Yes, many VA voters are only now learning about the state’s ballot access law. BUT, the candidates - or at least their campaign managers - knew the VA law since at least the time they announced. Most of those managers have known for several election cycles. They knew the fairly standard rules the RPV would follow for two months.
Remember, these campaign managers are professionals who work campaigns for a living. They know the ins and outs of politics and election laws, how campaigns are (or should be) run. They knew what they had to do and didn’t get the job done. They let down their candidates and the voters.
I’m not buying that either Perry or Newt isn’t an ‘establishment candidates’ for purposes of this discussion. Gingrich was once Speaker of the House, and 2rd in line of succession to the presidency, behind only the VPOTUS. Perry is and has been governor of one of the biggest states in the Union for 12 years. They are not novices. Perry certainly has never, since the day he announced, been without vast funds behind him. It might make sense for a Santorum or Bachmann not to expend their scant resources to get on the VA ballot, but Perry, and to a lesser extent Newt, are not in that category. There’s really no excuse.
The only thing that will get them on the ballot now is if the subsection of the law that’s being challenged in Perry’s suit that Newt and the others are joining is deemed unconstitutional. Interestingly, they are not challenging the 10K signatures/addresses, etc., but only that the law requires the signature collector to be a qualified voter in VA. Who knows how that will turn out?
Once again, its not about which campaign did or did not do the right thing in getting on the ballot. Its about voters being denied the right to pick the candidate.
The political parties wanted the rules to be like this so that they can be in control. Its all about control and thats how the Republicans have come up with such horrible candidates in the past.
The Republican Party of Virginia is ramming Mitt Romney down our throats pure and simple and in the end Virginia might not turn red after all.
But as long as the party gets to maintain conrol, that is more important than beating the democrats and I believe that wholehearedly.
Cuccinlli should have kept his mouth shut on this matter completely rather than go through the motions of pretending to care about the disenfranchised voters and then changing his story to now care about being fair to Romney and Paul.