Loyalty Oaths

[TexasTiger 13,119]

Is this any way to sway the undecideds?

Bush-backers-only policy riles voters at RNC rallies

By Steve Larese, Globe Correspondent  |  August 9, 2004

RIO RANCHO, N.M. -- A Republican National Committee practice of having people sign a form endorsing President Bush or pledging to vote for him in November before being issued tickets for RNC-sponsored rallies is raising concern among voters.

When Vice President Dick Cheney spoke July 31 to a crowd of 2,000 in Rio Rancho, a city of 45,000 near Albuquerque, several people who showed up at the event complained about being asked to sign endorsement forms in order to receive a ticket to hear Cheney.

''Whose vice president is he?" said 72-year-old retiree John Wade of Albuquerque, who was asked to sign the form when he picked up his tickets. ''I just wanted to hear what my vice president had to say, and they make me sign a loyalty oath."

Nick Lucy, a 64-year-old veteran and Democrat, said he was turned away from a May 7 rally in Dubuque, Iowa, at which President Bush spoke even though he had a ticket given to him by a local Republican leader. Lucy, who was not asked to sign a form, said he has seen every president since Ronald Reagan, but he was denied access because he is not a registered Republican. He is a Democrat and a past commander of the American Legion in Dubuque who plays taps at veterans' funerals.

''They asked the police to escort me out of there," Lucy said. ''I wasn't going to disrupt anything, but I probably wasn't going to clap a lot, either. Every rally the president goes to everyone is cheering for him because they're handpicked."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles...at_rnc_rallies/

[quietfan 233]

Hey, in fairness, this is not the only way to get access to the Administration.

...you can get around the loyalty oath if you just donate enough money to the campaign or own enough Halliburton stock! [Only a joke, folks, before you get too defensive. And I know the Clinton/Gore stories on campaign contributions and nights in the Lincoln bedroom. ]