Santorum-Paul alliance formed in WA

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I fully support this endeavor! Good to hear of comity between Paulites and Sanitorium supporters

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Halve VA and FL and we'll talk.

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Didn't they have caucus level turnout for their primary? Seems fair to me to redo a true VA primary now that they know their votes will count.

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Congrats Winfield.

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I'm not quite sure how the present military expeditures contribute to the massive domestic spending increases under the Obama administration.

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All the real Santorum supporters are on board, Torie.

You'd better get your ticket soon.

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Because nobody turned up? They had embarrassing turnout.

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Then we agree on that. I still think VA should get an actual primary.

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I'm not quite sure how holding a do-over Primary is punishing VA.

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Because the majority of the Virginia GOP electorate wants it? Isn't that the whole purpose of the VA GOP primary to represent the interests of the state of the VA GOP party?

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If the majority of the VA GOP voters want it, then it should happen. The whole point of paying for a primary is for the VA GOP to have a say in the GOP selection for the presidency. That most of the VA GOP chose to walk away from the primary is a devastating indictment of the whole process.

Tack it onto the schedule and do it right this time.

[Wisconsin+17]

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"Of the following candidates, who would you support?"

Wow, amazingly difficult to discover.

Alienating a substantial proportion of the electorate that you are attempting to gain isn't exactly wise.

Pegging VA at 35 Romney and Paul at 10, leaves 55 percent of the electorate unrepresented.  I would even argue that massively unrepresentative primaries damages the GOP chances in the overall election - the same way that bad pricing information causes you to lose money.

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It's not really an argument. Basically - it's tough/complicated/difficult so we shouldn't do it.

Would you find that a compelling reason?

If that's your only argument, then they should void all the VA delegates. Cheap, easy to do.

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Then they should have invested the money wisely and done it right the first time. Yes, it's difficult and complicated, but I think it's worth doing. Certainly moreso than wasting the money that they spent on the primary that they did run, in which very few people showed up.

Surely you can see why a primary that has an excessively low turnout isn't worth holding, let alone assigning delegates?

[Wisconsin+17]

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Why should they be footing the bill for any primaries whatsoever? Are the democrats willing to forego state funding for their primaries? Yes/no.

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Uh huh. Which is why the rules were changed during the election and have since been allowed to stand? Apparently you can change the rules in midstream. Now, you're complaining about the rules changing in response? Tough. You want to change things to suit yourself, don't complain when people want to change the rules to countervail your changes.

Or the RNC could have done the right thing and put everyone on the ballot. Problem solved. 

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And the rules were changed excluding them from the primary. Now you're upset that another primary would be held superceding this one? That's a laugh.

I think it's a great idea, and there is still time to hold one before the convention.

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It can, and it should. The majority of the Republican electorate gets shut out of their own primary and they are supposed to just sit back and take it? Hells no. The VA GOP party is supposed to represent the entire GOP, not just Mitt Romney. And if they want to organize another primary, that would solve all the problems of the previous one.

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I'm not talking about a valid complaint from the candidates POV, but from the viewpoint of the VA GOP, and their members. I think that the VA GOP should have the opportunity to cast ballots for the candidate of their choice, without restriction. If the RNC and Romney doesn't like it, then tough. The will of the VA GOP should previal, not the will of one candidate.

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And why the establishment folks are sorely mistaken if they expect the tea party to carry water for them for Mitt. Mitt wins, we walk.

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So because it's tough and difficult means it shouldn't be done? I guess we should just concede the election to Obama too.

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You made one substantive point about querying the desires of the republican electorate in VA, which sidestepped the issue as to what is the ultimate purpose of a republican primary in VA.

Presumably you agree with my premise that the primary is the opportunity for the republican party members of Virginia to have a say in their candidate for the presidency?

[Wisconsin+17]

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I'm looking through the election laws. I don't see anything preventing the republican party from redoing the primary over again. Maybe I'm not seeing it, but it seems to me that it could be done legally. There would be no need to alter the existing primary laws.

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The rationale for the VA GOP and the RNC is to get delegates more representative of the VA GOP electorate. Better representation would seem to me a concrete goal for both the RNC and VA GOP.

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If it were approved by the VA GOP chairman and the RNC, I think it could be done. The idea is simply to redo the earlier primary with everyone on the ballot, not to simple erase the Romney delegates. Parties set their own rules for their own primaries, and the change to the ballot can be overridden by the GOP if they wish to do so.

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True, but how many would voluntarily move their primary to a later date?

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The RNC would fund it.

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If they were doing a special election why would they require them to collect signatures? Just put everyone on who had any signatures at all.

You're right about the establishment not wanting a redo - but if the rank and file in the VA GOP want it, then it should happen, cost notwithstanding.

Yeah, I know it's crazy beans, but that would be a legal way to do it. I'm personally amused by the fact that it is possible.