Kucinich not allowed on Texas primary ballot

Houston Chronicle:

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel of Austin today ruled against Dennis Kucinich's bid to get on the Democratic presidential primary ballot in Texas. State party officials excluded Kucinich from the March 4 ballot because he had refused to sign a pledge to support all Democratic nominees. Yeakel upheld the party's decision.

Yeakel ruled that the Texas Democratic Party's right to set rules about who can associate with it outweighed Kucinich's free speech rights.

Yeakel said if Kucinich did not want to sign the Democratic Party's loyalty oath, he was free to run for president as a Republican, a third party candidate or as an independent.

Kucinich had signed the oath in his 2004 presidential bid but refused to do so this time. The oath would have required him to promise to "fully" support the party's presidential nominee if it was someone other than himself.

Kucinich attorney Donald McTigue of Columbus, Ohio, said the difference this time is the war in Iraq is much more prominent and that Kucinich did not want to back a nominee who would not promise to pull out of Iraq.

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I predict that this will have little to no impact on the Texas Democrat primary. While Willy Nelson may miss voting for him again, not many other people will. What I am still trying to figure out is why Bill Richardson wanted to compete with this guy for the extreme kooks of the Democrat base.