Virginia GOP Chooses State Convention Over a Primary in 2013

The Republican Party of Virginia made some interesting changes over the weekend. The party's state central committee chose to hold a convention in 2013 rather than a primary election- for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Lt. Governor Bill Bolling

 
It is no secret that the VA GOP has a little feud on its hands, and this primary/convention situation is a major event in that feud. As mentioned before on this blog current Lt. Gov Bill Bolling and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli are competing for the Republican gubernatorial nomination. (It's just a little awkward inside the party right now.)

Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli

Bolling prefers a primary. Cuccinelli prefers a convention.

What's the difference and why does it matter?

Anyone can vote in a primary. Only party members who attend the convention get to vote at the convention.

A primary means a candidate gets to go out, glad hand, handshake, and stump. (They also cost a whole lot more to campaign.)

A convention means schmoozing the delegates with voting power at the convention.

And guess what happened at the convention over the weekend? The committee voted 47-31 to rescind an October 2011 decision to have a primary and to instead go with the option that gives them the most power.

Funny how that happens.

Bolling issued the following in a statement after the vote, "[a convention] will effectively disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Virginia Republicans, and all active-duty military personnel, from participating in the nomination of our candidates."

"If we want to grow our party, we have to involve more people in the nomination of our candidates, not fewer; and I believe that we do that through primaries, not party conventions. This decision creates the impression that our party is an exclusive party, as opposed to an inclusive party, and that is not the message we should be sending to the people of Virginia."

Something else interesting happened at the convention. There wasn't a visible feud. I was in attendance for the Friday night proceedings, and asked a few people why I didn't see the Bolling campaign everywhere. (Because heaven knows, I saw plenty of Cuccinelli, and everyone else.) The answer was hush-hush, but people very respectfully explained that the two men do not want to divide the party, and therefore are giving each other some space. Cuccinelli got Friday night, and supposedly Bolling got Saturday. (I was not there Saturday so I did not get to witness it.) Rather than directly compete and the second and third highest ranking GOPers in the state, they politely stay out of each other's ways. I appreciate that.
So why does Cuccinelli prefer a convention over a primary? He says it is because it will allow the Republican nominee to save money for the general election campaign. That is very true. A bloody battle in the primary can be costly. Just ask Romney, Newt, and Santorum.

Supporters of the convention method claim it is a return to “grassroots activism.” For this writer, that is both true and untrue. First, if grassroots want to get more active, it doesn't matter which method of voting is held, they will get active. What really happens is what we see taking place around the country with Ron Paul supporters hijacking wreaking havoc showing up and causing a stir at state conventions around the country. You get a small, but passionate, group of people to show up at your local district convention to carry your torch.

Some call this grassroots activism, I call it not the will of the people, but the will of the loudest people.

Why does this method help Cuccinelli? He's got the Tea Party support.

The downside to this method? It's not unlike what happens in a grand jury indictment. They can indict anyone they want. A group of people get together and all agree the blue chair in the corner is bad, in spite of the evidence. They indict it. Or, in political terms, a bunch of Ron Paul rowdies show up and get their guy on the ballot, in spite of what the majority of people really want.

And for the candidates not running against Cuccinelli and Bolling for governor, (for instance Morgan Griffith running for U.S. House) that can be a scary prospect. One minute you are uncontested and all is well, the next a bunch of rowdies from who-knows-where show up with some buddies, and someone else gets the job!

"Gingrich assumed that he's the whole Republican Party"

Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich

I'm not going to pretend that if I was a college student in one of Professor Newt Gingrich's classes, I'd be one of the first to drop out. I would recognize his brilliance, but have to admit that I couldn't follow him when he says things like, "The Reagan failure was to grossly undervalue the centrality of government as the organizing mechanism for reinforcing societal behavior." After reading it ten times to make sure I understood the words correctly, I would still be confused because why would a conservative Republican be criticizing someone who didn't want the government to control societal behavior?

Gingrich is a very complex, confusing, and at times, flat out contradictory man, which is showcased in a unique and fascinating way in a headline story on the Washington Post today. "Gingrich archives show his public praise, private criticism of Reagan," is about much more than his back and forth statements about Reagan, and instead a glimpse into what kind of man he is behind the scenes.

After statements like, "Gingrich “assumed that he’s the whole Republican Party," "That is my job. . . . It is not my job to win reelection. It is not my job to take care of passport problems. It is not my job to get a bill through Congress. My job description as I have defined it is to save Western civilization.," and "And Republican leaders who were resisting additional funds for science, he said, were “idiots” and “so incredibly stupid," you start to wonder if Gingrich suffers from a several case of narcissistic personality disorder.

But above all, this very interesting article isn't actually negative. It is just a look into a very complex man. Well worth the read!

Newt Gingrich Needs to Shut Up and Sit Down

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich

The last week has been extremely volatile for the GOP candidates. Dick Armey may have said it best on CNN over the weekend regarding Newt Gingrich, "I think he's digressed into a state of taking a second rate campaign and turning it into a first rate vendetta."

If the GOP nomination race were a 'Girls Gone Wild' movie, Gingrich would be the angry, drunk chick knocking over the happy, dancing girls, just to give the camera the bird.

Gingrich brought same party politics to a new low in his post-Nevada speech Saturday night. After multiple meetings with advisers, donors and supporters, (and pleas from the general public at large) to stop attacking on Mitt Romney's character with a chain saw, Gingrich held an unprecedented press conference (in lieu of the much more traditional "election night party" with supporters) where he pummeled Romney.

Gingrich is a very talented historian (and paid handsomely to be one as well). He has shown multiple times that he has an ability to recall facts, figures, and obscure references from ancient writers. And yet, he expects us to believe his version of events and that he cannot recall certain quotes of his own, when the proof is right in front of him. (Including going so far as to have edits made to the Wikipedia page about him!)

His inability to control his anger when he cannot control a situation is frightening. The accusations he will make that other people are dishonest when he, Gingrich, doesn't get his way is worse than a 4 yr old's temper tantrum to Mommy. He cannot just walk away with his head held high from any situation. He instead chooses to insult and discredit the event, in one case calling Romney's Florida win a "fundamentally dishonest campaign."

It is frightening and foretelling to revisit his candidacy announcement from August-

"No one person in the Oval Office can get this done. We Americans are going to have to talk together, work together, find solutions together, and insist on imposing those solutions on those forces that don't want to change. There are some people who don't mind if America becomes a wreck as long as they dominate the wreckage... Let's get together, look reality in the face, tell the truth, make the tough choices, and get the job done."
(Need proof he said that? Visit Newt's official YouTube page and watch "Newt Gingrich is Running for President."

Former Speaker Gingrich, it is time for you to shut up and sit down. You, and you alone, are going to divide and ruin the Republican party if you continue with the inability to be honest with yourself and others, and face defeat like a man.