The Convention Is Almost Here
Posted by redvirginia on May 28, 2008
With the Virginia GOP Convention convening in just a few short days, tempers are running high in both of the races. Between Jim Gilmore and Bob Marshall, the race leans Gilmore. In the race between Chairman John Hager and Delegate Jeff Frederick, the race is too close to call. Here is a quick run down of things I have noticed over the last couple of weeks.
The delegates that are coming in to support Delegate Frederick for RPV Chairman are more likely to also support Delegate Bob Marshall for the U.S. Senate. This also goes for the delegates coming in to support Hager, they are also more likely to support Gilmore. This race has turned into a race between the new guard vs. the old guard.
While the race does lean towards a Gilmore victory, it is important to remember that Marshall could get a bump off of Frederick delegates. Many have seen the emails coming out from both sides in each race claiming to have a lead in delegates. The truth is, it is impossible for either side to truly know how many delegates they actually have. Even more interesting, who has the more motivated delegates to show up on Saturday when the voting occurs.
Marshall/Frederick have the most motivated delegates. Their people have been out in force at the District Conventions and will continue to be in force on Saturday. The Gilmore/Hager delegates are less inclined to show up because up until recently, both campaigns touted the possibility of easy victories. This could prove to be a fatal mistake.
On Saturday, the convention will lie in the hands of the delegates motivated enough to show up. This should make for good political theater and I encourage anyone who has nothing better to do to come out and watch. What happens at this convention will determine the course of the party over the next decade at the least.
-RedVirginia
J. Tyler Ballance said
Few Gilmore supporters read blogs. Most don’t own a “computer machine.” With a median age of sixty-seven, the “old guard” who supports the status quo of unlimited federal power wielded by an Imperial President and the continued march toward fascism, are willing to give up all of our Liberties, if someone will just promise that Osama the boogeyman won’t come kill them.
The bad news is Gilmore and the Neocons will take all of your freedoms and the boogeyman will still get you anyway, so why not try to live in dignity as free men while you wait for the next wave of Islamic homicide bombers?
Gilmore wants to spend billions on surveillance of Americans. He wants you to carry a national ID card with an RFID chip. He wants millions of Americans to be employed in the sole task of watching their fellow Americans and to top it all, there’s that torture thing. Of course the “old guard” is convinced that torture will not be used against any of them, so hey, go ahead and mutilate them danged terrorists as far as the blue-hairs are concerned. Oh, but wait, did they stop to consider that once a precedence has been set, subsequent governments shall use those methods against anyone whom they deem to be against them. Hint: Recall how the Clintonista regime used the IRS to harass political opponents and how they used the FBI to infiltrate anti-abortion groups. I can just hear Obama, “Yeah, those church-going crazies are clinging to their faith again, break out the water-boards!”
If you love Liberty, Bob Marshall will be your Senate nominee. If you want to win again, then Jeff Frederick must be our Party Chairman.