Va Primary: Gingrich, Perry fail to get on ballot.

[JimBowie1958]

Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman did not submit signatures with Virginia's State Board of Elections by Thursday's 5 p.m. deadline and will not be on the primary ballot.

Bachmann, Santorum and Huntsman miss Virginia primary deadline | Richmond Times-Dispatch

OMG! There is no "side" to FACTS. This had NOTHING to do with Romney.

Next you'll be telling me John Gotti had an alibi. And a blow job isn't really sex so Clinton wasn't technically lying.

For a fight you have no interest in, since you won't vote for ANYONE the GOP produces, no matter how bad Obama messes up the country, you seem awfully committed to who our nominee should be.

"Please don't throw me into the briar patch, B'rer Fox."

I'm sorry Joe. You've jumped the shark on this one and I still want Newt to be your nominee.

Your fervor for Romnuts puts the lie to what you claim.

And to answer the question you put to Joe, Romnuts people made the GOP validation process so onerous that many pros refused to take jobs getting those signatures, and the three candidates you named simply didnt bother.

So yes, Romnuts hacks kept all five off the ballot with the machinations of the typical political crony network.

 

[JimBowie1958]

A mistake I learned the hard way, unfortunately.

Here's the ironic thing, guy.

If Romney's the nominee, I'll vote for Obama, and I'll be on here taking up Obama's case.

Not because I want to. Obama has been the worst president of my lifetime. Carter takes on a new dignity by comparison.

But Romney is just a scummy human being.

For what it's worth, I can't in good conscience vote for either of them. I have no respect for Romney at all, and Obama has been little more than a third Dubya term, in my opinion.

I suspect I will go and vote for whatever warm body the Libertarian Party puts up there in order to preserve their ballot access for the next time around, then go punish my liver at the local watering hole. What else can one do?

Unfortunately, that's pretty close to my plan.

Same here, but I might write in 'Anybodybutromnuts'. But might not do that since his cronies will be counting the votes and might decde that looks close enough to Romney to count it as intended for him.

 

[L.K.Eder]

^rom-nuts keeping the real candidates off the ballot.

 

[JimBowie1958]

And a blow job isn't really sex so Clinton wasn't technically lying.

Actually, that was Gingrich's defense.

Manning first alleged in 1995 that she had had an affair with Gingrich, telling Vanity Fair, “We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, ‘I never slept with her.’”

Newt Gingrich | Adultery | Anne Manning | The Daily Caller

Nice.

Yeah, and paid whores are so reliable when they smear people.

And your "It's a conspiracy" schtick is pretty pathetic.

And people that assert disqualifying five of seven candidates is fair are fascist douchebags.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Next you'll be telling me John Gotti had an alibi. And a blow job isn't really sex so Clinton wasn't technically lying.

For a fight you have no interest in, since you won't vote for ANYONE the GOP produces, no matter how bad Obama messes up the country, you seem awfully committed to who our nominee should be.

"Please don't throw me into the briar patch, B'rer Fox."

I'm sorry Joe. You've jumped the shark on this one and I still want Newt to be your nominee.

Your fervor for Romnuts puts the lie to what you claim.

And to answer the question you put to Joe, Romnuts people made the GOP validation process so onerous that many pros refused to take jobs getting those signatures, and the three candidates you named simply didnt bother.

So yes, Romnuts hacks kept all five off the ballot with the machinations of the typical political crony network.

Romnuts wrote the Virginia Law years ago so that in 2012 some candidates would choose not to gather signatures?

That makes no sense.

Sounds as crazy as the idea that conspirators got Obama's birth announcement in newspapers in the 1960's because they knew he would run in 2008 for President.



>>>>

 

[JoeB131]

Actually, what I do when I don't like the GOP Candidate is I write in "Jack Ryan".

Jack Ryan was the guy who challenged Obama in 2004, but the IL GOP sandbagged him because Judy Baar Topinka didn't want him challenging her for Governor in 2006. So they got him off the ballot over utter bullshit in his divorce file. So I wrote him in in 2004. And in 2006 for Governor. And in 2008 for the Senate Seat when Durbin came up against whatever non-entity the party put up that time.

I might be writing him in for President if it's a Romney vs. Obama fight.

 

[L.K.Eder]

I'm sorry Joe. You've jumped the shark on this one and I still want Newt to be your nominee.

Your fervor for Romnuts puts the lie to what you claim.

And to answer the question you put to Joe, Romnuts people made the GOP validation process so onerous that many pros refused to take jobs getting those signatures, and the three candidates you named simply didnt bother.

So yes, Romnuts hacks kept all five off the ballot with the machinations of the typical political crony network.

Romnuts wrote the Virginia Law years ago so that in 2012 some candidates would choose not to gather signatures?

That makes no sense.

Sounds as crazy as the idea that conspirators got Obama's birth announcement in newspapers in the 1960's because they knew he would run in 2008 for President.



>>>>

romnuts used his magic underwear to distract the real candidates. they were defenceless.

 

[Article 15]

If the GOP is cheating one another in their own elections how can the American people possibly trust them to be fair players in the upcoming election when they will be running against opponents they really hate?

 

[paperview]

Do you have any evidence of this.


Gingrich turned in 11,050, just over 10% greater signatures then required. From that how do you determine that 35% were disqualified? The second requirement is fthat 400 qualified voters were needed from each district. That means if for one district the Gingrich campaign only turned in 300 qualified signatures, then they could have turned in 1,000,000 signatures and it wouldn't have made any difference. Failure to qualify by district is very likely since it appears they tried to gather the required signatures late in the game at a couple of DC are rallies.


So, (a) please provide the source for the 35% rejection amount, and (b) please show where he met the requirement of 400 from each of the 11 congressional districts.



Thank you in advance for your supporting evidence.



>>>>

Meh, I looked but couldnt find the thing I read the other day that said Gingrich missed the minimum by like 2500 signatures. So, honestly, I dont know how reliable the info is now that I cant double check it. Sometimes I get to reading so many sites, later I cant really remember which are just comments and which are more serious blogs and which are from news sources.

But my guesstimate was based on that 2500 number, plus the 1050 he turned in that was over the 10k he needed. That would be about 3550 of 11050 which off the top of my head was about 35%.

Thank you for acknowledging that at this time we don't have specifics about the decision process, the only specifics we do have (at this point) are the requirements under the law. We don't know if it was a lack of addresses (required to check voter registration and from what district they are from - if qualified) or if it was a lack of complying with the 400 from each district.

Time will tell as I think this will be challenged in court resulting in more details being released to the public.


>>>>

I had posted earlier a source that seems (grain/salt) reputable, that noted this:

"UPDATE (12.53am): Sources at RPV are telling me that the 2,000 signatures do not have addresses on them… meaning that they cannot be verified. Newt Gingrich may very well be off the ticket in Virginia, folks…"

BREAKING: Gingrich 2,000 Ballot Signatures Short? – Bearing Drift: Virginia's Conservative Voice

If that's true, that's probably why right off they were able to say he was ineligible so quickly.

We should find out the info on details soon...

 

[paperview]

If the GOP is cheating one another in their own elections how can the American people possibly trust them to be fair players in the upcoming election when they will be running against opponents they really hate?

The in-fighting is quite a spectacle, innit?

 

[JimBowie1958]

Do you have any evidence of this.


Gingrich turned in 11,050, just over 10% greater signatures then required. From that how do you determine that 35% were disqualified? The second requirement is fthat 400 qualified voters were needed from each district. That means if for one district the Gingrich campaign only turned in 300 qualified signatures, then they could have turned in 1,000,000 signatures and it wouldn't have made any difference. Failure to qualify by district is very likely since it appears they tried to gather the required signatures late in the game at a couple of DC are rallies.


So, (a) please provide the source for the 35% rejection amount, and (b) please show where he met the requirement of 400 from each of the 11 congressional districts.



Thank you in advance for your supporting evidence.



>>>>

Meh, I looked but couldnt find the thing I read the other day that said Gingrich missed the minimum by like 2500 signatures. So, honestly, I dont know how reliable the info is now that I cant double check it. Sometimes I get to reading so many sites, later I cant really remember which are just comments and which are more serious blogs and which are from news sources.

But my guesstimate was based on that 2500 number, plus the 1050 he turned in that was over the 10k he needed. That would be about 3550 of 11050 which off the top of my head was about 35%.

Thank you for acknowledging that at this time we don't have specifics about the decision process, the only specifics we do have (at this point) are the requirements under the law. We don't know if it was a lack of addresses (required to check voter registration and from what district they are from - if qualified) or if it was a lack of complying with the 400 from each district.

Time will tell as I think this will be challenged in court resulting in more details being released to the public.


>>>>

Yeah, the lawyers are going to make a pretty penny from this I suspect. But they will be the only real winners from this whole fiasco. The GOP will be haunted by this for a long time if Romnuts wins the nomination.

 

[Article 15]

If the GOP is cheating one another in their own elections how can the American people possibly trust them to be fair players in the upcoming election when they will be running against opponents they really hate?

The in-fighting is quite a spectacle, innit?

It's hitting DERPCON5

 

[JimBowie1958]

Meanwhile GOP voters in Virginia wont be able to vote for five out of seven candidates, which just makes them happy as can be imagined, fascist scumbags.

GOP voters in VA who actually give a darn have no one to blame but the candidate...

Lol, yeah because we all know how these cronies only screw over those who really deserve it.

So, if thhis is just politics as usual, can you name another Presidential state primary in the past where five of seven serious candidates were kept off the ballot?

And by serious, I mean they got a lot of donations, advertising on their behalf, were invited to the debates, etc?

Just name one.

 

[WorldWatcher]

I had posted earlier a source that seems (grain/salt) reputable, that noted this:

"UPDATE (12.53am): Sources at RPV are telling me that the 2,000 signatures do not have addresses on them… meaning that they cannot be verified. Newt Gingrich may very well be off the ticket in Virginia, folks…"

BREAKING: Gingrich 2,000 Ballot Signatures Short? – Bearing Drift: Virginia's Conservative Voice

If that's true, that's probably why right off they were able to say he was ineligible so quickly.

We should find out the info on details soon...

I saw it PV, that provides no convincing details to me to definitively determine the specifics of how Newt failed to provide the required 10,000/400 qualified voter signatures. Could be out of state addresses, not addresses as part of the 10,000 or it could be 400 from each district.

I think we will know soon, but right now we don't have an official reason that can be confirmed - either by an official of the GOP on the record, a Board of Election official on the record, or as part of court documents.



The fact is that the requirement is 10,000/400 and when you submit only ~10% over that amount then your campaign is setting itself up for a problem.



>>>>

 

[L.K.Eder]

i think a community organizer would have managed to get on the ballot by getting enough valid signatures in time.

 

[JimBowie1958]

If the GOP is cheating one another in their own elections how can the American people possibly trust them to be fair players in the upcoming election when they will be running against opponents they really hate?

They cant. No one can.

But the really disconcerting thing about all this is that the neocons have long been of two camps when it comes to respecting the democratic process. One groups with guys like Bill Benet and Jack Kemp were sincerely advocates of democracy and freedom and wanted American foreign policy to promote our system to the world because they genuinely believed in it.

Then the second camp basically regards the common voter as cattle, too stupid to do much more than consume products for the market and vote for whom they are best manipulated to vote for. This second camp is a bunch of fascists who really could not give a rat's proverbial ass about democracy or anything else. They make profits from the wars for democracy but that is about as far as their support for democracy goes; as long as they can make money from it.

This Bolling guy seems to be of the second camp, and that Romnuts is OK with his methods simply confirms that the fascists have succeded in becoming the dominant faction of neocons at the national level.

I would rather have fifty years of Obama than these fascists in charge for one damned day.

 

[WorldWatcher]

Meanwhile GOP voters in Virginia wont be able to vote for five out of seven candidates, which just makes them happy as can be imagined, fascist scumbags.

GOP voters in VA who actually give a darn have no one to blame but the candidate...

Lol, yeah because we all know how these cronies only screw over those who really deserve it.

So, if thhis is just politics as usual, can you name another Presidential state primary in the past where five of seven serious candidates were kept off the ballot?

And by serious, I mean they got a lot of donations, advertising on their behalf, were invited to the debates, etc?

Just name one.

Christopher Dodd, Senior Senator from Connecticut 2008.


Chris Dodd presidential campaign, 2008 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rick Perry won't make ballot in Virginia - 2008 Presidential Candidates - Zimbio



>>>>

 

[paperview]

I've been reading a lot of ca-rap lately about how the "rules were changed" for this primary.

I see some who like to take Erick Erikson at his word in his diatribes from RedState (the man is a lying idiot, but nevermind that...)

Well, well, well. Look at what we have here: From 2008 - straight from Erick Erickson himself - COMPLAINING ABOUT THE GOP checking the signatures on the petitions of presidential candidates:

"Romney, Fred, Rudy, McCain, Huckabee, and Paul all filed over 15,000 signatures each – well above the recommended minimums.

So what did the Virginia GOP do? Well, they did absolutely nothing to help any of the candidates other than put out clipboards at their state fair booth.

Then they decided to attempt some kind of unprecedented “verification” process. Historically, forms have never been checked by either party, often they never even open the boxes.
They gave no one notice of this new process. They sent all the campaigns an email notice the Friday afternoon after they’d all filed their signatures. You can see the memo below. As you can see its a ridiculous attempt to replicate Florida in 2000.


At the time, no one had any idea who the “verifiers” would be or who they supported. Likewise, everyone had questions on what did and did not constitute legitimate signatures. All the campaigns had to lawyer up against their own party.

The Executive Director of the Virginia GOP had the nerve to pace the room, during the verification process, in a referee jersey. Likewise, the process for verification changed throughout the day, despite the party sending out its guidelines ahead of time in writing."

Why is the GOP Losing Virginia? Blame the Republican Party of Virginia: A Case Study in Idiocy | Redstate
​

So, what's that you say? It's not a "suddenly new" set of rules?

Eh?

 

[JimBowie1958]

Virginia requires candidates to obtain 10,000 signatures from registered voters, with at least 400 signatures coming from each

of the commonwealth's 11 congressional districts. Prior to this year, these numbers were not hard to hit.

Hell, even Keyes got on the ballot back in 2008.

The difference is that the Virginia GOP changed the process this year:
Virginia’s GOP

Primary Ballot: Romney, Paul… And That’s It. - By Jim Geraghty - The Campaign Spot - National Review Online

Those signature requirements, by the way, were 10,000 signatures including 500 in each of the state’s congressional

districts. What apparently tripped up Gingrich and Perry was the requirement that petition signers list their

addresses.

A Gingrich campaign official prior to the move by the RPV said the problem is how the rules are set up, arguing that the

party is, for apparently the first time, cross-checking the addresses that signature-givers gave

against the electronic voter database file for accuracies. A name without a proper address match was tossed, the official said.

“What one needs to ask is ‘what percentage of valid, registered voters self-identify a current address that matches voter rolls

that the voter might not have updated since 2008”? Are you 100% certain that your address you and all of your

neighbors matches current voter rolls? It strikes me that this is not an accurate means to identify registered voters signing

for ANY candidate, not just Gingrich,” the official wrote.

But guess what? If you turned in a magic number of signatures, the state would not even validate ANY of the signatures you

turned in:

VA Ballot Access – No Way to

Choose a President | RedState

The Washington Examiner ran a gleeful hit piece Friday night quoting an anonymous “source with knowledge of the

Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) petition signature verification process” who said Perry was “dead on arrival” and didn’t

follow the “simple” rules required in VA...

The article also notes that the rules were sent to “all the Republican presidential campaigns” in March, but later admits that

Perry’s campaign may not have received the detailed instructions because he didn’t enter the race until August.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch informs us that the Romney campaign had their petitions personally delivered by none other than

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, Romney’s VA campaign chairman. ...

The blog goes on to describe the process of gaining ballot access, which is likely the most burdensome in the country:

“A minimum of 10,000 petition signatures collected statewide, including at least 400 from each of its 11 congressional

districts. That’s hard enough. But then there are the additional restrictions: The petition circulators must be

registered or eligible to vote in Virginia. The signatures must be gathered using the State Board of Elections’ official

form, a two-page document which must be reproduced as double-sided. (Single-sided stapled forms are not accepted.)

Signatures must be collected on forms that are specific to each city, county and congressional district. Only “

qualified” voters may sign a petition. And every single petition form must be sworn and notarized.”

The blogger claims to know top political consultants who turned town lucrative offers working on presidential campaigns because

they thought the task could not be accomplished.

To make matters worse, the Republican Party of Virginia appears to have rigged the system in favor of candidates who were able

to gather a comfortable excess of names on petitions. Chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, Pat Mullins, issued the

following (undated) directive:

“Any candidate who submits at least 15,000 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions
statewide and has at least 600 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions from each of the 11 Congressional

Districts shall be deemed to have met the threshold for qualification and will be certified (provided, of course, that

other requirements of State law have also been met)”

“If any candidate submits fewer than 15,000 signatures of registered voters on valid petitions statewide or fewer than 600

signatures of registered voters on valid petitions in one or more of the 11 Congressional Districts, the Republican Party of

Virginia will individually verify signatures until the 10,000 signature statewide threshold and/or 400 per Congressional

district is met.”

In other words, if a candidate can gather 50% more signatures than actually required, the standard for those

signatures is lower than for the signatures of candidates who gather 14,999 signatures or less. It appears that

the Romney campaign, which boasted of gathering “some 16,000? signatures was able to escape the scrutiny of having every

signature individually verified.

The chairman for the Romney campaign is also the Lt Govenor of Virginia!

Virginia and Washington, DC endorsements of Mitt Romney

Bolling ties 2013 hopes to Romney -

Washington Times

Yeah, no conflict of interest there! Perry was not notified of the state requirements, too damn bad for him! Since he cant read

Bollings mind thousands of miles away, he is obviously not qualified to run! And Gingriches signatures were not valid,

obviously since he didnt stuff enough of them to get over a 15,000 count! Yerp, the more you cheat the less scrutiny you get in

Virginia.

The GOP establishment has totally destroyed one Tea Party candidate after another: Palin, Bachman, Perry, Cain, Gingrich is

sinking and the guns starting on Ron Paul now, whom the establishment apparently thinks is too extreme to really challenge

Romney.

They have a surprise coming. They are alienating more voters than votes they can steal, and even if Romney wins the nomination,

he will definately to lose to Obama because the GOP base, the social conservatives, are sick of the dirty tricks, the slander,

and the cronyism of the GOP establishment. After Obama wins re-election the social conservative and Tea Party groups will get

more funding than the GOP establishment ever dreamed of. They may try to go back and fight the rigged game the GOP has now, but

my bet is that they will split off and form a new party.

It worked in Canada and there is no reason to believe it cannot work in the USA.

 

[JoeB131]

Again, I'm truly impressed by the concern that the Democrats suddenly have for Republican rules..

Fact is, they are selectively enforcing the rules to get a pre-determined result.

they've realized that they can't get Romney nominated honestly, so they are going to cheat. Whatever it takes.

The ironic thing is, Newt's already peaked. They are making sure no one takes his place.