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Abernathy Strategies
New for 2007-08
RepublicanGazette
Monday, December 10, 2007 "When news breaks, we fix it" Published daily except some days
Submissions welcome
The Republican Gazette welcomes Emails to the Editor and press releases. All submitted items must include the name and contact information for the author of the article, and all articles will only be published with the author's name included. Thank you for reading and participating in The Republican Gazette, another of West Virginia's most biased publications.
All opinions are those of The Republican Gazette and its editor, Gary Abernathy, except letters or commentary signed by others, and do not reflect the views of anyone else, including clients of Abernathy Strategies.
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Total delegates
Uncommitted 670 43%
Ron Paul 229 15%
229 15%Mitt Romney 225 14%
Fred Thompson 165 11%
Mike Huckabee 134 9%
Rudy Giuliani 93 6%
John McCain27 2%
27 2%Duncan Hunter 7 0.4%
Alan Keyes 6 0.4%
Gene Zarwell 0 0%
Guaranteed
delegates
Uncomm. 481 62% Romney 105 13%
Thompson 73 9%
Paul 51 7%
Giuliani 34 4%
Huckabee 23 3%
McCain 11 1%
Hunter 3 0.4%
Keyes 0
Zarwell 0
Based on an analysis by the Associated Press' Larry Messina, delegates to the state GOP convention break down as shown above. Guaranteed delegates are those assured a spot because they are legislators or state or county committee members, plus those at-large delegates who are assured of getting through because at-large candidates in some counties did not exceed the number to be elected.
One check pays for 40 Ron Paul delegates as last minute flurry of filings arrives at party headquarters
I told several people last week not to be surprised if GOP candidate Ron Paul ended up filing more delegates than any other campaign for the state presidential convention. I based that on spending some time at party headquarters last Thursday and Friday and witnessing a stream of Paul supporters walking in and filing delegate forms, usually several forms at once, and paying for them with an inordinate number of money orders, for some reason. So lo and behold, Paul is indeed the total delegate leader, at least according to "final" numbers posted Thursday (updated Friday) for delegates to the West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention, scheduled for Feb. 5.On Wednesday, Paul's numbers stood at 177, but a big envelope postmarked Nov. 29 and stuffed with 40 Ron Paul delegate forms arrived at party headquarters on Monday, with one check from someone in the amount of $1,000 covering the $25 per delegate filing fees for all 40.Nothing illegal or improper about that, but it hardly suggests the groundswell of support some Paul supporters might want to claim. It does suggest a good plan to make a big splash with a lot of delegates filed, even if those delegates don't have to pay their own filing fees.Amid reports of some campaigns doing tons of direct mail, robo calls, covering filing fees for delegates and even offering to pay for hotel rooms for delegates at the convention -- not that there's anything wrong with that -- I'm proud of the results for Fred Thompson, who finished among the leaders (and actually in second plane in regard to guaranteed delegates) with nary a dime spent for direct mail, robo calls or any other outreach or persuasion. We just had a great team of volunteers all over the state.As experienced by Vic Sprouse before me when he wrote a few days ago about Congressman Paul, the Ron Paul folks can be a thin-skinned lot. So let me say this -- they figured out the convention rules, had money to spend to build their delegate numbers, and apparently accomplished their goals. Congratulations.And even better news for the Ron Paul brigade -- there's a Star Trek convention coming up in March in Secaucus, New Jersey!Hey, c'mon, lighten up -- yours truly is a guy who endures the ridicule that goes with sometimes putting on a spangled jumpsuit and black wig and pretending like he's a dead rock'n'roll singer. A sense of humor is essential in the political world, even within the Republican family. While I believe it is mathematically impossible for Ron Paul to win the convention, congratulations to his supporters on making a splash with filings. I know the party appreciates the filing fees, wherever they came from.The "final" numbers will change over the next several weeks, as mistakes are found and corrected, and as county chairs begin to fill committee or at-large seats that have yet to be filled in several counties. While the final delegate count is still shaky, what will not change is that delegates running as uncommitted will be heavily courted by the various campaigns, and this thing will be up in the air right up to the convention itself. Swamped GOP convention workers deserve much credit
Whether you think the West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention is a great idea or the worst thing since Hillary Clinton, those who have taken on the task of making it happen deserve the thanks of Republicans everywhere. Bob Fish, the convention CEO, has been swamped with phone calls from campaigns and delegates asking endless questions and sometimes voicing complaints, although usually politely, according to Bob. He has also been busily entering delegate filings into the data base and trying to keep order of it all -- and all as a volunteer. Marti Riggall, office manager at the state party, has gone above and beyond the call of duty by often serving as the first line of defense. The party is the first place people call with convention questions or complaints, and Marti is known for her cool demeanor and professional courtesy in handling all situations with patience and class. And Finance Director Allison Plants was recruited more than once to lend a helping hand as well. Many Republicans have volunteered their time to help sort delegate and online voter forms. I should not start naming them, because many others have devoted their time, but the ones I've seen the most when I have stopped in are national committeewoman Donna Gosney, Kanawha County Chairwoman Melody Potter, and activist extraordinaire Todd Gunter -- every one of them a Mitt Romney supporter, but I won't hold that against them, especially when no volunteer was turned away, regardless of which candidate they supported. A big thank you to them and all the other folks who have volunteered their time, and I'll try to gather a complete list for recognition at a future date.So far, the state party has collected nearly $87,000 from the convention, both from the $5,000 filing fees from candidates, and the $25 per delegate fee. There will be money made from advertising, room rentals for candidate hospitality suites, and other income. The final windfall should be well over $100,000, minus the cost of putting on the convention itself.And love it or hate it, one thing is for sure -- this convention will not be boring.Limbaugh again praises Fred, this time for Rose interview
Just published -- Sen. Russ Weeks tells the behind- the-scenes story of one man's fight for the truth!
Just days after saying Fred Thompson was the only candidate who sounded like a conservative at last week's Republican presidential debate, Rush Limbaugh last week again praised Fred for an interview Thompson did with PBS' Charlie Rose.Under the heading on his website, "Thompson stumps Charlie Rose," Limbaugh on Wednesday praised Thompson for describing what it means to be a conservative, pointing that Fred's answers left the liberal Rose totally befuddled. Read Rush's comments here. Updated Friday 8 p.m.
Delegate list updated again on Friday
Convention exciting, recruitment important
The West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention has understandably dominated the time and attention of GOP faithful across the state, but it should not overshadow the important need for candidate recruitment.When the filing period opens in mid-January, it is imperative that the GOP make a solid showing both in quantity and quality. One of the main reasons for the existence of any political party is to field enough candidates to ensure that democracy can take place at the ballot box. In other words, whenever either party fails to field candidates, it is abdicating its duty not just to members of its own ranks, but to citizens everywhere. When voters go to the polls, they are only well served when there are actually choices to make, even for those who would never think of supporting a candidate from a party other than their own.
The new West Virginia Republican Club has stepped up to take on the challenge, and other GOP leaders like Chairman Doug McKinney and Secretary of State Betty Ireland have also been meeting with potential candidates. It's time for all Republican leaders to become aggressively involved in fielding the best GOP team possible.Fred touts 'more coal' as an energy solution
In remarks that were good news for West Virginia, Fred Thompson said last week that "more coal" and other domestic exploration opportunities are crucial to achieving energy independence and stabilizing prices.According to the Winston Salem Journal, Thompson said that "tapping oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would help lower gas prices."Thompson also said that "other energy options include more coal and nuclear power, as well as undeveloped technologies."
“All of these parts are all relatively small parts of the solution,” he said. “ANWR would be a relatively small part of the solution, but these are all going to be small parts of the solution. We’ve got to do them all.”Thompson said that the country must reduce its dependence on fuel from unstable partners in the Middle East, Russia and Venezuela.
