Loyal to the Party

An Appeals court has upheld the Texas Democratic Party's loyalty oath, similar to one Democrats are required to take in Alabama. It basically is a promise to support the eventual nominee. The decision is fine with me. I've always thought the political parties can pretty much do what they want, since their nomination procedure is akin to the local Rotary Club electing a president. The primaries are not government elections...they're private affairs. The real election is after the parties have selected their nominees. With that said, let me go onto my soapbox and say the parties should be required to pay for the process...reimbursing the state or local municipality if that's easier. Why the taxpayers pay for the primaries is a mystery to me.