Posted on 07/13/2012 9:00:22 PM PDT by techno
The complete Virgil Goode rundown:
The ten most asked questions about Virgil Goode and why he matters:
1) Who is Virgil Goode?
He is a former GOP Congressman from Virginia who was defeated in the 2010 election. He is now the presidential nominee for the Constitution Party, a third party.
2) How long has the Constitution Party been around?
About 20 years.
3) I hear that Virgil Goode is NOT yet on the Virginia presidential ballot. Will he fail to get on the ballot.
To give you some perspective, in 2004 and 2008 the Constitution Party presidential nominee was on the Virginia presidential ballot. As Goode is a resident of Virginia and a former Congressman, do you really think he would not know the ins and outs of getting on the ballot, which requires him to get 10,000 signatures with at least 400 from each congressional district. As of June 6, 2012 via the Martinsville Bulletin, a local newspaper, Goode had already collected 4000 signatures. And the article concluded that the Constitution Party had as of that date already collected enough signatures to be on the ballot in 17 states.
4) Third party presidential candidates don't normally a cause a ripple through the process. What's different about Virgil Goode?
Let's put it this way, if the presidential election were decided by popular vote, Goode wouldn't matter. But presidential elections are decided in the electoral college.
5)What do you mean Techno?
There are certain states which are called battleground or swing states in which either the Democratic presidential nominee could win but by the same token the GOP presidential nominee could prevail as well. There are ten or so states in the 2012 electoral college which could be considered battleground states based on recent presidential elections and current polling. Virginia is one of those states. And it is not out of the ordinary for the winner of a battleground state to win by a margin of less than 2%.
6) So again why is Goode important to Romney's chances to become president?
Because Goode apparently is far more popular in Virginia than any other state. A Public Policy poll (PPP) in May found that Goode would garner 5% of the vote in Virginia in the presidential election against Obama and Romney. And now a couple of days ago, Goode increased his share of the vote to 9% with Obama collected 49% of the vote and Romney 35%. Without Goode in the mix it would be Obama 50% and Romney 42%. And for those not schooled in the electoral college, the winner of the popular vote in the presidential race in Virgina earns Virginia's 13 electoral votes in 2012. And that now appears to be Obama and not Romney.
7) Are you saying Techno that Goode is taking away way more voters away from Romney than he is Obama?
Exactly, that is what I am saying, But I am NOT the only one saying that. Local Virginia pundits are saying that as well. And PPP in its summary of the poll found that too. If you don't believe me, go over to the PPP web site and read it for yourself.
8)Techno, I'm lazy. I don't want to go over to PPP and read their s*it. Could you give me a brief synopsis?
Alright brother and sister. Under the Obama--Romney--Goode scenario in Virginia here is how the vote breaks down in four demographics: very conservative voters, somewhat conservative voters, Republicans and independents:
----------------------OBAMA--------ROMNEY-----GOODE
VERY CONSERVATIVE-------7-----------84----------7
SOMEWHAT CONSERVATIVE---19----------55----------14
REPUBLICANS-------------9-----------78----------9
INDEPENDENTS------------45----------26----------17
It doesn't take a genius to figure out Goode hurts Romney way more than he hurts Obama.
9) But don't third party bids eventually fizzle out?
Yes, that is the rule of thumb nationally. But in Virginia Goode ahs gained 4% in support since May and he's not even on the Virginia ballot yet. Even if he drops back to his previous level of support of 5% that would still be enough to sink Romney's ship in Virginia in a close contest.
10) Techno, could you explain why Virginia is so important?
It comes down to the number of electoral votes (EV) in the electoral college. The general consensus among the folks who do it for a living is that President Obama currently sits at 247 EV when you include all the safe blue states and those states leaning to Obama (likely to win). If Obama wins VA, a battleground state, that takes him to 260 EV and therefore only needs 10 more EV to hit the 270 EV threshold to win re-election. And here are the four swing states which Obama must win these 10 votes again based on a consensus of experts: Iowa (6), NH(4), Nevada (6) and Colorado (9). Obama is currently enjoying a small margin in the polls in every state but Iowa and is running neck and neck with Romney there.
Of course the dynamic of the race could shift in the next three months or so but it appears Obama has the edge in winning Colorado and its 9 EV. If he did that he would reach 269 EV and would only need to win one of the remaining three states to get a second term.
As for Mitt Romney if he loses Virginia, assuming he wins the other huge 4 swing states of Ohio, NC, Indiana and Florida and reaches 253 EV, Romney would be forced to win Colorado to have any chance of winning the presidency in the electoral college. The best he could hope for otherwise is a tie (269-269) in which case the contest goes to the House of Representatives.
One other element to consider: In 2008 President Obama won 1 EV in Nebraska who allots it EV by whoever wins the congressional district. Obama actually won this district (Omaha) by 9.77% which is a pretty hefty margin. If Obama could again win this district and on top of it win Virginia and Colorado that would take him to 270 EV on the button and Romney would be denied regardless of what he did in Iowa, NH and Nevada.
A final note: If Romney can win Virginia with Ohio, NC, Indiana and Florida he would then be at 266 EV. He would then not be forced to win Colorado but would only have to be victorious in Iowa to become the new president.
And that folks is why Team Obama has had many sleepless nights over the past 3 years. Virgil Goode is a godsend for Obama and his team.
oh you came up with a clever lil line - how cute! It will make an awesome bumper sticker for obama’s 2nd term. At least for the first 6 months when you can afford gas.
Next to Ron Paul, Mittens was my last choice. He isn’t the ideal Conservative candidate but I don’t think he will even come close to causing the damage Zero has. As I learned in my EMT days, the first thing you do is save the victim’s life. Unfortunately, this is where we are as a country. If we continue on our current path as a nation, we are dead. We need to get the country out of “Critical Condition” before we can worry about restoring quality of life. Sitting this election out or voting 3rd Party is a non-starter.
I cut to the bone. Which pro-abortion, anti-gun, big government candidate are you pushing?
Because I won't vote for anyone like that.
You are avoiding the question.
/johnny
How come you didn’t answer his question?
Probably because it isn’t a question.
I know my answer to it.
Yep, the fallout is gonna suck sissors. Such is life.
I don't have to enjoy anything. I do have to do what is right.
/johnny
As long as the two-party leftist big gubmint cabal puts up Zero and Willard, I will vote for Goode over evil.
Virgil detests Obama. And he doesn't like RINOs like George Allen. I understand why some Reps will be unhappy with him running, but Virgil is his own man. I won't be voting for him because I want VA to go to Romney in order to defeat Obama, but many VA conservatives will vote for Goode.
Virgil Goode Ping!
That person would still be far less of a fool than the idiots who vote for twin socialists and gay agenda advocates Obonghit or Romneycare.
Ah, so if a candidate is put forward that isn't Democratic or Republican they're pretend?
...hm, I wonder if the Democratic-Republican party and Whig party said the same thing.
The Republican party is so underwhelming in pursuing its stated platform planks that I'm surprised they're at all in any power.
Abortion -- aside from banning partial-birth abortions, where the child is murdered literally as it's being born, what strides towards ending abortion has the Republican-party made?
Fiscal responsibility -- what have they done to encourage this? Especially since congress is required by law (Congressional Budget Act) to pass a budget.
Government Accountability -- How long has it taken to get anything, anything done with respect to Fast & Furious? Ah, well, I mean F&F wasn't that big a deal, only: 1. violating domestic laws; 2. violating treaties; 3. an unauthorized act of war; 4. state sponsored terrorism; 5. treason*.
(* All that would be needed to convict the F&F players of treason is to show that the drug cartels are enemies of the several states; F&F was providing both arms [aid] and legal protections [comfort] to the cartels.)
Smaller government -- When was the last time a government agency was cut? (This does not include simply rolling the employees up into another agency.)
Yeah; unless the GOP starts to actually do what it says then I see no reason to aid its existence by voting for its candidates.
And people who vote for either will properly be chastised for suporting homosexuality, abortion, and socialism.
Get used to it.
Very, very used to it.
Because if you vote for either of them that consequence will be with you for a very long time.
Unless, of course you vote quietly and secretely and nobody ever knows.
“Probably because it isn’t a question.”
Really? It sure looks like a question to me. It has the form of a question. In fact it’s not an especially difficult question: it requires an answer from a set containing only two members.
Supposed to be a cease fire, or something.
One way kind of street, mind you...
/johnny
There must be many stupid conservatives in VA. No matter how you slice it, simple logic dictates that a vote for Goode is a vote for Obama.
nice that you finally admit there are only two candidates - that’s a step in the right direction
It remains to be seen who Romney nominates as VP, but if he isn't a conservative, more people will vote for Goode who is the real thing.
Set A. Those candidates that support abortion, are anti-gun and for big government.
Set B. Those candidates that are against killing babies, believe in allowing humans to have firearms, and want to reduce government.
Howzabout those sets?
/johnny
The Democratic-Republican Party(Jefferson, Madison, Monroe) and the Whig Party (Clay, Harrison, Webster) were one of the two major parties of their time. D-R party was paired with the Federalists, and for a time was the only party during Monroe and JQ Adams. The Whigs were the opposition to the Jacksonian Democrats. Your examples were not third parties, they were the major ones. A better example you should have chosen was the Know Nothing Party. Even they had way more support then today’s fringe third parties.
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