Posted by Clay Ramsay on January 9, 2010 at 8:37am
I urge you take a close look at the situation in our 5th District, because this race could be a microcosm of the problems the Party is facing right now nationwide. The future or our Party and country depends on how we handle these challenges. We have 7 Republican candidates vying to replace the very liberal, freshman Democrat, Tom Periello. Six of the candidates are conservative. One has served in the State House of Delegates and the State Senate. He has voted for the two largest tax increases in Virginia history. These increases were not to balance the budget, but to grow government. The other six issued a joint press release requesting a district convention to select our nominee. This position was endorsed by the three Tea Parties in our district, because with such a large field, it is the only way to arrive at a consensus candidate. It also would save tax payers at least a quarter million dollars that a primary would cost. The Party unit chairs voted instead by secret ballot to hold a primary. This means that our nominee could win with LESS THAN 20% of the vote, while 80% of the vote would be behind conservative candidates. It is going to be very difficult for any of those candidates, no matter how worthy, to stand out enough from the pack to win over one that has everything stacked in this favor, especially since Democrats are invited to vote en masse in our primary, as they have no primary of their own.None of the conservatives have shown any sign of giving up. They are aggressively trying to gather supporters and get out their message. My candidate, Mike McPadden, has called for a Conservative Pre-Primary Convention to select ONE Republican conservative to run against the liberal Republican in the primary. This race will be a study in inside Party politics. I hope you will help support a Conservative Republican Pre-Primary Convention in the 5th District.Clay RamsayCharlottesville, VirginiaCowboy Up 1776
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