DUMB IDEA OF THE DAY….Via Instapundit, it looks like the South Carolina Democratic Party has come up with a pretty dumb idea:
Voters who appear at their polling places will be asked to sign an oath swearing that ?I consider myself to be a Democrat? before casting their ballots.
….State Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin, who noted the rule had been on the party books since 1976, stressed the oath doesn?t bind voters in any way. He said voters ? especially independents and disaffected Republicans ? should feel free to participate in the primary.
Now, this article stretches things by continually calling this a “loyalty oath.” What’s more, I have mixed feelings about open primaries anyway. Although they generally help produce more moderate candidates ? something I like ? I can’t help but think that if you’re going to vote in a Democratic primary then you ought to be a Democrat.
Still, even with all those caveats, this is a PR disaster. How can Erwin seriously expect “disaffected Republicans” to vote if they have to sign a statement saying that they consider themselves to be Democrats?
Dumb.
UPDATE: Apparently Erwin has decided to drop the voter pledge. Good for him.
