# I thought you had to sign an oath to go to a Bush event **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603 "2004-10-28T02:18:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/1 "2004-10-28T02:18:42Z")
Did I make a mistake today? At my office all the staff except for one is voting for Kerry. Bush is going to be aobut a mile down the road tomorrow. So the one girl, I will call her Ann, is going and is very excited. She has a ticket. We were yelling down the hall to each other and she asked me if I was going and I said no because I would not sign the security oath. We had a yelling argument. I thought all the Bush events were carefully chosen people. Did I misunderstand that or did they stop doing it? She says 25,000 people will be there so obviously they can’t check on everyone like that. I heard (3rd hand) that people whose houses back up to the event location were visited by the Secret Service and told that they are not allowed to go into their backyards or to even look out their back windows. I hate it when I say something that is not true. Unless I’m trying to be funny. ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/2 "2004-10-28T02:20:07Z")
When I said security oath I meant, you know, some kind of loyalty thing. Of course I would not do anything dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/3 "2004-10-28T03:26:16Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > Did I make a mistake today? > > At my office all the staff except for one is voting for Kerry. Bush is going to be aobut a mile down the road tomorrow. So the one girl, I will call her Ann, is going and is very excited. She has a ticket. We were yelling down the hall to each other and she asked me if I was going and I said no because I would not sign the security oath. We had a yelling argument. I thought all the Bush events were carefully chosen people. Did I misunderstand that or did they stop doing it? She says 25,000 people will be there so obviously they can’t check on everyone like that. > > I heard (3rd hand) that people whose houses back up to the event location were visited by the Secret Service and told that they are not allowed to go into their backyards or to even look out their back windows. > > I hate it when I say something that is not true. Unless I’m trying to be funny. I don’t doubt the thing about the houses. That sounds like SOP for the Secret Service to prevent a sniper attack. But the whole thing about a security oath is BS. I’ve never had to sign one when I went to a Bush event. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/2bfe46/32.png) [@John\_Carter\_of\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Carter_of_Mars)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/4 "2004-10-28T03:29:08Z")
Sounds like an urban legend to me, but I don’t have any first hand knowledge. Requiring attendees to sign some sort of form wouldn’t be a very good way to win new voters, and isn’t that the purpose of these campaign speeches? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/5 "2004-10-28T03:47:45Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > Did I make a mistake today? > > At my office all the staff except for one is voting for Kerry. Bush is going to be aobut a mile down the road tomorrow. So the one girl, I will call her Ann, is going and is very excited. She has a ticket. We were yelling down the hall to each other and she asked me if I was going and I said no because I would not sign the security oath. We had a yelling argument. I thought all the Bush events were carefully chosen people. Did I misunderstand that or did they stop doing it? She says 25,000 people will be there so obviously they can’t check on everyone like that. > > I heard (3rd hand) that people whose houses back up to the event location were visited by the Secret Service and told that they are not allowed to go into their backyards or to even look out their back windows. > > I hate it when I say something that is not true. Unless I’m trying to be funny. You know, if you’re unsure of whether the signed affirmation of endorsement thing is still being done, it might have been more to the point to say you weren’t planning to attend because you didn’t have a ticket. And then if she miraculously obtained a ticket for you, you could go wearing your “Kerry/Edwards” T-shirt, and let her see how you were received by the event organizers. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/6 "2004-10-28T03:58:13Z")
:dubious: Unless y’all are kidding, the thread about this not being an urban legend is currently back on the first page of this forum. > **[Repugs insist on oath for demos to hear Cheney speech.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=269201)** > > So they thought some people might protest. Well whoop dee doo. If you can’t take the heat…get out of the race. The politics of exclusion. Works well I’m sure. Of course that doesn’t mean that that event includes a loyalty oath. But it’s been done. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/7 "2004-10-28T04:07:19Z")
The reports were from a Cheney event. The loyalty oath got so much scorn, not only because it was a loyalty oath, but because whoever wrote it was a moron. > [@](#): > > [Republicans Sign Along the Dotted Line](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31019-2004Jul31.html) (includes picture of shirt) > > Political campaigns are always eager to keep hecklers out of their pep rallies, but the Republican National Committee took that desire to a new level last week, requiring supporters to sign an oath of loyalty before receiving tickets to Saturday’s New Mexico rally featuring Vice President Cheney. > > The Albuquerque Journal reported on Friday that people seeking tickets to the Cheney event who could not be identified as GOP partisans – contributors or volunteers – were told they could not receive tickets unless they signed an endorsement form saying “I, (full name) . . . do **herby** (sic) endorse George W. Bush for **reelection of the United States**.” The form warns that signers “are consenting to use and release of your name by Bush-Cheney as an endorser of President Bush.” > … Reinforcing cite: [Albequerque Journal](http://www.abqjournal.com/elex/204620elex07-30-04.htm) This is more the kind of thing that happens: > [@](#): > > [Civil liberties trio says theirs were denied](http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2004/1020/local/stories/05local.htm) > > Medford teacher Tania Tong never imagined that a few words on a T-shirt would propel her onto the national political stage. > > Tong, 34, and two other local women were escorted out of President George Bush’s rally in Central Point Thursday because they wore T-shirts that stated, “Protect our civil liberties.” > > “I think that it’s ironic,” she said. “We had this non-offensive statement about protecting our civil liberties, but our civil liberties were denied.” > … ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/8 "2004-10-28T04:10:15Z")
Disregard that “(includes picture of shirt)” which was meant for the 3rd cite. I got distracted, didn’t preview, and I’m a dirty bird (/American Graffiti). ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/9 "2004-10-28T05:49:34Z")
Could be worse, you could have a Bush campaign staffer [threaten to have you shot](http://www.dmregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041016/NEWS09/410160329/1001) for displaying less-than-desired levels of support for King George: > [@](#): > > One of the latest incidents came when John Sachs, 18, a Johnston High School senior and Democrat, went to see Bush in Clive last week. Sachs got a ticket to the event from school and wanted to ask the president about whether there would be a draft, about the war in Iraq, Social Security and Medicare. > > But when he got there, a campaign staffer pulled him aside and made him remove his button that said, “Bush-Cheney '04: Leave No Billionaire Behind.” The staffer quizzed him about whether he was a Bush supporter, asked him why he was there and what questions he would be asking the president. > > “Then he came back and said, **‘If you protest, it won’t be me taking you out. It will be a sniper,’** ” Sachs said. “He said it in such a serious tone it scared the crap out of me.” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/10 "2004-10-28T10:31:05Z")
**Crossing Guard Threatens to Kill Children** _Ignore that hearsay behind the curtain!_ > [@](#): > > One of the latest incidents came when Little Johnny, 8, a Johnston Elementary School third-grader, went to the intersection to cross the street last week. Johnny was assigned the intersection by his school, and wanted to ask the principal whether he could use the other intersection, about the dress code, school lunches, and an upcoming assembly. > > But when he got there, a crossing guard pulled him aside and made him remove silly string hanging from his nostrils. The guard quizzed him about whether he understood school policy, asked him if his parents had read the policy booklet, and what questions he would ask the principal. > > “Then she came back and said, ‘If you jump into the road, it won’t be me squashing you like a bug. It will be a truck,’” Little Johnny said. “She said it in such a serious manner that it scared the crap out of me.” ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/11 "2004-10-28T11:12:25Z")
At a local event here in Michigan, there wasn’t a loyalty oath but they weren’t to happy about anyone showing Kerry support. From [here](http://www.northernexpress.com/editorial/features.asp?id=554) > [@](#): > > The Civic Center, a county-owned recreational complex, had been rented to the Republican National Committee for the day. At least one woman, local teacher Kathryn Mead, was denied access to the event, even though she had a ticket, when she refused to remove her sticker in support of John Kerry. Others were forced to remove political buttons. And liberal, I know strawmen are in season this time of year, but :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/12 "2004-10-28T11:16:27Z")
> [@Harborwolf](#): > > And liberal, I know strawmen are in season this time of year, but :rolleyes: A strawman is an argument concocted for the purpose of addressing it, rather than the argument made. In this case, the argument made was that the hearsay statement from the article, “If you protest, it won’t be me taking you out. It will be a sniper,” constituted a threat from the person allegedly speaking rather than from the alleged sniper. Those are the points I addressed. Therefore, your strawman accusation is mendacious. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/13 "2004-10-28T12:58:08Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > A strawman is an argument concocted for the purpose of addressing it, rather than the argument made. In this case, the argument made was that the hearsay statement from the article, “If you protest, it won’t be me taking you out. It will be a sniper,” constituted a threat from the person allegedly speaking rather than from the alleged sniper. Those are the points I addressed. Therefore, your strawman accusation is mendacious. I know, but usin all a them big words and following it up with a rolleyes smiley hardly seemed suitable. At any rate, I apologize. Care to address the original post or haven’t you used all of your witticisms up yet 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/14 "2004-10-28T13:19:45Z")
So let me see if I follow the analogy correctly. A child jumps out in the road, and everyone understands that by doing so, he’s risking his own life, and so we therefore start and end our safety lesson by admonishing the child; of course nobody thinks to question whether trucks should be driving on the road in the first place. A person at a Bush event wears a snarky anti-Bush button, and everyone understands that if he makes any more noise, he’ll be shot to death, and so we therefore start and end our safety lesson by admonishing the hcild; of course nobody thinks to question whether snipers ought to be firing on protestors in the first place. Gotcha. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/15 "2004-10-28T13:21:50Z")
:smack: Hate it when a single word torpedoes a post. Try the second part of the analogy again: > [@](#): > > A person at a Bush event wears a snarky anti-Bush button, and everyone understands that if he makes any more noise, he’ll be shot to death, and so we therefore start and end our safety lesson by admonishing the **protestor** ; of course nobody thinks to question whether snipers ought to be firing on protestors in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/16 "2004-10-28T13:41:10Z")
Excellent post despite the typo, **Left**. As I think has been welld-demonstrated now, the Bush campaign did use loyalty oaths, but someone realized they were a horrible, horrible, horrible idea (not only because they’re unamerican) so they’ve stopped. However, there are still regular reports that the Bush campaign is screening and kicking people out that might not agree with him. Y’know, because dissent is treason. I’ll be glad when those bastards get sent back to Texas. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/17 "2004-10-28T13:47:03Z")
Why not sign the oath with an assumed name, and wear a shirt over a Kerry T shirt. During the rally, take off the outer shirt and put on a Kerry button which you hid in your pants pocket. You’ll get booted, but you can make your point. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/18 "2004-10-28T14:25:22Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Why not sign the oath with an assumed name, and wear a shirt over a Kerry T shirt. During the rally, take off the outer shirt and put on a Kerry button which you hid in your pants pocket. Because then you’d be shot. Or hit by a truck. I’m sort of unclear on that. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/19 "2004-10-28T14:26:32Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > So let me see if I follow the analogy correctly. > > A child jumps out in the road, and everyone understands that by doing so, he’s risking his own life, and so we therefore start and end our safety lesson by admonishing the child; of course nobody thinks to question whether trucks should be driving on the road in the first place. > > A person at a Bush event wears a snarky anti-Bush button, and everyone understands that if he makes any more noise, he’ll be shot to death, and so we therefore start and end our safety lesson by admonishing the [protestor]; of course nobody thinks to question whether snipers ought to be firing on protestors in the first place. > > Gotcha. > Daniel I had assumed that the hearsay reference was to a Secret Service sniper. I would expect there to be at least half a dozen of them. Today’s protestors are too young to recall the hazards of protesting from Watts in '68 to Kent State in '70, but were I there protesting, I would not trust the judgment of a government gunman to discern some sudden spasmodic gesture on my part from a sudden threatening gesture against the president. When one is crashing the party where POTUS is secured, one ought to be mindful of Newton’s first law. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603/20 "2004-10-28T14:49:53Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Because then you’d be shot. Or hit by a truck. I’m sort of unclear on that. But the outrage would be great enough you could tip the election. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-thought-you-had-to-sign-an-oath-to-go-to-a-bush-event/271603.md?page=2)