ClintJCL/Flickr
It's easy to forget, but loyalty oaths were not uncommon in Republican circles during the Bush/Cheney era.
In August 2004, however, then-Vice President Cheney spoke at an event in Albuquerque, but locals were only allowed to get a ticket to attend if they first signed a loyalty oath swearing they "endorse George W. Bush for reelection of the United States [sic]."
A couple of months later, at a Bush event in Florida, a Republican asked those in attendance to stand, raise their right hands, and recite a Pledge of Allegiance ... to George W. Bush. As part of the oath, attendees were told to say: "Because I care, I promise to work hard to re-elect, re-elect George W. Bush as president of the United States."
I'm trying to imagine what Republicans would say in 2012 if Democrats pushed voters to stand, raise their right hands, and pledge their allegiance to President Obama.
In any case, Bush and Cheney are no longer in office, but Republicans' affinity for loyalty oaths hasn't gone away. In recent months, we've seen GOP loyalty oaths pop up in Virginia and Kansas, for example, and in April, members of the Republican National Committee were invited to a private meeting with Mitt Romney -- before he'd secured the nomination -- but in order to attend, they had to, you guessed it, pledge their loyalty to Romney in writing.
But perhaps the most striking example came over the weekend in Massachusetts, where the state Republican Party didn't know what to do with all the Ron Paul acolytes who had taken over the state's delegation to the national convention. Party leaders quickly discovered the value of loyalty oaths.
Evan Kenney had just turned 18 and registered to vote for the first time when he campaigned to be an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention. Lauding Ronald Reagan's principles and blasting Keynesian economics at the Lynnfield caucus in April, the Wakefield High School senior beat out several well-known Massachusetts Republicans, including the party's most recent nominee for governor, Charles D. Baker Jr.
But earlier this month, Kenney was one of 17 delegates and alternates disqualified by a Republican committee deciding who gets to represent Massachusetts Republicans at the national convention in Tampa. Kenney and others had failed to deliver in time an affidavit swearing, under the penalty of perjury, that they would support Mitt Romney's nomination for president.
And wouldn't you know it, some were uncomfortable with this.
Keep in mind, as the Boston Globe noted, these affidavits are "never mentioned in the Republican Party's rules for selecting delegates and has never been required of delegates in the past." But the state party had a problem this year with these Paulites, so they figured demanding written loyalty oaths would disqualify some of the undesirable delegates.
They were right to assume this -- several delegates balked, and Paul's backers were soon winnowed from the Massachusetts delegation.
I suppose reasonable people can disagree about the philosophy of loyalty oaths, but count me among those who find all of this rather creepy -- not just among Massachusetts Republicans, but in general.
Whether intended this way or not, the practice reeks of McCarthyism, and seems intended to create mindless loyalists who accept commands, rather than thoughtful voters engaged in a healthy democracy.
(Image: ClintJCL/Flickr)
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This is pretty funny too. Conservative are smart enough to get their loyalty oaths on paper, while the left just assumes loyalty and demonizes those that get out of line. Which is more honest?
Yao
The "both parties do it" argument is lame for many reasons....
To assume a loyalty oath is worth any more than the paper it's written on is rather deluded. To require such a thing is even more ridiculous. It smacks of a bunch of little boys who want to have a secret clubhouse where there are no "gurls" allowed.
It is one thing to "assume loyalty and demonize those who get out of line," it is quite another to say that you will support a candidate or go to jail under the threat of perjury. If someone supporting the GOP signs the document and turns their back on Romney, they go to jail. Nice way to get supporters. No wonder there are so many people supporting this tool, they are afraid that if they don't they will be arrested. That would be something to see, great media for the GOP. "Man gets arrested under charge of perjury for signing a pledge to Romney and disavowing the candidate." That would really go well with Independents.
Always fun to start the day watching a Republican reptile brain in action.
I have raised my right hand, signed paper too at Republican events I was nosy enough to want to attend or that had a open bar or food (or both) or that I was attending at the behest of someone I wanted to sleep with.
Each and every time I have done so at a Republican or Tea Party or other righty whoopee party I have lied. Yes, LIED -- and I feel no guilt at all whatsoever.
It is why voting booths have curtains.
"while the left just assumes loyalty and demonizes those that get out of line."
Could you give an example, please? I really don't know what you are talking about. Do you? Heck, even Lieberman kept his privileges. I wouldn't call that "demonizing."
Lieberman has been demonized to the point of expulsion from the party.
A much better example is Pro-life Harry Reid who has never been truly accepted by the Democrats.
His dissent from the feminazi agenda has cost him any hope of having any modicum of influence in the party.
hmmm, what other political parties were fond of loyalty oaths? The "wrong side of history" seems rather replete with them: Ba'ath Party, Nazis..... well those two are more than enough to make one wonder about the GOPs fascination with authoritarian government some more.
How cult-like of them.
And Shooter..it's sad that you've become just another boring troll.
If you've followed Shooter over the years he has trolled progressive political websites, you'd know he was never anything but a boring troll.
Then just put him on your ignore list and he won't bore you any longer. People like that get off on the reactions of other people. If you see what they post, you're going to react to them sooner or later. I've come to believe that there is no good way to respond to them, so now I just immediately ignore the jerks and then they can't bother me.
I wonder if we can get loyalty oaths signed by corporations, before they get that NO BID contract.
"...the practice reeks of McCarthyism, and seems intended to create mindless loyalists who accept commands, rather than thoughtful voters engaged in a healthy democracy."
Don't you know by now that the GOP demand absolute allegiance to their authority & hierarchy? Of course that "oath of allegiance" means nothing, I mean the GOP in Congress have taken "an oath" to uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign & domestic - yet I don't think they actually see how their obstructionism is destroying this nation and is far against that "oath" they took!
Republicans are smart enough to get loyalty oaths from people stupid enough to sign them.
There is only one oath, the Pledge of Allegiance, and that's to country, and flag.
That pledge I'll sign.
(some) So called Republicans are seriously treading on the road to treason if they keep this up.
The United States Government does not enforce any laws about violating oaths, if they did we wouldn't have any congressturds.
There is no question the GOP's open embrace of kooky and vaguely cultish "loyalty oaths" is tied directly to their affinity for totalitarianism and single-party rule. Republicans truly disdain the idea of compromise because for them, their political opponents are their sworn enemies, people that are to be hated, mocked, attacked and marginalized. Just look at what the GOP has done to African Americans, Hispanics, womens, etc. They are an exclusive club of white conservative men who demand total power and are not afraid to use outrageous and paranoid means to attain it. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
In 1934, after he consolidated his total control of the Nazi Party in "the night of the long knives," Adolf Hitler required the German Armed forces to swear an oath of loyalty to him personally, rather than to the country as they had traditionally. We all know how that worked out.
This is what Republican (i.e., American Fascist Party) loyalty oaths are all about.
Small Government (Extraordinarily wealthy, exclusive and powerful group) with a loyalty pledge!
Sounds perfectly reasonable.. Did we mention do as we say and not as we do?
The GOP is pathological.
Go ahead sign the pledge....there's no way they can enforce it.
When you're not sure whether people will be loyal, they have to be forced into it. But, then, what else would one expect of the party that speaks so hypocritically of freedom and liberty.
In a couple years, all military will probably have to swear a blood oath to Der Feurer Romney. Der Feuer uber party. Der party uber country. Der Feuer uber alles.
But then again, I am sure that the David Brooks' types will find a false equivilence. Maybe requiring that only campaign donors can attend a fundraiser.
Yet another dirty tirck in their huge bag of tricks to commit election fraud and shut out Ron Paul.
Meanwhile, solving all the world' problems in 20 words or less, Have the world's armies focus on civil service with open door policies for employment (especially felons), and don't allow leveraging at more than 10/1.
At what point can we start acknowledging the obvious truth: that the GOP is an overtly fascist organization committed to the destruction of American democracy.
I never knew Katy Perry wanted you to pledge an oath. Must be a 4th of July Fireworks thing.
Seriously, having someone sign a pledge like that to any person running for office is a little too Dear Leader to me. That's like Scott Brown asking Vicki Kennedy to not endorse anyone but him. Freedom of Speech is great as long as you speak how we want you to speak.
When they raise their hand, I wonder what that looks like? Say an extended right arm at a 45 degree angle? Sounds about right.
But it never ceases to amaze me the depths the gop will go. I guess that resistance is futile, right? Pathetic.
By signing a pledge, you don't have to take responsibility for your own (non) actions as a politician.
As a party you make sure that you have total grip on your people and prevent them from thinking for themselves.
Ron Paul supporters regret that now and are suing.
Politicians make a pledge to uphold the Constitution, to the people they represent and to do what's best for the country. That pledge is the one and only pledge they should uphold and should be punishable with jail time if they don't comply.
The pledges they make to the party is more like the Borg: Assimilate, resistance is futile.
Thats what is weird about this whole thing. This is tribal. Those people predisposed to vote Republican will do so without a pledge. Ultimately this include the Paulites. These tactics bespeak more of an insecure party unsure of it's candidate.
For the record and even for a possible amendment to the Constitution
There shall be no Loyalty Oath in the U.S. that does not express the unalterable sentiment
"I a U.S. Citizen shall remain loyal to all other U.S. Citizens", with no other expression of similar sentiments to specific individuals, groups, associations, organizations or aggregations of wealth of any kind. If I am found to violate this oath I may be declared to be an alien non-citizen, subject to deportation or involuntary servitude and poverty and barred from campaign donations.
That Fascist urge is just so strong.
These oaths are just a tactic to eliminate democratic hecklers from disturbing their function the way that organized, Republican hecklers have done in the past to identical democratic functions. Funny how low blows end up forcing you to protect yourself from low blows.
Purchased loyalty is a discounted commodity.
Political note about paying money politics in the Era of "Citizens United": When under the influence of excess monies from "Citizens United", act according to profit motive.
Application:
Then a party's "body politic" has among its members many whose standing has fallen to such unpopularity or have been excoriated under ample and just criticism or who have flipped flopped into grotesque configurations as the cannot recognized as human.
It is among these members who may be trotted out to perform some negative, underhanded, dastardly, cowardly, sneaky outwardly political act of public distraction.
If the observant political savants are watching closely, they should observe that these members may appear "whack-a-mole" fashion in sound bites, video clips. These acts of earnest self-sacrifice and posturing are merely intended to be compensated in some fashion out of the public eye.
These members when collecting the political token or poker or casino chips, for exchange for those excess monies that may be construed as buying silence, appearing in unprofitable settings, and making claims of loyalty to the "body politic" and favoring the impression that the discredited and marginalized member is truly loyal to the cause of said "body politic". Anyone, political savant, or naturally perceptive to apparent lies, should recognize the situation.
If the members on your team have denigrated other team members, because that are political animals, those abused members may be purchased and rewarded for performing circus acts, as if they had no core values and were just commodities for purchase.
For the right price politicians can be bought, that is because they are for sale, for sale not as good citizens but for sale for the wrong reasons. Purchased loyalty is a discounted commodity.
Milo Minderbinder lives!!