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RepublicanGazette
Wednesday, December 12, 2007    "When news breaks, we fix it"   Published daily except some days
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  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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Just published -- Sen. Russ Weeks tells the behind- the-scenes story of one man's fight for the truth! 
More counties should hold conventions so all Republicans can take part in vote
When planning for the West Virginia Republican Presidential Convention took place many months ago, it was determined that at-large delegates to the convention would be voted on county by county, and counties would have the option of holding a convention or simply having delegates chosen through online voting.
As it turns out, probably fewer than 20 counties are holding convention, so many of the counties with contested at-large delegate races will have those decisions made by online voting only. The trouble is, Republicans had to sign up by Nov. 30 to participate in the online voting in January.
When January rolls around, many, if not most, Republicans across the state will become aware of the process for the first time. They'll want to participate, but they'll find out that if their county is not holding a convention, they're out of luck if they did not register by the Nov. 30 deadline to vote online. And most of them did not register, given that organizers anticipate only about 2,000 of the state's 340,000 GOP voters signed up to vote online.
Among the counties that have opted out of holding a convention is Kanawha, the state's largest county, and the county with the most delegates signed up of any county in the state, with more than 160 at-large delegates vying for the 51 available at-large spots allotted to Kanawha. If 2,000 is the total number statewide of online voters, probably only a few hundred of Kanawha's 37,000 Republicans have signed up to vote.
When January comes around and word starts to spread about the voting going on, chances are the other 36,500 or so Republicans in Kanawha will be rather upset when they're told they missed the Nov. 30 deadline to sign up.
On one hand, it's their own fault, since extensive advertising was done on statewide
radio and other methods. Plus, if Republicans were as involved as they should be in their county parties, they would know all about the convention and its rules by attending county meetings or signing up for the Kanawha County GOP's email newsletter.
But the reality is, most voters don't focus on elections until it's time to vote, and that will likely be the case in regard to the convention and the January voting that will elect at-large delegates to the big Feb. 5 event.
If we were starting from scratch in planning the convention, the one big change I would want to see would be that counties were not just given the option of holding conventions; instead, conventions would have been required, and a portion of fees collected by the state party would have been set aside to help counties pay for them.
Much of this is 20/20 hindsight, and there's no effort in this corner to place blame anywhere. This whole convention process is a first-time endeavor for everyone, and everyone is learning as they go.
Originally, convention organizers indicated that counties had to decide by Nov. 30 whether to hold a convention. But they have also indicated lately that if a county that previously said it would not hold a convention wanted to change its plans, after seeing how many at-large delegates have signed up, it could do so by Dec. 15.
Kanawha is used here as an example because it is the biggest county and has so many delegates signed up. But other counties that did not choose to hold a convention, but ended up with more at-large delegates signed up than the delegates that are allocated, should also rethink their positions.
Democracy is best served when every legal voter gets to participate in the process. Holding county conventions that allow every registered Republican the opportunity to cast a ballot is the only way in this case to make that happen.
Adams welcomes competition in primary
Bob Adams, candidate for the 16th State Senate district, said today he welcomes competition in the Republican primary and looks forward to comparing his vision for the district with the other candidates.
This week, both Bolivar councilman Ronald Moltere,64, and Jefferson County Commissioner Rusty Morgan, also 64, announced they are jumping into the race, and another candidate is rumored to be considering launching a campaign.
"A primary will allow a full comparison of our records and our vision for the Eastern Panhandle," said Adams, 38. "I look forward to comparing my background and career, and the energy I will bring to this campaign, with the record and actions of my opponents," said Adams.
Adams has already committed $25,000 of his personal funds to the race, and said he looks forward to engaging his opponents in an ongoing dialogue about the future of the 16th District.
Still waiting on an invite from the governor
It is difficult to describe the despair I feel with each day that goes by and no invitation arrives for one of the governor's Christmas parties.
After all, here I am, one of the governor's biggest sources of publicity, and I'm left standing outside the tent once again.
Since I wrote a couple of weeks ago about my high hopes of being one of the 2500 people invited to one of the gov's multiple parties, I've had a couple of offers to attend one of the events as the guest of people who did get invited.
But I don't want that. That would be like having to crash a party. I would know I really
wasn't wanted, and that would break my heart.
But I think there's still time. If I could just get invited to one of the remaining parties, I promise to be a polite and courteous guest. I won't say anything to anyone about the big hole Mojo knocked in the wall of the governor's mansion without asking anyone, and I won't ask to play poker on one of the new poker tables, and I won't even bring free copies of Russ Weeks' new book.
I'll just be a quiet little church mouse, enjoy a few snacks, take a few pictures, and write later about how much I enjoyed the evening.
C'mon, gov. You can just email me an invite. Please?
Morton Blackwell, one of the statesmen of the conservative movement, on Tuesday endorsed Fred Thompson for President:
"Of all the candidates who have a chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination, Fred Thompson is my choice. Senator Thompson has the most conservative instincts on the public policy issues that are important to America,” said Blackwell.
Fred issued this statement:
"I am grateful for the endorsement of Morton Blackwell, who is one of the most respected leaders of the conservative movement in America. His long history in the conservative movement matches my own journey. We were both early supporters of Barry Goldwater and Ronald
Reagan and we have been consistent conservatives since. I appreciate Morton’s confidence in my commitment to conservative principles, my vision for our country, and my ability to lead it."
Morton is founder and president of the Leadership Institute, an organization dedicated to training conservative activists.
Morton and Fred both share a bond as Barry Goldwater fans. Morton was Goldwater’s youngest elected delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention, and Fred has said the ideas in Goldwater’s The Conscience of a Conservative “were as clear as a church bell on a cold winter night.”
Morton Blackwell endorses Fred for president