Virginia GOP considers foregoing primary, nominate by convention

[useful idiot]

Cruz+1

Or is Cruz too left wing for the people who nominated Cuccinelli and E.W. Jackson?

The VAGOP is actually surprisingly inept, especially here in Hampton Roads.

All I know is that this convention is probably going to be a sad mess.

Surprising to whom? The Virginia GOP has been a joke since the Baliles administration. They got lucky when Allen turned out to be a good governor, but Gilmore squandered that goodwill, they let Kaine win a governor's race he had no business winning by telling outright lies, and the pyrrhic victory of the 2009 cycle continues to be a debacle. That's just in state politics, remember Oliver North? The re-nomination of Allen for senate after failing to handle the Allen situation properly the first go-around? Gilmore 08?

The only thing keeping the party afloat and in power in the legislature are superb local operations and off-year elections.

[useful idiot]

Good. Parties should have more power in choosing candidates and we should switch from a "register with a party" system to actually joining a party as a member.

No thanks, comrade. One of the better things about Virginia politics is that there is no registration by party, everyone is technically an independent. The primaries are historically open to all.* I like the fact that Democrats can have a say in the Republican race and vice-versa when there isn't a competitive or compelling nomination contest on the other side.

*Though the GOP stupidly tried to get people voting in the 2012 primaries to pledge they'd vote for the Republican in the general. They're trying to get around it this year for the same reason: no competitive Democratic primary.