"Wesley Clark is a real Democrat"

[maha]

In yesterday's New York Newsday:

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-clark-democrat,0,2939203.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

By DAVID HAMMER
Associated Press Writer

October 2, 2003, 6:10 PM EDT


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Wesley Clark is typical of many voters in Arkansas. When he registered to vote, he declared no party affiliation.

But Clark is no longer a typical voter. He is one of 10 Democrats seeking the party's presidential nomination and his lack of political affiliation is proving somewhat embarrassing as he fends off rivals who question his Democratic credentials.

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."

...

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, after changes in 1995 to a state constitutional amendment added an optional party information box to 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.

...

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. Before 2002, Clark said he was registered in nearby Saline County while serving in the military but acknowledged "sometimes I didn't make it" to vote.

"I remember a couple of times in the military when the ballot either got there late or I wasn't there when the ballot arrived," he said.

[boxster]

1. What? No responses from the "I can't vote for Clark because he isn't

a registered Democrat" crew?

Apparently, the truth hurts. It's so much easier to ignore documented evidence, because then you can plead ignorance when posting "But, Clark hasn't registered in Arkansas as a Democrat in more than 12 years" fifteen times a day.

Good post, maha. Too bad it appears to be being ignored.

[maha]

2. I think some people

got the impression that Clark had registered with an Independent Party.

In some states registering with one party or another is very important, because it determines what ballot you're allowed to have in primaries. This is true of where I am living now, New York.

In New York, if you register as an "independent" you CAN'T vote in primaries, so people only do that if they really, really want to make a statement. And once you are registered as an X, you cannot vote in a Y primary no matter how much you want to.

But in other states there's really no point to declaring party affiliation when you register, and in those states most people don't bother to do it.

I guess a lot of people don't know that.

[boxster]

4. Yes, and the misconception that Clark

"registered as an Independent" was looked upon by many as not caring enough about liberal issues to bother registering as a Democrat.

My view is probably too simplistic, but I tend to think that he was a little busy doing other things during those years, plus he was pretty apolitical during much of the past 40 years, so I give Clark a pass on this one. His stances on the issues and his ability to trump Bush on the Commander-in-Chief nonsense is more important to me.

But, because there really isn't a huge fundamental difference in the issues between Clark and Dean, it's easier to summarily dismiss Clark as a Republican than to discuss why exactly we should consider one vs. the other.

[dkf]

3. Response is low because this is about the 4th

time this article has started a thread.

Look, I thought Wes Clark was supposed to be a micro-manager. If so, this is incredibly sloppy, as was his lateness in rescinding his lobbying creds.

If people have doubts about your "democraticness", why do you slap Democrats in the face and "forget" to register as one.

I think that he does feel being an "official" democrat is no big deal. If he wasn't running, do you honestly think he would ever become an official Democrat? I don't think so.

In fact, if he wins the Dem nomination, I am predicting he will pivot and start emphasizing what an independent he is and how he thought George Bush was going to be a good President but he was double crossed.

To me, this is not building up the Democratic Party. It is blurring it even more.

Yeah this is nit-picky. But it strikes at the core of me.

p.s. My state does not require party registration. But I signed up as a card carrying member of the Democratic Party.

p.p.s. I am pissed because I am more of a Democrat that Wes Clark ever was. How can he be my standard bearer when he was voting against me for years. I remember the Reagan days and I disliked him greatly because he rescinded funding that almost cost my Dad his job. That was a great stress to my family.

[boxster]

5. I'm not sure where it's been made obvious that he's

a micro-manager. I really doubt that anyone could be an effective General without being able to do a very good job of delegating authority.

And, I think the fact that he was fairly apolitical in the military gets ignored, unless it's convenient for the conversation. Sure, who he voted for in the past should be a consideration, but I don't think it should exclude him from consideration, as many people have suggested. I think it's more important that he voted for Clinton twice and Gore, for example, than who he voted for in 1968-1980.

Either way, his stance on the issues NOW should be more important than his political or apolitical past. He's pretty liberal, especially on social issues, and I think that's way more important than if he voted for Reagan in 1980. But, again, that's my opinion and I certainly believe that you should be entitled to yours.

[Name removed]

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[dfong63]

8. i don't think it's nit-picky

i do think Clark has displayed incredible ineptitude and disingenuousness.

for months he refused to declare his party affiliation. only recently did he admit he was a democrat. his supporters said that for those many moons while he was flirting on the talk shows, he was laying the groundwork for a campaign that would be 100% prepared from day 1. but on day 1, Clark immediately fumbled. when asked whether he'd ever voted for a repub presidential candidate, he said he "couldn't remember". yeah right, this rhodes-scholar-genius-who-thinks-at-mach-3 wants to be president, but can't remember which presidents he voted for...? supporters like to cast him as an "outsider", but it turns out he was a registered lobbyist, and still was as of a few days ago. i could go on, but i'm sure most people reading this have heard it before.

have they put up an "issues" page on his web site yet?

and now, the incredible excuses about why Clark didn't, or "couldn't" register as a dem. well, if he had enough time to give a speech at a repub fundraiser, then he had enough time to go to the county clerk's office and fill out a form. the form wouldn't pose too much of a challenge to a rhodes scholar, i'd think.

[dfong63]

7. wesley clark is a liar

face the facts. all the spin doctoring in the world can't change them. Clark claimed in an interview that he'd registered as a democrat. link he hadn't. the bit about the rule changes for party affiliation are irrelevant - the rules changed years ago. Clark could have registered as a dem, but didn't. the bit about how "most Arkansans" don't, is also irrelevant - Clark said he did, but he didn't. Clark is a liar.