Replies

“.....If they end up on the ballot this will turn out be a blessing in disguise, as there is no such thing as bad press.”

Interesting excerpt from the comments section of HillBuzz:

“...Ever since the Dems changed the rules in 1999 to make it harder to get on the ballot, the rules have not been enforced. In fact, the DNC has given waivers to its candidates who did not obtain enough signatures....” bttt

See full exchange below:

HillBuzz 12/26/2011

Comments section:
http://hillbuzz.org/hillbuzz-open-thread-boxing-day-2011-2011#idc-container

Layla · 4 hours ago

.......People in Virginia are abuzz with the news that Rick Perry’s and Newt Gingrich’s names will not appear on the primary ballot. There will be only two candidates for whom to vote: Ron Paul and Mitt Romney. Write-ins are not allowed in the Virginia primary. The Virginia GOP, which is responsible for verifying signature petitions, is going to catch a lot of flak over this, since this is the first year the signatures have been fully verified - by either the DNC or the RNC. This is also the first year that the voting rolls have been computerized, so it was not as painstaking to verify signatures in previous years. Also noteworthy, though, is that this is the first year the strict rules for getting on the ballot are going to be enforced. Ever since the Dems changed the rules in 1999 to make it harder to get on the ballot, the rules have not been enforced. In fact, the DNC has given waivers to its candidates who did not obtain enough signatures. I would not want to be manning the RNC phones this week.

Kevin DuJan · 3 hours ago

The RNC’s phones should receive Hell all week. Absolute Hell. Something tells me we need to help make that happen.

Layla · 2 hours ago

I am in a wait-and-see mode, Kevin. There is no doubt the RPV is in tight with the elitist Republicans. The Lt. Gov. of Virginia is Romney’s campaign chair and personally delivered his petitions. No judge in Virginia is appointed due to legal accument or adherence to the U.S. or State Constitutions - they are appointed based on their efforts to get the appointer elected. From what I have been able to glean from research, the minimum number is signatures is 10,000 with at least 400 signatures from each of the 11 districts. BUT, if you turn in over 15,000 signatures, they are not verified. Romney and Paul did. ..... Romney started collecting signatures this past summer. Ron Paul started gathering signatures in September. Bachmann, Santorum, and Huntsman did not even try to get on the ballot in Virginia. Perhaps it is not a battleground state after all.

Lady Penguin says:
2011/12/26 at 8:23 am

.....I live in Virginia. Everyone is making a big deal about Newt, but the Perry situation is also noteworthy. Jerry Kilgore, his Va. campaign manager, is a former Va. Attorney General (2001-2005), also ran for governor in 2005 but lost to Democrat Tim Kaine. He should have known, and paid close attention.

That said, the GOP looks bad with this…and have made Va. irrelevant in the primaries. Many people will stay home and not vote if the choices are Romney and Paul. The establishment ignores the fact that McCain got as “many” votes as he did because of Sarah on the ballot – without her, his loss would have been far greater. IOW, we’re not just going to go for Romney…