Posted on 12/24/2011 8:20:24 AM PST by shield
For those coming in late, let me summarize*: both Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have been excluded from the Virginia Republican primary by the Virginia GOP. This has placed the VA GOP in an awkward situation, given that: they have excluded the current national and Virginian front-runner from their own ballot; have currently no write-in option on the ballot; do have an open primary that anyone can vote in; and generally have created an environment peculiarly suited for conspiracy theories involving Mitt Romney (and ones that wont contain the word Mormon anywhere in their description, by the way). The current defenses to all of this are rules are rules and any campaign that couldnt follow them are by definition poor campaigns: I will leave it to the individual reader to decide just how either argument will play in, say, Peoria; I am frankly of the opinion that the above defenses are well-suited towards reassuring Romney and/or Paul voters and will do very little to persuade the other 60-65% or so of likely Republican primary voters.
But since Im telling Mitt Romney what wont help his situation, it kind of behooves me to tell him what might.
(Excerpt) Read more at redstate.com ...
IF you'd rather NOT be pinged FReepmail me.
IF you'd like to be added FReepmail me. Thanks.
LOL. So why wasn’t this a problem in 2008 or prior to that? Blaming this on the state of VA is pure crap. The candidates knew the rules and should have complied with them. Romney, Paul, and Obama met the requirements. Why couldn’t Perry and Gingrich? If you are serious candidate, this shouldn’t happen.
Has anyone asked, ‘How many of Romney’s signatures were disqualified?’.
This reeks, and if there is precedent for it on this scale - EXCLUSIVE OF DEMOCRAT EVENTS - please point it out.
That said, if I were in Virginia I would follow the ABR rule for the primary and without hesitation.
“If you are serious candidate, this shouldnt happen.”
If the GOP were a serious party, Obama wouldn’t have happened.
I'll tell you what's pissing me off. Why is the News Meida, FReepers and the blogs all saying "Newt and Perry" didn't make the ballot? The fact is, Bachmann, Santorum, Huntsman, Gingrich, and Perry ALL didn't make the ballot. And I'll happily tell you why they are only referencing two...because if you focus on all five , then the STANDARD becomes the story instead of Perry and Newt and the quest to make them appear incompetant.
Pound sand. I hope you get your Obama back.
I burst out laughing at that. You are dead on.
What’s your (lame) point?
You're right. This is not the state's problem. It is a VIRGINIA GOP rule.
This is not a law. The State does not require the political parties to submit their candidate lists 3 1/2 months before the primary election. It is an in-house Virgina GOP rule. Which can and should be revised.
The RNC should decertify the Virginia GOP and refuse to recognize their delegates to the convention unless they amend the rule to conform with reality.
I am guessing the poster wants Rev Al for President, Newt for VP.
You are assuming that the insiders in charge in Virginia are honest, while I am assuming they are corrupt sob’s manipulating the rules to help their preferred butt boy Romney.
So, YES I am blaming the Virginia GOP insiders, who are trying to steal this primary and give it to Romney.
I agree, and it seems a bit insulting that they didn`t put in the ground-game efforts to ensure their names would be on the ballot.
I’ve had my tiffs with Perry and Gingrich. But if the GOP in Virginia keeps to this, Romney may end up on the ballot, but there is no way, no way in Cowboy Hell, I’ll cast a vote for him. I’ll sit it out, and the VA GOP can rest assured that they re-elected Obama.
VAs governor has, until this fiasco, been well regarded nationally..unlerss this gets fixed, and fats, he can forget ANY thoughts of the VP spot..
Central rule over local rule? Changing the rules after the vote? Shouldn't the RNC check with Republicans in Virginia first? This sounds too much like a Democrat argument to me.
But Newt knew the deadlines and so did the rest of the candidates. If they don't qualify then tough toenails. Either follow the fricking rules or get out of the game.
Before everyone jumps all over the gingrich campaign, heres a legal and political analyst talking about Virginias primary process:
“Want a sense of how next-to-impossible this is? I know top-flight Virginia political consultants who turned down lucrative petition project contracts from presidential campaigns because they did not think it could be done.”
http://www.ashby-law.com/better-things-to-do/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2824644/posts
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.