While other states’ primaries and caucuses are open to any GOP candidate, Virginia has strict rules over how many signatures are required. A candidate must have 10,000 valid signatures including at least 400 from every single district in the state in order to make the ballot.

The rules certainly limit the ability of candidates to enter the race if they don’t have a significant, in-state army of signature takers – which costs a lot of money and requires serious manpower.

So the question remains – is Virginia’s unfair or does it create a super power in the preliminary elections?

The Old Dominion’s model for running a primary has some strengths and some flaws. While it may weed out the  week, disorganized efforts, it might also place emphasis on the campaigns with financial strength.

The campaigns were given more than 5 months to collect signatures so it is curious that the candidates with smaller organizations did not even bother trying to enter the Virginia race.

Virginia does represent more than 10% of the total delegates required to obtain the nomination giving it powerful status in the race. The state is also the home state of Newt Gingrich which creates a tough image for the former House Speaker – he can’t win his own home state. But Newt has a plan:

Only a failed system excludes four out of the six major candidates seeking access to the ballot.  Voters deserve the right to vote for any top contender, especially leading candidates.  We will work with the Republican Party of Virginia to pursue an aggressive write-in campaign to make sure that all the voters of Virginia are able to vote for the candidate of their choice.

Virginia state code does not specifically allow for write-ins in primary elections, but the wording in Virginia code  24.2-644(C) doesn’t specifically forbid it either:

At all elections except primary elections it shall be lawful for any voter to vote for any person other than the listed candidates for the office by writing or hand printing the person’s name..

If one takes the position that anything not made specifically illegal is therefor legal, then there is no restriction on write-ins for primary candidates.  Intent vs. explicit instructions could come into play in Virginia, but there is very little time for a legal challenge from either point-of-view.

What makes a court challenge more likely is that, according to Richard Winger at Ballot Access News, the Virginia GOP may have changed the rules very recently:

But what has not been reported is that in the only other presidential primaries in which Virginia required 10,000 signatures (2000, 2004, and 2008) the signatures were not checked. Any candidate who submitted at least 10,000 raw signatures was put on the ballot. In 2000, five Republicans qualified: George Bush, John McCain, Alan Keyes, Gary Bauer, and Steve Forbes. In 2004 there was no Republican primary in Virginia. In 2008, seven Republicans qualified: John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Alan Keyes.

Was the 10,000 signature deeming rule what both Perry and Gingrich had set as a goal fully expecting that 10,000 signatures was a guaranteed entrance into the race? A quick run through the Virginia State Board of Elections website finds a bulletin dated July 1st that includes an important recommendation (emphasis mine):

Must be signed by not less than 10,000 qualified voters in Virginia, including at least 400 qualified voters from each of Virginia=s eleven congressional districts, who attest that they intend to participate in the primary of the same political party as the candidate named on the petition. Because many people who are not registered to vote will sign a petition, it is recommended that 15,000 – 20,000 signatures be obtained with at least 700 signatures from each congressional district.

Virginia is not a winner-take-all state so even the less-popular candidates stood to gain some delegates in the old dominion state. Now, due to rules that might have changed very recently, only the campaigns with the best organizations  have any shot at those 49 delegates at all.

The so what of it all is that court battles aside, Virginia has set itself up to be a discriminatory super-primary state. Although late in the primary cycle, it may play a larger part than the early primary states.

If Paul and Romney have collected a good portion of the delegates in Iowa and New Hampshire, Virginia’s 10% will be  huge and only Romney and Paul will be on the ballot. Super Tuesday may well contain a super primary – fair or not.

Kentucky

Steve Beshear (D) wins re-election bid as Governor – has more than 58% of the vote

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear has been re-elected, becoming the second Democrat to win a U.S. gubernatorial race this year amid lingering economic uncertainty that’s already proving worrisome to President Barack Obama’s 2012 effort.

Beshear easily overcame challenges from Republican David Williams and independent Gatewood Galbraith, in a conservative state where voters routinely elect Republicans in national races. With 50 percent of precincts reporting, Beshear had 241,211 votes or 58 percent, to 131,319 votes for Williams or 31 percent. Galbraith had 44,893 votes or 11 percent. [from HuffingtonPost]

Ohio

Issue 2: FAILED: SB5 – the limitation of collective bargaining for public-sector unions – Initiative fails, SB5 defeated, unions can hold Ohio citizens hostage again thanks to Millions of Dollars of Big-labor special interest money.

Issue 3: PASSED: Vote to exempt Ohio from Obamacare insurance mandate – measure passes – Ohio citizens have voted to be exempt from Obama’s health care reform individual mandate. Supreme Court case incoming “10th amendment v. Obama”

Maine

Maine voters decided that it should be ok to vote the same day you register overturning the law that would have required voters to register a whole 2 days before the election.

Mississippi

Initiative 26: FAILED: Definition of a Person (personhood) – does life start at conception? Mississippi says no: 42% yes, 58% no with 921 of 1876 precincts reporting

Gubernatorial race: BRYANT WINS: Phil Bryant (R) vs. Johnny DuPree (D): 802 of 1876 precincts reporting 59% to 41% for Bryant

Washington

The Washington Liquor State Licensing Initiative (1183) was PASSED by a 60-40 margin.  The referendum called for the closing of state liquor stores as a part of budget cutting and the privatization of liquor sales.

Virginia

Preliminary indications are that the Virginia Senate will be split 20-20 giving the tie break to the GOP Lt. Governor and control of committees to the Republicans.  However Senate seat 17 has been decided by less than 100 votes.  A recount is expected.

Add that information to this report about how Obama’s fake jobs plan will cause the loss of some 238,000 jobs in the pharmaceutical sector, and we see just how President Obama is misleading the American public about his jobs plan today.

Senior citizens recently saw their Medicare premium, deductible and drug prescription co-pays increase, which is detailed here.

In that factual report, we see some very nasty gimmickry being used that would allow the government to tell Seniors that they have lowered some deductibles, which is true, but they increase average senior medicare costs across the board. Check out the cost of the Senior’s deductible and co-pays for hospital stays in that report, and you will see exactly how the government is squeezing our Seniors today.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of American Action Forum and a former Director of the CBO, says that these price controls “would put people out of work, increase costs for seniors and privately-insured patients, and slow research and development for new drugs.”

When President Obama brings his teleprompter to North Carolina and Virginia this week to tell the people that his jobs plan is paid for in full, what he won’t tell you is that a big portion of it is paid for on the backs of our Seniors through this mandated drug rebate scam. If drug companies want to do business with medicare and medicaid, they will pay Chicago-style mandated graft and kick-backs to the government in the forms of innocent sounding “rebates.” That will drive up the cost of Senior’s prescriptions and it already has, as we saw co-pays raised last week. When Obama tells us that his Independent economists say his jobs plan will “create or save” 1.9 million jobs, it turns out that the main independent economist wasn’t so independent after all: That’s (1.9 million jobs) a number generated by Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s, and a cheerleader for the Administration. Zandi generated the estimate before even knowing that the White House planned to “pay for” the legislation with a $1.5 trillion permanent tax increase. After getting the rest-of-the-story, Zandi amended his analysis. In a letter to Congress, Zandi stood by his rosy jobs prediction, but noted that the tax increases would create a “drag on the economy” within a year of implementation, and by 2015 the economy would be in “the same place” as now.

As far as President Obama’s “independent economists” saying this jobs plan will create jobs, Bloomberg has surveyed 34 other economists and the truth they expose is all-telling once again. See  The Jobs Bill Lie. Check that article out. Instead of the 2% economic growth Obama claims we will see as from his jobs plan, five of those “independent economists” believe it will result in zero % GDP growth! The median GDP growth would be about a paltry 0.6% on average as figured by all 34 economists in the Bloomberg survey. A jobs bill that isn’t actually a jobs bill but in fact is nothing more than a gift for his Union get-out-the-vote-pals in 2012.

So not only will Seniors be fleeced to pay for Obama’s jobs plan, we now see that it will in fact not increase from 750,000 – 1.9 million jobs.  Half a trillion dollars worth of Union graft and bribery, which is no different than the failed Stimulus boondoggle of 2009, is being touted as a “jobs bill” this week by President Obama. To top it all off, Obama’s jobs plan raises taxes during a recession, which is a proven way to drive us into a double-dip great recession or an economic depression. It would be great to see Seniors in North Carolina and Virginia call out President Obama on his fake jobs plan and show him these facts, and also tell him they are not being fooled by it one bit! If there are any Seniors out there who have not yet registered to vote, it is high time you pay attention to what is happening here and get active. You can easily register to vote online and submit your voting ballot right from home, as explained here.

2012 just can’t get here fast enough!

Personal Information

Newton Leroy ”Newt“ Gingrich was born Newton Leroy McPherson on June 17, 1943 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Kathleen “Kit’ and Newton Searles McPherson. Hew grew up in Hummelstown, a small nearby borough. His biological parents were not married but a short time, and divorced.

In 1946, his mother married Army officer Robert Gingrich, who adopted Newt.

Newt has three younger half-sisters.

Robert Gingrich was a career military man, so the family moved a number of times throughout Newt’s childhood.

Education
1961- Graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia
1965- Received a B.A. in history from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia
1968- Received an M.A. at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana
1971- Received a PhD in modern European history from  Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana

Family
Married to Callista, which is his third wife. He has two daughters and two grandchildren.

in 1962 her married his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley. He was 19–years-old and she was 26-years old. Newt and Jackie have two daughters together. After having an affair with Marianne Ginther, Newt left Jackie in 1980.

In 1981, six months after his divorce was final from Jackie, he married Marianne Ginther. In the mid-1990′s, he began having an affair with a House of Representatives staffer, Callista Bisek, who is 23 years younger than he is. Ironically, their affair was going on during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. It was during this time that Newt Gingrich became a leader of the Republican investigation of President Bill Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with his alleged affairs.

After his divorce from Marianne, Newt and Callista married in 2000. They currently live in McLean, Virginia.

Facing His Infidelities
Newt Gingrich gave an interview with David Brody of Christian Broadcasting Network in 2011, and when talking about his infidelities, he said:

 ”There’s no question at times in my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate.”

Religious Beliefs
He was raised a Lutheran, but  while at Tulane, he began attending the St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church to pursue an interest in the- effect of religion on political theory. It was not long before he was baptized by Rev. G. Avery Lee, and officially became a Southern Baptist.

In 2009, he converted to Catholicism, which is his current wife Callista’s faith.  There was a  specific event in 2008 that was the deciding factor in his decision to convert- he day he saw Pope Benedict XVI on his visit to the United States. Of this decision, he stated:

“Over the course of several years, I gradually became Catholic and then decided one day to accept the faith I had already come to embrace. Catching a glimpse of Pope Benedict that day, I was struck by the happiness and peacefulness he exuded. The joyful and radiating presence of the Holy Father was a moment of confirmation about the many things I had been thinking and experiencing for several years.”

He has said that he now has a greater appreciation for the role of faith in public life after his conversion. He also says he believes that the United States has become too secular. While speaking in Columbus, Ohio in 2001, he said:

“In America, religious belief is being challenged by a cultural elite trying to create a secularized America, in which God is driven out of public life.”

Bizarre Fact
In 1995, he was bitten on the chin by a baby cougar during an appearance with TV host and zoologist Jack Hanna.

Professional Career
Present- Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Distinguished Visiting Scholar/Professor, National Defense University
2003 to Present- Founder, Center for Health Transformation
2000 to Present- Honorary Chairman, NanoBusiness Alliance
1999 to Present- Founder, Gingrich Group
1999 to Present- Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
1999 to 2011- News and Political Analyst, FOX News Channel
September 1993- Guest Professor, Kennesaw State College
1970 to 1978- Professor, History and Environmental Studies, West Georgia College

Political Career
1979 to 1999-  Representative, United States House of Representatives
1995 to 1998- Speaker of the House, United States House of Representatives,
1996- Chair, Republican National Convention
1989 to 1994- Republican Whip, United States House of Representatives

Political Campaigns
1964- Congressional Campaign Manager
1968- Southern regional director for Nelson Rockefeller
1974- Unsuccessfully ran for Congress in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District
1976- A second unsuccessful run for Congress in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District
1978- Ran a third time for Congress in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District and won. He was re-elected 6 times from this district, and only once was it a close race. In 1990, he defeated Democrat David Worley by only 978 votes.

2012 Presidential Campaign
Very early on in his campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination for the Presidency, he faced numerous challenges from the standpoint of his campaign staff.

Newt Gingrich Campaign Loses Two More
Newt Stands Alone 
Newt Gingrich: That Ship Has Sailed
Newt Goes From Bad To Worse 

Organizations
Present- Chair, American Solutions Political Action Committee
Present- General Chair, American Solutions for Winning the Future
Member, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Advisory Board Member, Common Good
Member, Committee on the Present Danger
Co-Founder, Conservative Opportunity Society
Member, Terrorism Task Force, Council on Foreign Relations
Honorary Member, East Cobb Rotary
Advisory Board Member, Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
Editorial Board Member, Johns Hopkins University Journal, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism
Board Member, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Member, Kiwanis
Founding Member, Project Vote Smart
Member, World Futurist Society
Founder, Young Republicans Club, Emory University
Former Chairman, GOPAC

Caucuses/Non-Legislative Committees
Present- Member, Defense Policy Board
Present- Co-Chair, National Commission for Quality Long-term Care
1999- Member, United States Commission on National Security/21st Century

Awards
2001- Science Coalition’s first Science Pioneer award
1995- Time Magazine’s Man of the Year, 1995
1998 - Legislative Conservationist of the Year, Georgia Wildlife Federation
1995- Georgia Citizen of the Year, March of Dimes

Contract With America
In the 1994 campaign Newt Gingrich, along with the help of other Republicans, came up with a Contract with America which laid out ten policies that the Republican party promised to bring to a vote on the House floor during the first hundred days of the new Congress if they won the election. True to their word, Congress fulfilled their promise to bring all ten of the Contract’s issues to a vote within the first 100 days of the session, though most legislation was initially held up in the Senate.

Ethics Issues
Newt Gingrich is the only Speaker of the House in the history of the United States of America to have been disciplined for ethic violations. During his term as Speaker of the House, eighty-four charges were filed against him. Eighty-three of the charged were dropped.

The one remaining was regarding a 20-hour college course called “Renewing American Civilization” that Gingrich had taught through a tax-deductible foundation, Kennesaw State College Foundation. The allegations of tax improprieties- which were never proven- led to two counts “of failure to seek legal advice” and one count of “providing the committee with information which he knew or should have known was inaccurate” concerning the use of a tax exempt college course for political purposes. To avoid a full hearing, Gingrich and the House Ethics Subcommittee negotiated a sanctions agreement. Democrats accused him of violating the agreement, but it was forwarded to the House for approval. On January 21, 1997, the House voted 395 to 28 to reprimand Gingrich, which included a $300,000 “cost assessment” to recoup money spent on the investigation. The full committee never agreed on whether or not the tax law had been violated.

In 1999, the IRS cleared all organizations connected with the courses.

On The Issues
Jobs and The Economy

“Creating jobs and getting back to 4% unemployment is the most important step to a balanced budget.”

Tell The Truth About National Security

“We need an honest national dialogue and a determination to be candid about our opponents, honest about the problems, and passionately committed to the survival of America as a free country.”

An American Energy Plan

“Contrary to popular belief, America has more energy than any nation on earth. All that’s keeping us from becoming energy independent is a lack of political will to do so.”

Healthcare

“We must repeal and replace the left’s big government health bill with real solutions that will lower costs and improve health outcomes.”

Protect Life and Religious Liberty

“There is no liberty without religious liberty.”

Executive Orders on the First Day

Imagine it is 3:45 in the afternoon on January 20 2013, shortly after the Inaugural Address, and President Gingrich has just eliminated every White House czar with Executive Order Number One. That would be real change.

Newt has pledged to issue a series of Executive Orders to create jobs and help undo the damage of the Obama administration on the first day of his administration. What other Executive Orders should Newt sign to redirect government on that first day? Submit your ideas!

Published Author
He has authored or co-authored 17 non-fiction books since 1982

1982- The Government’s Role in Solving Societal Problems
1985- Window of Opportunity
1994- Contract with America (co-editor)
1995- Restoring the Dream
1995- Quotations from Speaker Newt
1996- To Renew America
1998- Lessons Learned The Hard Way
1999- Presidential Determination Regarding Certification of the Thirty-Two Major Illicit Narcotics Producing and Transit Countries
2003- Saving Lives and Saving Money
2005- Winning The Future
2006- Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation’s History and Future
2006- The Art of Transformation with Nancy Desmond
2007-  A Contract with the Earth  with Terry L. Maple
2008- Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works
2008-  Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis  with Vince Haley
2009- 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours with Jackie Gingrich Cushman
2010-  To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine with Joe DeSantis

1995- Alternate History Novels and Series with William R. Forstchen
1945

Civil War Series 
2003- Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War
2004- Grant Comes East
2005-  Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory

Pacific War Series 
2007- Pearl Harbor: A Novel of December 8th
2008-  Days of Infamy

Revolutionary War Series 
2009- To Try Men’s Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom
2010-  Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory

Films
2010- Nine Days that Changed the World- Gingrich Productions

On The Web
Newt Gingrich Official Campaign Website
Newt Gingrich on Twitter
Newt Gingrich on Facebook
Newt Gingrich on YouTube
To Save America
On The Gibson Guitar Raid 

In The News
Newt Gingrich: Uninsured Should Receive Health Care Through Charity, Not Government
Newt Gingrich: I’d Fire Ben Bernanke 

_______________________

Sources:
Newt.org
Who2.com
On The Issues 
Project Vote Smart

Master Plans are the center of cities across the nation. City councils use them to steer their city’s vision stretching as far as 2030. They use them to justify keeping citizen’s and businesses in line but when does a plan become counterproductive? How can a constituency turn the direction of their city when unelected bureaucrats are making the decisions? When a plan made by a few is burdened by the whole.

In Hampton, The Richman Group, offered to invest $11 million to rehabilitate Harbor Square Apartments. In March, City Council “voted unanimously not to designate Harbor Square a housing revitalization area.” The reason for the vote was that “the proposal isn’t consistent with a downtown master plan that envisages a time when the apartments at Harbor Square will no longer exist, or the aspirations of some downtown business owners who made their views known.” The city is not trying to change the existing layout, they had changed the zoning to something other than what it is now. The crime ridden, dilapidated apartment complex would remain as is.

After denying the Richman Group the master plan’s revitalization revision, several months later the city voted 4-2 to acquire Harbor Square Apartments for $14.5 million. The plans are that the apartments are to be demolished in 2015. As noted, the Downtown Master Plan was developed with input from more than 300 people. Even though voting against the Richman Group, Councilman Tuck placed reservations in voting against the purchase on the heels of issuing a $38 million bond for the building of a new Courthouse.

While defending the Mayor, the city manager states, “The City decided to pursue the acquisition after hearing from many downtown community members that they did not want to see the property rehabilitated when such an offer was made in March of this year.” As the citizens at the council meeting do not like the city’s acquisition of Harbor Square Apartments, their issues are with the Mayor’s involvement.

While most focus on the Mayor’s personal gain, there are questions that stem much deeper. Who encompasses “the City” and why aren’t elected officials making these decisions? Who exactly does a person vote for, or against, if they feel that elected officials are leading their city in the wrong direction? Who exactly are these “downtown community members”? And most importantly, why are conclusions made outside city council meetings (i.e. discussions held with downtown community members)? The most important question is…how does a citizenry stop “the City” when they appear to be on a suicide mission in pursuit of utopia? Since the Mayor does not pursue…who does? This is about elected officials being accountable to their decisions according to the current circumstances, not holding them accountable to a plan developed by a non-elected bureaucrat.

According to a Case Study conducted by Diana Schor, “Hampton turns every crisis into an opportunity by tapping into its civic base. In 2010, the City had a 5% budget shortfall ($19 million), the worst budget crisis in the last couple of decades. To respond to it, the City has “reinvented itself”…” So, is this how “the City” is responding to this crisis? They move toward the same agenda only changing the players, or reinventing themselves. If there were a crisis last year, why would the city invest $52.5 million into infrastructure this year?

So, the Daily Press quoted a former Downtown Hampton Development Partnership director saying that this was a once in a lifetime chance to change the course of downtown. Is this the downtown community member that determine Harbor Square’s fate?

“The City” took this opportunity to deny a developer from providing a better life for our poor citizens…how is that wrong? So, the Richman Group was not looking for a change in reality which was an apartment complex, they were looking for a change in the plan. For the taxpayers of Hampton, there was a $25.5 million swing, along with the revenue lost in collecting property taxes as the city pursues its dream. But in the end, is this free market or social engineering?

In 2007, the City of Hampton, Virginia used tax money to hire the Tennessee Transportation and Logistics Foundation (TTLF) to conduct a Taxi study. The study states that restructuring “depends upon the actions of the existing or potential full service taxi companies.” It also states that things could deteriorate with the loss of Hampton’s only full service taxi company if it decides to relocate its equipment and capacity elsewhere. In addition, GPS technology to track cabs; vehicle age limits and 24/7 dispatching were requirements within the study and it acknowledged some businesses will not be able to comply and go out of business. So, the City of Hampton implements an ordinance that prohibits nearly all from doing business in Hampton Roads.

Someone gave this college professor (disguised as a company) the authority to implement an ordinance that puts people out of business. Our local governments are instilling draconian ordinances that cannot be refuted and greatly impacts the industry catering to limited number of companies.

The neighboring city of Newport News took a slightly different route by appointing a Transportation Panel to engage the issue. Two organizations represented were the airport and the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber who voiced concern about the customer service and impact that the taxicab industry has on tourism in Newport News. So, when researching the Chamber’s membership, the two active members under the taxicab category are the Yellow Cab of Hampton and Yellow Cab of Newport News, the largest companies in their respected locales.

If the Transportation Panel wishes to protest the taxicab customer service or tourism issues, the airport should not be involved. With body scanners, taxicabs are the least of their customer service problems. While the airport implemented a 10-year vehicle age limit on taxicabs, the average age of a Delta aircraft is 13.8 years and US Airways is 12.2 years. What age restriction is the airport going to require of these airlines? Oh, that’s right…. Crony Capitalism.

There are situations like this happening across the nation. Salt Lake City reduced the number of taxis 25 percent and the number of cab companies to two. They even restricted the number of taxis waiting at the airport. Just this week, San Francisco taxi drivers went on strike due to mandatory credit card machines. Now, where’s the outrage at our city government for pushing credit card machines.

In Miami-Dade they conduct audits and they have an auction for taxi medallions at a minimum bid of $100,000. They also require wheelchair accessible vehicles, security cameras, rear compartment swipe (credit cards) and dispatch systems. Of course, TTLF conducted a study in 2007. In Austin, they had a four-person team from the city conduct an audit to where they required more than one full-time Enforcement Officer to ensure compliance. Again, the implementation of these requirements was preceded by a TTLF taxi study.

City council members need to consider where you stand on this issue because if you vote to implement this, this will create another bureaucratic department and put businesses out of business. For a small business owner, buying a new taxi every so many years or demanding expensive oversight equipment is the equivalent to a major airline purchasing an aircraft. But this is a good test to see who is willing to make the vote…crony capitalism for the airlines, credit card companies & government control or entrepreneurism for their constituents?

To my fellow citizens, it is a time to see where your city council actually stands. If they vote for it, they are either ignorant on the subject or exercising crony capitalism. Either way, they may need to go. Either way, let their actions speak.