Posted on 01/13/2012 1:49:52 PM PST by Quicksilver
Following a hearing in Richmond today, U.S. district judge John Gibney ruled against Rick Perry's challenge to the Virginia ballot rules.
In his opinion, Gibney says Perry, and the other candidates who joined the challenge, waited too long to bring the suit.
"They knew the rules in Virginia many months ago; the limitations on circulators affected them as soon as they began to circulate petitions," he writes. "They plaintiffs could have challenged the Virginia law at that time. Instead, they waited until after the time to gather petitions had ended and they had lost the political battle to be on the ballot; then, on the eve of the printing of absentee ballots, they decided to challenge Virginia's laws. In essence, they played the game, lost, and then complained that the rules were unfair."
The decision means Perry, as well as Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman, will not appear on the ballot in the state's March 6 primary.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
>> This wasn’t right at all. This was done in a hurry to help Mitt.
That’s right. So let’s encourage every VA GOP primary voter to select Ron Paul and relegate the VA GOP to the insignificance it sorely deserves.
Why is the GOP openly trying to exterminate conservatives?
totally agree with you.
Wish Paul would go away, please!
If we conservatives are going to be victimized by the Republican Establishment threatening us with RON PAUL in order to shove MITT ROMNEY down our throats, then why can’t that work in reverse?
The Establishment should be more fearful of Ron Paul as their lord and master. Maybe it is THEY who should dump ROMNEY and whip and spur their way over to our side and help the only three conservatives in the race. An obvious game of “chicken” between US and THEM it seems to me.
If it’s going to be a RON PAUL delegate take over attempt for brokered convention then it sounds like Senator Jim DeMint gets it. He is already raising a white flag of surrender, encouraging Republicans to take the best of Ron Paul’s platform, which is the abuse of the Constitution, and bring the regard for it back into the Party.
Cuz’ they’re too cool for school...
I have no idea what their #ing problem is.
C’mon, VA — take a stand!!!
If the Tea Party were organized they could become audible and start throwing their weight around by just voicing the intention to play chicken with the Establishment if that is the choice foisted upon us. Don’t they have to be FAR more concerned of being unemployed and out of power under PAUL, who can’t stand any of them, than we are?
DeMint and Palin’s hints were ridiculous to me as of this morning, but that VA judge buckling to Romney today snapped me out of it.
Taking the GOP up on its dare and winning will put them 6 feet under immediately, if not permanently.
I say, let’s do it.
For some reason I am thinking that the calendar clock is running out on the Establishment just as much as it is on us, and yet they STILL can’t get us corralled. South Carolina may be the tip of the sword for some of the Romney Establishment backers. Especially if we could get one out of three of our more genuine conservatives to make a race against Romney.
Thank God for Newt’s money. It has been the singular save from Romney taking off and already winning a sweep as he enters into Florida. Sheesh. I am praying over this and believe our candidate is there, if we can just find him and set him upright.
>> if that is the choice foisted upon us
Foisted it is indeed.
Good point regarding a mission for VA TEA.
Too late for new candidates, and a brokered convention ain’t going to work.
If we can’t knock down Mitt after FL, time for Panama plan B.
What is the criteria for a brokered convention anyway? If the Paulbots smoke the precincts, counties and state conventions, it does work, huh?
For some reason this generates an image of a sailing ship in a storm, where all hands are called on deck to trim sails and tack hard to starboard. Seas are high and a safe harbor is sought...
That “national” tea party, I believe they called themselves, announced their endorsement for Romney! Can you imagine that? Maybe three days ago.
No doubt an endorsement by some self-appointed jackass with too much free time.
Anyone who claims to be a TEA leader should be chastised.
When Palin and DeMint implored us to listen to Paul’s voters, they know those voters have zero chance of being harvested, even if he dropped out, which of course he won’t.
So if we all agree Paul’s votes won’t leave him...
And mitt has zero probability of caring what conservatives want...
And the GOP establishment is slowly killing off Newt and both Ricks..
There is only one way out if this doesn’t turn around, and soon.
Why not everyone write in Mickey Mouse on their ballot and deny both of them delegates!
Here is a LINK to the ruling.
http://media.trb.com/media/acrobat/2012-01/340069800-13125153.pdf
Re: banning petition circulators from out-of-state.
Pages 12-14 [the entire ruling is interesting and informative]
Buckley v Am. Constitutional Law Found., 525 U.S.182 (1999) which was used in Meyer v Grant, 486 U.S.414,421 (1988)...
Commonly referred to as “Buckley.” [In context of the First Amendment, the Court must “be vigilant....to guard against undue hindrances to political conversations and the exchange of ideas.”]
“Do you think they have our number or are we bugged?”
They have our number. Traditional conservatives, who are not as huge in number as we’d like to think, have a very bad habit of thinking that politics is about loud debate. That’s part of it, but it isn’t how elections are actually won. And the folks who know how to win elections and want to win have decided that it just isn’t worth the trouble to herd cats. They know that once the candidate is selected, the bulk of the traditional conservatives will vote for whomever that is regardless.
I think the Paul faction has laid out a good strategy for long term success and is acting on it. While I certainly don’t agree with the Paul faction on everything, I agree with enough. They and the gop-e will be in the drivers seat for the foreseeable future. I’m tired of being marginalized, so I plan to be a part of that.
“If we conservatives are going to be victimized by the Republican Establishment threatening us with RON PAUL in order to shove MITT ROMNEY down our throats, then why can’t that work in reverse?”
It could, but I don’t think it’ll happen. Traditional conservatives are too enthralled by the hot debate and too fractured to actually settle on a strategy that will help them to win. Plainly put, the traditional conservatives are leaderless. And I’m not so sure there is anyone who could emerge as a leader. The only name that comes to mind is Sarah Palin. And she apparently doesn’t want the job.
There are three broad ideological groups in the gop in my view. The traditional conservatives who are essentially leaderless, the gop-e led by mitt romney at this point and the newest group, the libertarians which are of course led by Ron and Rand Paul. The groups that have reasonably competent leadership and a strategy are going to be the ones that win. The gop-e and the libertarians have that. Traditional conservatives are going to find themselves wanting to go to the prom, but without a date.
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