>> There are 5 million registered voters in VA. Each Congressional District contains about 650,000 people. Getting 400 registered voters from each district is not a high bar to set, particularly if you can get any voter regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof. >>
Any “bar” is high when there is only stupidity and bureaucracy behind the very reason to set it. If it takes ten minutes and three dollars to do - but is of zero value - then the “bar” is too high.
Campaigns cost a ton of money, and this little exercise in irrelevance is one reason why. This whole thing costs the campaigns and the state a ton of money and for what? Nothing constructive.
Anyone who complains about taxes and the cost of political campaigns but who supports this kind of mindless bureaucratic exercise is simply being intellectually foolish an hypocritical to an amazing degree.
And your post also misses another obvious point: that there are 2 or 3 congressional districts that are clearly VERY liberal so why should a candidate have to get a single signature there? This election is statewide with zero applicability to congressional districts.
I really don’t give a fk what your idea of “too high of a bar” is because you apparently have some sick (liberal) appreciation of bureaucracy and stupid rules for rules sake. The rule accomplishes zip zero nada and therefore should be challenged. And in this country, you challenge rules or laws when you have standing. Perry and Newt and three other campaigns now have standing.
Let the challenges begin. I predict VGOP loses - both the technical argument and the PR war.
Give me a break. Each Congressional district in VA is composed of 650,000 people. Two of the 3 Congressional districts controlled by the Dems are here in Northern Viginia (Moran in the 8th and Connelly in the 10th) Both districts are partially in Fairfax County where Newt and I live. It was a very close election in 2010 in the 10th district. All Newt's people had to do was to go to a monthly GOP county meeting and collect the need signatures. The FCRC has over 600 members alone. Loudon and Arlington County plus Falls Church and Alexandria have their own GOP committees.
The state law is what it is. It was approved by the legislature, which must have felt that to be representative of the state and not just one area, a presidential candidate hopeful had to show statewide support. It also would eliminate the number of fringe candidates so that you had a more realistic slate of candidates. And the state foots the bill for administering the primaries.
I really don't understand the problem. It seems it has worked up until now. The following had no problem getting on the primary ballot:
2008 – Barack Obama, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, John Edwards; Ron Paul, John McCain, Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney.
2004 – Al Sharpton, John Kerry, Wesley Clark, Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Gephardt, Lyndon Larouche.
2000 – Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, George W. Bush, John McCain, Steve Forbes.
So, apparently, Lyndon Larouche, Al Sharpton, Alan Keyes, Fred Thompson and Dennis Kucinich ran better organized campaigns for their party nominations than Gingrich and Perry.