Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Finally a Candidate for Pres. Tells the Truth About Romney's Record

About time!! Newt Gingrich commits himself to exposing Romney's record. Who better than Gingrich to do this!! This will be fun!

More Evidence Turns Up of Shenanigans or Amazing Ineptitude at RPV

Here is the story

Paul Goldman Explains What Republican Leaders Are Carefully Avoiding

Of course I'll be ripped for quoting a democrat, but he is absolutely right on this issue.
His legal arguments are undeniably accurate, and Bolling will have a hard time explaining this away. In light of this info, which one would think Cuccinelli had to have already known, it is purely amazing that he decided not to pursue corrective legislation after all. Here is Goldman's article.

by Paul Goldman

"Lt. Governor Bill Bolling, head of the Romney for President campaign in Virginia, criticizes former Attorney General Tony Troy, former Attorney General Steve Rosenthal, myself, and hundreds of thousands of Virginians who believe in the rule of law. He says we want to "change the rules in the middle of the game" according to the Virginian Pilot.

Actually, it is Mr. Bolling who wants to change the rules in the middle of game.

In fact, Mr. Bolling not only wants to change the rules in the middle of the game, he insists on new rules which he would readily concede benefit his candidate for President.

Has he forgotten the Supreme Court case of Morse v. Republican Party of Virginia, 517 U.S. 186 (1996)?

As former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. H. Bush, and George Bush - all Republicans have said in supporting the Voting Rights Act -, it is important for political parties to abide by the rule of law.

The Voting Rights Act - supported I thought by Mr. Bolling - is aimed at preventing the LG and his supporters, indeed any similar official or group backing any candidate in any political party, from changing the rules in the middle of the game.

FACT: In 1981, I sued the Democratic Party under the Voting Rights Act [VRA], and got a seminal ruling, In a nutshell it said in certain circumstances, rules or procedures adopted by a state party and impacting in a meaningful way on the potential outcome of their nomination process could not go into effect until such rules or procedures had been approved by the lawful authorities. Reagan-Bush-Bush realized this was the only way to insure a fair election and protect the rights of all voters.

Why? As Reagan, Bush41 and Bush43 pointed out, it was important to make sure no one in political power could change the rules in the middle of the game to the detriment of the voters.

The lawful rules, as they pointed out, where the rules/procedures/laws in effect at the start of the election cycle at issue: today this means the 2012 the Republican and Democratic presidential primary processes which end with a vote this coming March. The candidates started running back in 2010 really.

As the Morse case - which the VA GOP lost I might remind Mr. Bolling - made clear, a primary election process falls under the Reagan-Bush-Bush rubric of not allowing the GOP or the DEMS to change the rules in the middle of the game. Thus the rules/procedures must abide by the VRA.

As we discovered yesterday in Andrew Cain's great piece in the Richmond Times Dispatch, the Republican Party of Virginia had a different rule/procedure for reviewing access to their presidential primary ballot in 2008. We know this from no less a source than the Chairman of the GOP at the time, John Hager, a former LG like Mr. Bolling.

As the Morse case makes clear, changing the rules in the middle of the game on which candidates get to compete in the primary - and thus whether Virginians supporting said candidate can effectively exercise their franchise come March - is a classic circumstance, a reason the VRA was backed by Reagan-Bush-Bush. .

Why? As the Morse case explains, the ability of GOP Chairman Pat Mullins and his staff to change the rules in the middle of the game is derived from state action, that is to say the passage of Section 24.2-545 of the Code of Virginia. Under the U.S. and state constitution, the responsibility for conducting fair, and transparent elections, consistent with the Civil War Amendments and such principles as "equal protection", "due process" rests with the State Government of Virginia.

Thus, the GOP has no inherent right to hold a primary, much less have their Chairman - and this is of course true on the DEM side too - decide who is on the ballot and who isn't. This power only comes if delegated by the General Assembly, thus making them in essence agents of the state for this purpose. Thus the "state action" rubric.

The GA, in it's wisdom, decided to pass 24.2-545, which took the State Board of Elections [SBE] out of the loop : and delegated to the Chairman of the two major parties the responsibility of deciding which presidential primary hopefuls could earn a place on their respective primary ballots. Neither the Statute nor the SBE provides guidance on the proper way to review the signatures of voters collected by candidates and submitted for review in hopes of their making the ballot.

As the Supreme Court has said many times, such delegations of public power to a private group is fraught with danger. As Reagan-Bush-Bush made clear by support of the VRA, these grants of political power have to carefully reviewed whenever they try to change the rules in the middle of the game.

We can presume the state pre-cleared the statute in general: however, this doesn't end the lawful responsibility of either the party or the state to pre-clear any changes in how the party implements it's power under 24.2-545. The Morse case is clear on that: Any changes in party rules/procedures which have a practical impact on how the party exercises it's powers can't go into effect until okayed under the VRA.

In layman's terms: Whatever the rules at issue were in 2008, they are, to use Mr. Bolling's words, the "rule of the game" in 2012 unless the GOP has received the okay to change them under the VRA. .

THE BOLLING MIDDLE OF THE GAME RULE CHANGE # 1:

There is nothing in 24.2-545 which says the GOP Chairman had the right to automatically certify Mitt Romney to the March 2012 presidential primary ballot on the grounds his campaign submitted petitions with more than 15000 signatures. By the GOP's own admission, they never checked any of the former Bay State Governors petitions in the manner contemplated by the grant of state power in 24-2-545.
Moreover, not did Mr. Mullins follow the plain meaning of the statute in making the required "certification" of Mitt Romney to the state ballot, such certification under Mr. Mullins' name communicated to the State Board of Elections. As the SBE told me, that state agency has no power to review Mr. Mullins' certification or denial of certification: they just accept whatever he says, and they don't inquire about how he made it.

As Mr. Hager made plain in the newspaper yesterday, Mr. Mullins' changed the rules in the middle of the game, since the way he reviewed petitions in 2012 - Romney got a free pass but Gingrich, Paul and Perry got their petitions checked voter by voter - is not the way it was done in 2008.

Remember: The "rules of the "game" as Mr. Bolling calls them are what the party did in 2008 assuming as I am they got VRA okay for any changes. If they didn't - no way to know right now - the Virginia Primary mess just got a lot messier. But for right now, we have to assume the 2008 primary was lawful, so the rules use in 2008 must be the same as in 2012 unless lawful approval to make changes has been received. .

Question: Has the Reagan-Bush-Bush procedure been followed, or has Mr. Bolling/Mr. Mullins "change the rules in the middle of game" illegally?

Answer: The VA GOP and LG Bolling are saying they cleared everything since otherwise they know they are blowing a lot of smoke right. But did they? I have not seen any proof one way or the other. Have you? Doesn't Mr. Bolling or someone at the GOP, or the State Board of Elections have an obligation at this point to inform the public whether the VRA has been followed?

BOLLING RULE CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME # 2:

LG Bolling and VA GOP want to use what they call a "loyalty" oath as a pre-condition for voting in the presidential primary.

The GOP DIDN'T NOT USE such a loyalty oath in the 2008 presidential primary. So once again, the Supreme Court decision in the Morse case becomes crucial.
24.2-545 permits a "loyalty" oath, indeed the very wording of the one SBE just approved at the request of the VA GOP. Again, I will presume the statute itself was pre-cleared by the DOJ. But again, this doesn't end the inquiry.

Why? Several reasons. First, since this rule/procedure/election law is self-evidentially a change that can affect voting rights - it stops people from voting who refuse to sign the "loyalty" oath - the fact it wasn't used in the 2008 GOP presidential primary raises serious issues. The party did use one in 2000, but the wording of the oath was different. So this is A CHANGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME ENDORSED BY MR. BOLLING WHO SAYS HE IS THE GUY AGAINST SUCH THINGS!

It is possible the DOJ pre-clearance of such specific wording might be interpreted as authority to use it at any time in the future. That's a tricky legal question above my pay grade.

However, even if the pre-clearance of the statute is considered the authority to enact at any time the specific working of the oath contained in the statute, there is the question of whether the SBE approval was given in accordance with 24.2-545. If the approval process differed from the one in the statute, then clearly there can be no "free pass" from the VRA.

The statute seems to say that the SBE has to approve such a "loyalty" oath no later than 90 days before the date of the primary. Their approval was made last December 28, which is less than 90 days from the date of the primary. However, the AG's office - legal advisor to the SBE - and the GOP are saying the 90 day time limit only applies to the date the GOP formally requested the SBE to approve the use of the "loyalty" oath at the polls. They read the statute as allowing the SBE to approve the request any date prior to the election.

Thus, even if the DOJ pre-cleared the use of the specific "loyalty" oath in the statute at any time in the future, this free pass depends upon their view of whether the 90 day time period also applies to SBE action.

The interpretation of the AG's office and the GOP - and of course the SBE - that the 90 day time bar only applies to the formal request for a "loyalty" oath - as opposed to the formal approval of it's use by the SBE - is open to serious question. I have had several top lawyers read the language and they disagree with the AG and GOP's view. Here is the relevant language of 24.2-545.

"If the party has determined that it will hold a presidential primary, each registered voter of the Commonwealth shall be given an opportunity to participate in the presidential primary of the political party, as defined in § 24.2-101, subject to requirements determined by the political party for participation in its presidential primary. The requirements may include, but shall not be limited to, the signing of a pledge by the voter of his intention to support the party's candidate when offering to vote in the primary. The requirements applicable to a party's primary shall be determined at least 90 days prior to the primary date and certified to, and approved by, the State Board."

By the AG/GOP/SBE interpretation, the SBE could approve the "loyalty" oath two weeks before the primary, they say the 90 day time bar only applies to the GOP deciding to use such an oath, not the action by the SBE to approve it. . This makes no practical, not to mention, legal sense, under any of the normative rules we use to insure fair, transparent elections since it would allow the SBE to approve it say 2 weeks before the primary. .
Accordingly: A Voting Rights Act review of the "loyalty" oath as contemplated by Reagan-Bush-Bush seems in order to determine the meaning of 24.2-545 as it had been approved under the VRA.

CONCLUSION:
LG Bolling is the one supporting, indeed demanding, that the rules be changed in the middle of the game to favor his candidate for President: I get that as a matter of politics.
But as a matter of law, the standard isn't loyalty to a candidate but to the laws of the commonwealth and the country. As I say: Given the facts he and others in the GOP have presented to the public, there is no way for the public to know, one way or the other, as to whether the Reagan-Bush-Bush requirements of the VRA have been followed. Based on the best available evidence, Mr. Bolling is advocating -, as Reagan-Bush-Bush would point out - changing the rules in the middle of the game. Mr. Bolling says that's not true. When do the people get to know the truth? "

AMEN!

Great Article in Washington Times on the Foolishness of Nominating Romney

Enjoy. They are absolutely correct. They contend that Republicans are so caught up in the desire to "defeat Obama", that we are actually looking at the wrong candidate for so doing. History teaches us that this tack does not work, but will we make the errors of the past hoping for a different result this time?

Monday, January 2, 2012

Robo Call Goes Out Urging Ballot Legislation

A friend called my attention to a robo call he received promoting legislation to grant "fair ballot access". It is not known how widely this call was dispersed, but here is the text of the call that he captured:

"Virginians have a crucial choice in the Republican presidential primary on March 6th. Unfortunately, due to arcane state law, only two of the six candidates have qualified for Virginia’s ballot. It is not fair for Virginia voters to be limited only to two candidates. Call Speaker Bill Howell at 804-698-1028, Majority Leader Kirk Cox at (804) 526-5135, and your areas state senator and delegate. Tell them you deserve the chance to support your candidate of choice.Time is critical. Legislation must pass this week or you will have only two choices in the primary. Please call your legislators and tell them to support fair ballot access legislation today."

I will attempt to find audio of the call (which is often very hard to do), and provide it to you. It seems this story is growing legs of its own, and we will be here to keep you updated as we receive info. At least it's fun times for bloggers!!

Rick Santorum Surge Continues in Iowa

A new poll out this morning has Santorum surging into a three-way tie with Romney and Paul for first place in Iowa. This jives nicely with other polls showing him with the momentum.

Friday, December 30, 2011

Romney Unveils Virginia Leadership team.....Veritable Who's Who of Establishment Pols

Thanks to the WaPo Virginia Politics blog for the scoop. Here is the list of Virginia Republican leasers, who it would appear to me like what you see about Romney in the video below so much that they had to go to work for him! The establishment circles the wagons again.....

Mitt Romney’s Virginia Campaign Chairs:

State Chairman Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling

State Co-Chair Delegate Chris Peace

State Co-Chair Delegate Barbara Comstock

State Co-Chair Delegate Tag Greason

State Co-Chair Delegate Dave Albo

State Co-Chair Delegate Jackson Miller

State Co-Chair Delegate John Cosgrove

State Co-Chair Delegate-elect Mark Dudenhefer

Mitt Romney’s Virginia Steering Committee:

Tom Foley – 1st Congressional District Chairman

Jack Wilson – 4th Congressional District Chairman

Linwood Cobb – 7th Congressional District Chairman

Mike Ginsberg – 8th Congressional District Chairman

David O’Kelley – 2nd Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Jane Ladd – 3rd Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Bill Flanagan – 4th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Wayne Ozmore – 4th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Dolores Switzer – 5th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Fred Anderson – 6th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Marie Quinn – 7th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Adam Tolbert – 9th Congressional District State Central Committee Representative

Brian Plum – Republican Party of Virginia Treasurer

Brandy Dyke – State Central Committee Representative

Anna Lee – State Central Committee Representative

We can only suppose they support the following:

Watch Liberal Mitt's Greatest Hits.

For those of you considering Romney as your pick for president, watch this video and then tell me which part of his record gives you confidence that he will reduce the size and scope of government in your life, protect the unborn or do anything else he now claims he will as the new conservative champion.(I know, I know, he's running for president and has had to change his positions.....for Pete's sake!)
"Government is not the solution to our problem.Government is the problem."
Ronald Reagan, first Inaugural Address, January 20, 1981