Clark's Lack of Party Affiliation Normal

[robbedvoter]

> Clark's Lack of Party Affiliation Normal
>
> By DAVID HAMMER
> Associated Press Writer
> http://tinyurl.com/pi5p
>
> October 2, 2003, 4:31 PM EDT
>
> LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Wesley Clark is typical of many voters in
> Arkansas. When he registered to vote, he declared no
> party affiliation.
>
> snip
>
> Clark spokeswoman Kym Spell said Thursday that Clark will declare
> himself a Democrat with a form awaiting his signature at his Little
> Rock, Ark.,
> headquarters.
>
> "A piece of paper doesn't make you a Democrat," Spell said. "Wesley
> Clark is a real Democrat, and this is simply a tactic that the other
> guys are using to distract Americans from the real issues."
>
>snip
> Only 4.4 percent of Arkansas' 1.5 million voters have declared any
> political party, said Janet Miller, the secretary of state's deputy
> for elections.
>
> "Voter registration by party affiliation is an optional choice, and we
> have found that a very, very small number of registered voters
> declare," Miller
> said. "And if you do declare, it isn't binding. They just ask you
> which ballot you want when you show up at the polls."
>
> Arkansans couldn't even declare party affiliation until 1996, when an
> amendment to the state constitution let voters add optional party
> information
> box to their registration forms.
>
> Arkansas permits voters to request a specific party ballot when they
> walk into the polls on Election Day or when they request an absentee
> ballot.
>
> "If you vote in a primary, you are declaring that you want a
> Republican or Democratic ballot for that year's elections, that's it,"
> said Carolyn Staley,
> the clerk in Pulaski County where Clark is registered. "If you come
> back for a primary two years later, you can choose to vote in the
> other party if
> you wish."
>
> Pulaski County records show that Clark registered to vote in 2002,
> casting a ballot in the Democratic primary and then voted in the
> general election.
>

[onehandle]

1. Clark? You mean the Republican?

Ha, ha.

DEMOCRAT!

[catforclark2004]

3. This should really be a "Breaking Story"...but here it goes

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/6919170.htm

Clark Says White House Twisted Iraq Facts
NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark, in his harshest criticism yet of the Bush administration, said the White House has relied on twisted facts and demonized its critics to pursue war with Iraq.

In remarks prepared for delivery Friday, Clark said the administration's handling of foreign policy has put Americans in danger and may be criminal. He called for an independent review of the administration's "possible manipulation of intelligence," including information used to justify war with Iraq and the possible leak of the name of a covert CIA agent.

"Nothing could be a more serious violation of public trust than to consciously make a case for war based on false claims," he said in remarks prepared for delivery to a group of military reporters and editors. "We need to know if we were intentionally deceived."

Clark, a retired four-star Army general and former NATO supreme allied commander, entered the presidential race three weeks ago. He's presenting himself as the Democratic candidate with the best national security credentials to take on President Bush.

Clark said the administration entered office determined to wage war with Iraq and seized on the Sept. 11 attacks for justification. He accused the administration of violating principles of American democracy.

"This administration is trying to do something that ought to be politically impossible to do in a democracy, and that is to govern against the will of the majority," he said. "That requires twisted facts, silence, secrecy, and very poor lighting. That's why you need night-vision goggles to see what's going on over there."

[roguevalley]

2. I know many people non-affiliated. None of them are Repugs.

*

[monobrau]

18. Like me

I've never declared a party affiliation.
And I've never voted republican.

[SWPAdem]

4. Good Work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, have the county clerks been investigated for possible PNAC and/or Repug ties? Perhaps they were bought off by Kissinger....

[Tinoire]

5. Clark lying however is NOT normal - Where's the integrity?

Between Clark and the truth- where is the confusion?
If this were happening to the Republicans I'd be laughing my ass off.

As it is, this is my party and I am not amused.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE MISTAKEN REGISTRATION. Is Wesley Clark right about his voter registration status, or is the voter registrar in his home Pulaski County, Ark., and his own campaign consultant right?

Last Friday in Manchester, we conducted a one-on-one interview with the new Democratic Presidential candidate.

We asked Clark (quoting now from our own tape): “How long have you been a registered Democrat?”

Clark answered, “About, um, oh, I think it was maybe the third of September. Prior to that I wasn’t anything. In Arkansas, you don’t register for parties, you vote in primaries and, of course, I voted in the Democratic primary.”

Yesterday, we checked this week’s edition of Business Week, dated Oct. 1. It reports that Clark has yet to register as a Democrat, even though he’s running for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

snip

Clark spokesman Kym Spell told us last night that Clark was mistaken about his registration in his Union Leader interview. “He had filled out the paperwork but it never got down to the office,” she said.

http://www.theunionleader.com/granite_show.html?article=27079

[LoZoccolo]

6. In his defense...

...you can also join the DNC by donating money:

"Anyone who is registered to vote as a Democrat is a member of the Party. Anyone who contributes money to the Democratic Party is also considered a member of the Party."

http://www.democrats.org/about/faq.html

[FubarFly]

8. Did Clark donate money to the DNC? n/t

[DoveTurnedHawk]

15. He Donated $1,000 (i.e. the Max at the Time) To Erskine Bowles

He's never donated to any others, to the best of my knowledge.

DTH

[Tinoire]

10. Weak my friend, weak

“How long have you been a registered Democrat?”

“About, um, oh, I think it was maybe the third of September.

Such a simple clear question... The argument you're presenting out of kindness would only carry some weight if he had donated money on the third.

[bicentennial_baby]

12. Deleted

Wrong post

[Tinoire]

14. Sometimes the defense should have the decency to hush

and stop spinning. Clark doesn't even need Drudge to look bad. Between his words and faulty... memory, he's making himself look bad all by himself. And to think Rove hasn't even lifted a finger yet.

A first year cadet would have been tossed out for that lie.

September 3rd indeed when it's more like the 12th of never.

For some reason this guy seems to have a real aversion to saying he's a Democrat, declaring a Party affiliation and registering as a Democrat. Freepers must be laughing their ass off and I can't say I blame them.

Is this the sort of integrity issue General Shelton mentioned?

Pastiche! A glass of vodka bitte!

[Pastiche423]

7. lol!

Get real people. Here is a man running for the highest office in our land and he thought he was registered?

The paperwork is ..........................in the mail!

lol!

What a farce!

[ozone_man]

9. A better litmus test is to examine his voting record.

How do you really tell if this guy is a Democrat? OK, he may be an Independent, but the more important thing is who he voted for and what were his past trail of political ideas. I understand that as a general, some degree of neutrality must be maintained, yet he still voted in elections and expressed his political stances by supporting candidates, positions, etc. In the absense of a past political life, he must be examined on some of these things. E.g., if he voted for Reagan and Bush senior, what was he thinking, etc. It might take a while to find this out.

Certainly, if he can switch from voting and supporting Republicans to Democrats in a few years, he might as easily switch back in a few years.

[union_maid]

13. Not with his views

I don't know what went into his decision to vote the way he did. It was different times, that's for certain. But he's expressed his views on all the issues that confront us today and expressed them in great detail in many cases. They are not the view of someone who could vote with today's Republican party. At one time there were real liberals in that party, though and when I say at one time, I mean in my memory and I'm still a few years younger than Clark. I don't think that everyone who voted Republican was thinking of him or herself as a conservative by any means. That's changed now.

[ozone_man]

17. Good point, we have our Jim Jeffords who switched to Independent.

But, even as a Republican, his voting record was more liberal than most of our Democrats. He was a thorn in Reagan's side.

I do know what you mean about the Republican party changing though. But, is it any scarier than say during the McCarthy era? Or is it about the same.

I have to disagree about Clark though, in that a relatively new found display of "Democrat" thinking is probably not enough to get behind him with full confidence. After seeing what Reagan did to Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala, to vote for him again in 1984 is inconceivable. Miracles of enlightenment can occur, but if he is that unstable, then I think I will go with someone with a longer track record.

[tinnypriv]

11. Are 4.4 percent of people in Ark running for President?

If so, big field to choose from!

;-)

[DoveTurnedHawk]

16. SEE THE HEADLINE?

This is what I'm talking about, with Clark winning over his pool reporters and the media. It's a big asset, and I'll take it!

DTH

[rocketdem]

19. I'm not a Democrat either

According to registration records. In many states such things don't mean squat. In my state registering with a particular party isn't even an option. When I show up at the primaries, they check to make sure that I'm a registered voter, and then they ask me which ballot I want.

[Evanstondem]

20. You're also not running for the Dem Presidential nomination

Those who accuse Clark of lying about his party membership are being much too harsh, but his status is rather unusual for a Presidential candidate.

[Julien Sorel]

26. Perhaps because he was a normal citizen of Arkansas

until the Draft Clark movement made it otherwise? People seem to forget that he didn't just up and decide to run -- there was some pull from outside involved, as well.

[happyslug]

21. Each state is different, based on that state's history.

In my home state of Pennyslvania, unless you register as a Democrat or a Republican you can NOT vote in the primary. This goes back to the late 1800s when the largest single employer in Pennsyvania was the GOP (That was how the GOP kept Pennsylvania GOP for decades till FDR took Pennsylvania from them).

Arkansas's no party registration looks like a hold over from segregation. One of the ways to deny blacks the vote was to have all white primaries where any white could vote but no blacks. Blacks could vote in the General election but NOT the Primary. The problem was the Primary picked the Democratic Canidate and than all of the white voters would vote for him in the General election, making the General election generally a moot issue. With the End of the All white primary AND the raise of the GOP in the South, the primary could no longer be used to pick the "white" candidate thus no longer a tool of segregation. My point is to point out where this tradition of no party registration came from, like Pennsylvania's tradition of almost everyone registering as a Democrat or a Republican.

[tlb]

22. It is NOT normal for an announced presidential candidate

for the democratic nomination to be unaffiliated. That's kind of the point isn't it, not what a regular non-candidate citizen does.

[JaneQPublic]

23. Funny, my county's Democratic Club is open only to registered Dems...

...yet that same requirement is not imposed on candidates for Democratic Party's nomination for President.

[AndyTiedye]

24. Unaffiliated Means You can Vote in Either Primary in Arkansas

and a number of other states. Sometimes this can be useful.
I was registered "independent" when I lived in Massachusetts for that reason.

[stickdog]

25. Perfectly Normally Affiliated Clark (NT)