Hey, Hey,Govenor Dean, show us your registration as a democrat!

[robbedvoter]

No, this is not a bashing thread. I just found out from state residents that BOTH Vermont and Arkansas lack official party registration. So, as I imagined yesterday, it was a tempest in a tea cup.

[wndycty]

1. Wow. . .

Can we confirm this with links? It would be a shame that an entire day was spent bashing Clark with false information.

[JaneQPublic]

28. In Vt., you can't vote in the primaries without declaring a party

This from a Vt. League of Women's Voters chapter:

To VOTE in a Presidential Primary in Vermont, you must declare a party affiliation when you request a ballot at the polling place or at your Town or City Clerk’s Office. You may change your party affiliation for the next election.
http://www.uppervalleyleague.org/vote_vt.htm


Also see Post #17 for links to Ark. and Vt. voter registration forms, showing both have blanks for declaring party affiliation.

[bicentennial_baby]

2. This is from Vermont

on their State elections website:

"There is NO PARTY REGISTRATION in Vermont. Names are added to the checklist alphabetically with addresses but with no party affiliation noted."

http://vermont-elections.org/elections1/VoterRegGeneralInfo.html

[Orangepeel]

3. Dean is a member of the Democratic party

He volunteered for the party. He was in a leadership position in the party before running for the Vermont legislature. He was previously elected as a Democratic official.

:shrug:

[Bread and Circus]

4. Yeah but show us where he registered.....

Just kidding, see how silly it seems now...


:grouphug:

[bearfartinthewoods]

19. what's silly is trying to compare a man with decades of affiliation

and service as a dem to someone who, as recently as two years ago was discussing running as a republican and raising money for republicans.

that's almost as silly as making the latter our standard bearer.

[Kahuna]

31. What's REALLY silly is trying to compare a man who...

showed his love for his entire country (not just the Dems) by serving it in uniform for 34 years and took 4 bullets for it, to another brat, frat boy who took his own back xrays for his draft physical and then went sking for a month afterwards. That's silly. :crazy:

[DaveBpt]

5. Dean IS NOT a registered Democrat

Yeah he volunteered, just as General Dean has volunteered in supporting Democratic candidates, There IS NO FORMAL party registration in Vermont...I used to vote there so I know...The Dean people should get off there high horse and stop acting like they are the only true Democrats...It is interesting that a lot of Dean people never even bothered getting involved in the political process so stop acting like you are the only true Democrats...A lot of these so-called "only true Democrats" I have never seen out in front of the polling places on election day helping out Democratic candidates...and I suspect many of them will drop out when Dean is defeated for the nomination.
I am finishing up this opus with one recomendation for the Dean folks "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones"! And another one check out the facts about your own candidate before you start making idiotic remarks about another!:dem:

[Orangepeel]

12. Um... what?

It is absolutely true that a lot of Dean supporters are new to the political process. That is a strength of the campaign and one that is cherished. There are also a lot of non-affiliated voters, republicans, greens and libertarians who support Dean.

Of course, these people are supporting the candidate who they think is best able to run the country and best able to win. More power to 'em and everyone should do the same.

Does that mean that I shouldn't think it is a problem that someone campaigning to lead a political party isn't a member of that party? Personally, I think that if someone wants to run on a party ticket, they should have some affiliation with it. If they don't want to, they can run under some other party's damn banner.

If you don't think it's an issue, don't worry about it. Me, I think it's an issue (maybe I can see more clearly given that my house is made of glass and I have such a good view from on top that high horse :eyes:)

[Name removed]

24. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kahuna]

32. That's where you're wrong. Clark is not campaigning to

lead a party. He's campaigning to lead the country. I don't have a problem with that.

[JaneQPublic]

18. Bull. See the Vt. form for yourself in Post # 17.

Block #7 allows you to identify you party affiliation, but it's not required.

That's similar to how it is in Maryland, where instead you can identify as "unaffiliated,"

[Bozola]

6. What a remarkably stupid thread

[youngred]

8. And yet you took the time to respond to it

Cheers

[Bozola]

27. You are very observant. I am impressed!

Why, yes, I did take time to respond to it. You have earned you place in the annals of the cogitating savants.

Well done!

[youngred]

29. More rudeness!

This thread is so very very stupid in your words, yet you used some of your precious time on this earth to not only read it once and respond but to come back and reply again.

DO you plan on adding anything of value to the discussion or is that beyond your abilities?

[youngred]

7. Yeah, and Nader IS a member of the Democratic party

Party affiliation doesn't matter for squat. Its your beliefs and actions that matter. Parties are good for little more than organization and identification, and since Dean has mostly democratic supporters and identifies himself as a Democrat he is de facto a Democrat.

How can it be held against him that his state doesn't have an official registration? (not directed at you robbedvoter, just a general comment)

[DaveBpt]

10. You missed the point

The Dean supporters were attacking General Clark for the exact same thing...Arkansas doesn't have formal party...The point of this was to point out the hypocracy of those Dean supporters who were attacking General Clark for not being a registered Democrat in a state where there is no such thing just as there is no such thing in Vermont. It would be nice if the good Doctor would stop claiming that he is "the leader of the Democratic wing of the Democratic party." since that claim is idiotic at best...and one of the myriad reasons that I will not support Dean for the Democratic nomination.

[youngred]

14. Yawn

No, I didn't miss the point. i thought it was stupid and unimportant yesterday and I still do today. You seem to have a logical disconnect in the you claim that you don't care and hate the Dean fans for making a big deal about Clark (and I'm pretty sure it wasn't only or all Dean fans who said that but I'll let that point slip), but then attack Dean for that which you defend Clark.

He claims that because he believes himself to be the best candidate for those votes, and the support he has from that part of the party seems to indicate he is. Once more party affiliation doesn't matter, and its not I who missed the point.

Welcome to DU btw :hi:

[salin]

15. unfortunately.. Clark played into this by setting the campaign around...

is he a republican or a democrat.... the announcement.. that soon he would announce his party affiliation... is what gives detractors a little ground to play with in this question. The question is old by now. But the good General did help set it up.

I would have to agree that this thread is silly. Technically correct, perhaps but comparing a long time democratic office holder, to one who used a bit of pr hype around announcing his party affiliation a month ago are very different circumstances.

In the end, though, I hope that it is policies and not personal gotcha games between camps of supporters, that sway people on how to cast their votes.

added as a second thought: I skipped most of the 'gotcha' threads yesterday. Yes the technicality 'gotcha' was very silly. Not quite as absurd as this gotcha (the office holder thing), but still silly.

When are we going to stop this?

"Tit for tat
spit and spat
My guy's good n
yours is this and that..."

*sigh*

[Orangepeel]

16. just for the record, one CAN indicate a party registration in Arkansas

One can vote without doing so, but one is allowed to.

(a poster yesterday posted a pdf of the Arkansas voter registration form and there was an optional box to indicate party)

If you think this is a silly issue of no consequence, then you don't have to worry about it. To me, it makes a difference.

[Rowdyboy]

9. Not a stupid thread at all....

It simply points out that the phrase "registered Democrat" means nothing-especially if you live in a state without party registration. Yesterday, SEVERAL people had their panties in a wad that Wes Clark wasn't a "register Democrat". Well, Arkansas also doesn't register by party affiliation.

In other words, it was s a non-issue for Clark and it is now a non-issue for Dean.

[bicentennial_baby]

11. Yep

Hopefully we can put this issue to rest soon, if not immediately.

[WyLoochka]

26. Dream on

This is a very important issue and it is not going to just vanish. Clark has a huge problem with credibility already. Everything he says is going to be intensely scrutinized by people out here who KNOW what it means to be a Democrat and who have worked for decades to put Democrats in office.

"Johnny come latelies" who want to be the leaders of people who have long held far stronger convictions than they themselves do are rightfully suspect of being opportunists and deserve all the critical scrutiny their late entrance attracts.

Clark had an opportunity to run for Arkansas governor as a Democrat just last year. Had he done so he could have done us all a great favor by helping to rid AR of Huckabee and established his credilbility as a Democrat at the same time. But no, he wants the whole enchilada and just says "trust me - really - today I've decided I'm a Democrat."

That is not good enough. I don't trust him. He's 10th on my list.

[Kahuna]

33. Dean has the credibility problem. Inthat he is going around..

the country saying that until 25 days ago Clark was a republican. That's a boldfaced lie. As Clark's registration shows, he's not a republican, he's an independent. So don't talk about Clark's credibility. Clark is a very honest man. Dean is the liar who will say anything to win. That's why I can't stand him. :puke:

[DaveBpt]

13. Thank you Rowdy

Thank you Rowdy for your brief and intelligent answer. Hopefully this idiotic issue is at an end. The issue of Dean's registration would never have been pointed out if it hadn't been for repeated attacks by the Dean camp on General Clark's identification as a Democrat!

[JaneQPublic]

17. Wrong. Check out these voter registration forms from Ark. and Vt.

The Arkansas form. Note Block #6, where you identify Party Affiliation:

http://www.sosweb.state.ar.us/elections/elections_pdfs/voter/voter_reg_ap_ar.pdf

The Vermont Form. Note Block #7, whre you identify Party Affiliation:
http://www.fvap.gov/nvra/vt.pdf

To be perfectly accurate, in both states you certainly CAN choose party affiliation, but in neither state is it required.

[DemDogs]

20. So if you want to be a Democrat in Vt or Ark, you can

say so on your registration form. If being a Democrat is not important to you, you can leave it blank. I know how I would fill that form out, don't you? I'm pretty disappointed if Dean and Clark hedged their bets that way instead of standing up to be counted with the Democratic Party.

[JaneQPublic]

21. Remember, we still haven't seen proof Dean is NOT registered Dem

This was just a claim some guy made here without attribution, documentation, or a link to conclusive evidence.

Saying it doesn't make it so.

[SWPAdem]

34. Please note that the Arkansas registration form you cite

was revised in SEPTEMBER 2003. Previous forms may not have had a place to even indicate any party affiliation. This form is useless as evidence to prove your point. Look in the upper right corner......

[JaneQPublic]

36. Fine. Here's the PDF for the previous form -- also with party affiliation

Revised Nov 94.

http://www.fvap.gov/nvra/ar.pdf

Note Block #7, where Party Affiliation is indicated, if so desired.

You can also check the article titled "New Voter Registration Application" at the below link. It details the changes in the new form vs. the old one. Those changes do NOT include the addition of a Party Afffiliation Block where there was none before:

http://www.beebenews.com/pages/072403p5.pdf

Good catch, though, with the date thing. Nevertheless, it appears General Clark COULD have declared as a Democrat, if he were so inclined.

[eyesroll]

22. But is there a state party Clark or Dean could join?

For instance, I am a member of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. I filled out the form, paid my dues and got a membership card. It's the same, procedurally, as joining just about any other group, club or organization. I'm not sure if the DPW publicizes its membership list, so the press may not have a way to determine if I am a Democrat or not.

But, in Wisconsin, we don't have party "registration," per se. You can vote in whichever primary you choose, and you don't declare affiliation on the voter registration form or anywhere else. You can even run as a Democrat without officially joining.

[einsteins stein]

23. Hey, Clark Supporters, Show Us That Dean ISN"T A Registered Dem!

And I'll apologize.

Even though y'all were shown proof that Clark is NOT a registered dem, and you blew it off.

[Larkspur]

25. Dean was the chair of his town committee before running for state

office and you have to be a registered Democrat to be that.

I had to be a registered Democrat to be voted in on my town's Dem committee, and the chairperson does check out you party affiliation prior to asking you to join the committee.

[robbedvoter]

30. The myth is still alive - so again - party registration in some states

irrelevant. Let it go already.

[KittyWampus]

35. In Arkansas, About 5% Registered As Member Of ANY Party

I was doing some investigating and found that number... very few people in Arkansas register as anything other than a voter.

[JaneQPublic]

37. And how many of those voters are running for Prez as a Democrat?

Oh, that's right. Just one: Wesley.