How is it possible that someone running for the highest office in the land would not be able to hit the mark in his own state to get included in the primary ballot? That is a colossal blunder, and it makes one wonder about what else is going on in Mr. Gingrich’s campaign if they can’t even pass muster on such a simple objective as garnering 10,000 signatures.
The GOP certainly has let the ball drop in this instance. At a time when we should want every potential campaigner to be included, one of the supposed top two won’t even be on the ballot. The Republican Party of Virginia should be rightly and justifiably embarrassed that this took place.
For his part, Newt has taken the high road and has accepted responsibility for the miscue. Talking to News 4 in Washington two weeks ago, he said, “We're disappointed, but it was our fault [as a campaign].”
That’s big of him to take the hit, but there is much more to worry and speculate about than him trying to get included in a massive write-in campaign. What you ask? Well, I guess I should just tell you; if the Republican Party can’t get that right, what does that say about their chances at getting the right man to the polls in November?
How about slim, none, nil. What is going on with these people? It would seem a simple enough matter to get someone on the ballot. After all, I am sure there are more than 10,000 registered Republicans who would be more than willing to sign on the dotted line to allow Newt to get on the ballot.
With all the social engineering going on today, it doesn’t take but a few minutes to contact thousands of people. Getting them to sign a simple form would seem like child’s play. And children playing it must be, because somehow, someway, they missed the boat on this one.
That’s not to say that Mr. G would be my choice for a presidential candidate. I worry about having the same tired horses out in the race that failed the time before. Can we really expect such tread-worn creatures to rise to the fore and take down the dreaded Obama crusade? Puhlease!
The entire Democratic Party must be chuckling at this latest maneuver. Talk about The Gang who Couldn’t Shoot Straight, this action reeks of poor planning, horrible execution, and gross incompetence. If you want to run for President you ought to have had the necessary signatures before you even set foot on the campaign trail in Virginia.
But Newt wasn’t alone in missing the 5 p.m. deadline; Texas Gov. Rick Perry also failed to meet the requirement. But wait, there’s more, also missing the deadline are these also rans: Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman.
What does that mean? That means only two GOP candidates will be listed on the Virginia primary ballot: former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Texas Representative Ron Paul.
Now you tell me how those two managed to get it done, and the other five, and most specifically, Newt, a Virginia resident, couldn’t figure out how to get on the ballot. Upon further review, as important as this may or may not be, it points up a practical future concern. It doesn’t really matter how important it might be to be on the primary. Maybe it is important in the national scope and maybe not. But if I were running for President, I would want to be included on all the primary ballots, even those where I hadn’t a chance to win. To miss this only begs the question about what else might be missed in the future. What if it came to signing a bill concerning nuclear proliferation, or a balanced budget amendment (please don’t snicker), or perhaps introducing a bill recommending salary cuts across the board for politicians (snicker now)? Could we be sure that Newt, or any of the other four unfortunates, would be able to sign the bill in time? Would they be able to generate enough enthusiasm to get the bill passed? Or would they just leave it up to a write-in campaign to make such a decision?
Tell you what, I have an even better idea. Why not come up with a referendum limiting time in office for all these politicians. At some point it would be nice if we could simply drive out these lame individuals and host a new crop of legislators who are more for the country and less for their own pockets. Yeah, I know, it’s a pipe dream. There’s no way they would vote in favor of it; it probably wouldn’t even get on the ballot.
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