Why Must A Candidate Sign a Loyalty Pledge?

Page 1 of 1 [ 8 posts ] 

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,265

03 Sep 2015, 1:23 pm

Donald Trump supposedly just signed one to the Republicans but any candidate on either side should be allowed to run on a different party if that is what they want to do. A loyalty pledge doesn't sound very democratic to me.



blauSamstag
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 5 Apr 2011
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,026

03 Sep 2015, 3:03 pm

Only a fascit party would consider it



The_Walrus
Forum Moderator
Forum Moderator

User avatar

Joined: 27 Jan 2010
Age: 30
Gender: Male
Posts: 8,878
Location: London

04 Sep 2015, 6:05 am

Reminds me of this:

Joseph Heller wrote:
Almost overnight the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was in full flower, and Captain Black was enraptured to discover himself spearheading it. He had really hit on something. All the enlisted men and officers on combat duty had to sign a loyalty oath to get their map cases from the intelligence tent, a second loyalty oath to receive their flak suits and parachutes from the parachute tent, a third loyalty oath for Lieutenant Balkington, the motor vehicle officer, to be allowed to ride from the squadron to the airfield in one of the trucks. Every time they turned around there was another loyalty oath to be signed. They signed a loyalty oath to get their pay from the finance officer, to obtain their PX supplies, to have their hair cut by the Italian barbers. To Captain Black, every officer who supported his Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was a competitor, and he planned and plotted twenty-four hours a day to keep one step ahead. He would stand second to none in his devotion to country. When other officers had followed his urging and introduced loyalty oaths of their own, he went them one better by making every son of a b***h who came to his intelligence tent sign two loyalty oaths, then three, then four; then he introduced the pledge of allegiance, and after that “The Star-Spangled Banner,” one chorus, two choruses, three choruses, four choruses. Each time Captain Black forged ahead of his competitors, he swung upon them scornfully for their failure to follow his example. Each time they followed his example, he retreated with concern and racked his brain for some new stratagem that would enable him to turn upon them scornfully again.



ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 18 Jun 2008
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,265

04 Sep 2015, 8:16 am

The_Walrus wrote:
Reminds me of this:
Joseph Heller wrote:
Almost overnight the Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was in full flower, and Captain Black was enraptured to discover himself spearheading it. He had really hit on something. All the enlisted men and officers on combat duty had to sign a loyalty oath to get their map cases from the intelligence tent, a second loyalty oath to receive their flak suits and parachutes from the parachute tent, a third loyalty oath for Lieutenant Balkington, the motor vehicle officer, to be allowed to ride from the squadron to the airfield in one of the trucks. Every time they turned around there was another loyalty oath to be signed. They signed a loyalty oath to get their pay from the finance officer, to obtain their PX supplies, to have their hair cut by the Italian barbers. To Captain Black, every officer who supported his Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade was a competitor, and he planned and plotted twenty-four hours a day to keep one step ahead. He would stand second to none in his devotion to country. When other officers had followed his urging and introduced loyalty oaths of their own, he went them one better by making every son of a b***h who came to his intelligence tent sign two loyalty oaths, then three, then four; then he introduced the pledge of allegiance, and after that “The Star-Spangled Banner,” one chorus, two choruses, three choruses, four choruses. Each time Captain Black forged ahead of his competitors, he swung upon them scornfully for their failure to follow his example. Each time they followed his example, he retreated with concern and racked his brain for some new stratagem that would enable him to turn upon them scornfully again.



This reminds me of cell phone and bundle type contracts offered by cable tv and phone companies like At&t. They don't call them loyalty pledges but in essences, this is what they are, albeit temporary. Then you have loyalty cards at places like Wal Greens and Pet Smart which isn't quite the same but they do promise discounts and points for sticking with their businesses and shopping there.



Jacoby
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 14,284
Location: Arizona

04 Sep 2015, 8:43 am

Trump did it because he thinks he will be the GOP nominee now and that by signing the pledge that other GOP candidates will be obligated to support his candidacy for risk of breaking their pledge which I don't think it is in any way binding.

The GOP's motivation is pretty obvious, if Trump ran third party they lose.

Trump is a smart negotiator and knew the RNC would never play fair with him without leverage so he held a third party run over their heads if they didn't cooperate with his candidacy and I'm pretty sure they blinked first.



adoylelb90815
Velociraptor
Velociraptor

User avatar

Joined: 1 Sep 2015
Age: 49
Posts: 442
Location: California

04 Sep 2015, 4:10 pm

Jacoby wrote:
Trump did it because he thinks he will be the GOP nominee now and that by signing the pledge that other GOP candidates will be obligated to support his candidacy for risk of breaking their pledge which I don't think it is in any way binding.

The GOP's motivation is pretty obvious, if Trump ran third party they lose.

Trump is a smart negotiator and knew the RNC would never play fair with him without leverage so he held a third party run over their heads if they didn't cooperate with his candidacy and I'm pretty sure they blinked first.


I think the GOP realized that if he ran third party, they would lose by a landslide just as when Ross Perot ran as a third party candidate.



Inventor
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 15 Feb 2007
Gender: Male
Posts: 6,014
Location: New Orleans

04 Sep 2015, 5:36 pm

First the Contract, then the Lawsuit!

While Trump could not be held to it, the RNC could.

Any, we don't go by votes, we go by who we want, the RNC would be stealing the Office from Donald.

Never before a Loyalty Oath. Making up new rules in the middle of the game.

Trump had several thing blocking him. One was other Republicans running. He now has more support than all the political candidates combined.

The Republican Party. A fragile power base, that maintains the power by excluding other points of view.

Trump has set the issues of this election. With a Black Democrat deporting over two million a year, no one can be in favor of less deportations. By the low figure, 11 million, 20% are being deported a year. By the high figure, 31 million, 7%.

The Hispanics voted for the Black Guy who has deported over ten million.

The Media loves Trump, he is click bait. knows it, so he calls them fat pigs and Beaner TV. He makes them the story.

Trump made Jorje Ramos and Univision famous.

The RNC has collected a lot of money to support Republican candidates. There are lots of rules, The Federal Elections Commission, and Trump could bring both into Federal Court and demand an accounting of where the money comes from and goes.

Trump has enough support from the rank and file to take over the Party. While there have been third party runs, no one has tried the Hostile Takeover. There would be more Feds on this one than a Teamsters Election, and Trump can put it under Court Supervision.

The established powers of the Republican Party are not popular within the Party, or with the Public. Faced with a public Court Battle, which will lead the news everyday, or the leadership resigning, Young Turks taking over, and a facelift, survival makes it's own rules.

No matter how the primaries go, the RNC is looking to rig the convention.

While they think a Loyalty Oath restricts Trump, they just signed a Contract with an Expert. One, it is illegal restraint, two it has never before been demanded, it was not voted on within the Party, three it binds parties who have not agreed.

The Convention can be in Federal Court till after the next election. In the next Courtroom, the Republican Leadership, and for the highest Office in the Land, Trump would sue them for twenty billion. Trump will use ten million dollars in Lawyers. Think of the Free Press.

The Loyalty Contract makes that possible.

If this is reasonable, those who want to vote should first undergo a background check, and sign a Loyalty Oath.

There are standing restrictions on who can run for office. Most are in the Constitution, perhaps some more are Federal Law. Political Parties are to obey the law, not make it.



pcuser
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 28 Dec 2014
Age: 75
Gender: Male
Posts: 913

05 Sep 2015, 12:07 pm

That pledge isn't binding...