Guest post by RPV 10th District Chairwoman, Jo Thoburn
There has been much bantering over conventions and primaries for the last several months as we prepare to choose our next presidential candidate. Some are quite zealous about their arguments, while others think it is just an issue of finances or convenience.[read_more]
What seems to have been lost in the discourse is the sole purpose of the nominating process, which is to have Republicans select our Republican candidate for President of the United States.
We do not have party registration in Virginia. Any registered voter can vote in any government run primary. In 2008, after John McCain had locked up the Republican nomination, many Republicans voted in the Democrat primary to stop Hillary Clinton by casting a vote for Barack Obama. (If you are reading this you likely know a few.) Hillary Clinton received only 35.46% of the vote in Virginia.
Sean Hannity started the trend encouraging Republican voters to cross over and vote against Hillary with his “Stop the Hillary Express.” Rush Limbaugh followed suit with his “Operation Chaos.” Many other right-wing media hosts jumped on the bandwagon and are credited in part with keeping Hillary Clinton from receiving the Democrat nomination for President of the United States.
The Stop Hillary Express and Operation Chaos did cause chaos in the Democrat Party. I seriously doubt they have forgotten. So do we really want to open up the Republican Party process to chaos and antics from Hillary Clinton and Terry McAuliffe?
It’s a matter of revenge.
If we have an open primary where Democrats can vote, which is the only option for a government run primary, we are asking Hillary Clinton to choose our Republican nominee for President. The integrity of this process will be jeopardized.
It’s time to think strategically.
This is not American Idol where a desision is made on the results of a non-scientific, popularity poll. This is a serious matter which needs to be assessed with great consideration of the consequences.
I am embarrassed by those who whine about the hassle of having to attend a convention, who claim it’s too much trouble to raise the money, or to work on the tighter timeline which the Republican National Convention will require. Do they think our founding fathers thought it was too much of a personal inconvenience to fight the American Revolution or procure our liberties through the passage of the Constitution?
It’s time for the State Central Committee to show some courage. We must make the right choice and vote for a convention to insure the integrity of the process, even if it is unpopular or inconvenient. There is really only one choice we are making at Saturday’s State Central Committee meeting: whether the Republicans will choose our 2016 presidential nominee or if we will allow Hillary Clinton and Terry McAuliffe to choose for us.
