It just goes on and on and on. Virginia has a tough election primary law which requires a candidate to present 10,000 signatures from registered voters, and at least 400 of those signatures to come from each of Virginia's ten Congressional districts. Yeah, it's a tough law. So you need to activate an organization several months ahead of the deadline to get the petitions done. But this year, only Ron Paul and Mitt Romney were the only two candidates who actually took it seriously and got on the ballot.
Rick Perry just filed a federal lawsuit against the Virginia Ballot Law. We hear a lot of Texas politicians talk about frivolous lawsuits, but when the law does not suit Rick Perry, he is delighted to sponsor a silly lawsuit.
Gingrich? He has criticized the law as a "flawed system" but has not sponsored a lawsuit. At first he mentioned running a write-in campaign, but that talk has now died down because that would be illegal in a Virginia primary election, so it really would not help his chances any.
Eric Fehrnstrom, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney, told the New York Times that the failures of Gingrich and Perry to organize their campaigns in Virginia "is like watching a hitter in the World Series failing to lay down a bunt." Yup, that covers it. A presidential candidate who does not bother to actually hire somebody who knows election law, or hires him but then ignores him, is that the guy you want taking the 3:00 a.m. call about a nuclear face off? Not really.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia voiced his opposition to the Virginia ballot law as a horrible restraint on voter freedom. Cooch just happens to be a right winger who is not fond of Romney. Gee Cooch, would you have uttered so much as a peep on this law if it had hurt a Democratic Party candidate that you feared might actually beat a Republican in Virginia? Don't make me laugh, Cooch.
I also look at all this absurd posturing and compare it to Republican attitudes about the Electoral College, another silly interference with the popular will. Do any of them have a problem with that? Hell no they don't. They think it is just wonderful to continue to run the risk of what happened in the year 2000- the installation of a President who actually came in second in the popular vote by a couple hundred thousand votes nationally. Why is this not a bad thing? Well, they mumble about states right's and the importance of the rural electorate but bottom line, the electoral college currently favors Republican candidates, or at least we assume so because GWB was a Republican and it saved his butt.
How many times have you heard a Republican Politician lay into the Whiners of America, how many times have you heard one rant about the importance of hard work and having the guts to live with your own mistakes. In this warm weather we are having in Virginia, the stench of Bull***t is overpowering. I wish for a blizzard to clear the air.
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Comments: 8
Not that it matters. Virginia has its primary on March 6 (Super Tuesday) along with 9 other states. But before that date there will have already been 12 primaries and caucuses!! The Republican system, even with the tweaks this year, is front loaded to ensure quick selection of the nominee, and Romney...er, the nominee whomever it might be...is likely going to be known well before Virginia residents go to the primary polls.
So Gingrich and Perry and others are merely using their own failures to get a ton of free air time for their campaigns, as well as rile up their base supporters to get them to the polls. Politics as usual - create a controversy to get the rabid followers out the door (and donations in the door).
In this particular case, given the supposed 'pro-business' stance of the candidates in question, I am wondering whether they were really interested, or if the wealthy really concur that they are pro-business.
It's good for a laugh, though.