed the move as well.

So in keeping with our musical guest who has a history of doing really stupid things, we will let Brittany Spears explain the insanity of 2012 in Baby One More Time:

So let’s fast forward to the 2016 primary.

John Whitbeck and the Republican State Central Committee prove the old saying “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”

And who said it better than The Captain and Tennille in “Do That To Me One More Time”. (Sorry, more Brittany ahead.)

So is the Republican Party really that stupid? Do they expect different results this year? the answer to both questions is obviously yes and yes.

And as the world has watched, the Virginia GOP Clown car has circled the election field yet again, and wants to do a loyalty oath (or call it statement of affiliation, whatever) for the 2016 election.

And even as the Democratic Party has negotiated with the State Board of Elections to work on making the voting lines shorter and arrived at a solution, leave it to the RPV to gum up the works with a stupid signature requirement that is non binding and absolutely useless unless you want to keep masses of new voters away from the polls. And antagonize (I used that because it is more polite than writing ‘piss off’ which is what I really wanted to convey) the party faithful.

Donald Trump has attracted a lot of supporters who have either become disillusioned with the GOP in general – like the recently passed $1.1 trillion spending bill the Republicans passed that funds Syrian “Refugee” terrorists – or have not found any candidate worth voting for with an “R” after their name. It has been the stated goal of the Republican Party for many years to attract minorities and independents and they keep telling us people like John McCain and Mitt Romney are the answer. Or Jeb Bush pandering in Spanish. But which Republican is actually accomplishing this? Donald Trump, the one candidate who’s supporters would be most likely to take issue with any kind of oath.

For decades the Republicans have been drooling for a candidate that can attract 40% of the black vote and 45% of the Hispanic vote:

Donald Trump has defied political gravity, capturing 45% of the black vote in a new poll released by survey USA.

Pundits might point to billionaire Donald Trump’s huge lead in the GOP presidential primary race as being the result of his generally anti-Washington, anti-government, anti-establishment, anti-politically correct attitude.

If so, it’s not just whites who are ticked at the bureaucracy, but minorities too.

Because a new poll, which still has Trump leading the race, shows 40 percent of blacks are lining up behind Trump, as are 45 percent of Hispanics, and even nearly 19 percent of Asians.

Blacks and Hispanics, in fact, even support Trump at a higher level than whites.

And no, that WND/Clout poll is not an outlier. A Survey USA poll found Trump at 45% of black voters up from 25% in September.

So the question John Whitbeck needs to answer is, given the sorry state of the RPV finances and the already boisterous and contentious dissent within the party, can the RPV afford to offend new voters, especially blacks and Hispanics? Can they afford to turn a perceived cold shoulder to former Republicans sickened by the actions of Republicans in Congress who are less popular than Syrian Refugees? Is the RPV inclusive or is that just talk?

The facts are undeniable.

• Trump brings with him a lot of non traditional Republican voters.
• Trump can expand the RPV and the National Republican Party.
• The one group of supporters likely to be disproportionately offended are Trump’s supporters.
• The Democrats have a pretty gnarly primary themselves going on between The Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard of Oz. They are not going to cross party lines in any great numbers.

Why does the Republican Party, especially in Virginia insist on being so stupid.

And there is one more Brittany Spears song (as promised) to bring home the point. I hope Whitbeck and the SCC enjoy the message in (You Drive Me) Crazy: