Have you seen my new map of the state of West Virginia?
Hey kids! Governor Manchin here! Guess you heard about Jefferson County, right? They voted against adding table games at the racetrack! Can you believe that? By the way, you should see the new state map hanging in my office! West Virginia now ends at Berkeley County! Funny, isn't it, how a whole county can just suddenly drop right off the map? I think so! That also solves any problems I might have had in next year's election, since the guy running against me is from Jefferson County! Not any more! He's not even in West Virginia -- not that Jefferson County really ever was, anyway! But now it's official! So next year, it's my goal to sweep all 54 counties! Where's Jefferson? Shoot, for all I know it's in Maryland or Virginia, where it really wants to be anyway! Good luck and good riddance! By the way, I got two new poker tables at my house! Ha!
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Thursday, June 14, 2007
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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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Both GOP and Dems move to conventions, but Republican plan more dramatic change
Both the West Virginia Republican and Democrat parties are moving to new convention formats to select next year's national convention delegates, but the GOP plan allows more delegate selection from the grassroots level than the Democrat plan, and will be more important in actually choosing the presidential winner of the state.
Both convention plans have passed legal muster and are well into the planning and preparation stages.
As in 2004, the West Virginia GOP will send 30 total delegates to the 2008 national convention. Three of those spots are reserved, as usual, for the state chairman and the two national committee members. Eighteen delegates will be elected at the state convention on February 5, 2008, while nine will be chosen by voters in the May 13 Primary election. (You can read the Republican plan by clicking here.) State Chairman Doug McKinney and convention Chairman Bob Fish recently held separate conference calls with presidential campaigns and media members to discuss the new format.
The Democrats, meanwhile, have 39 delegates, but only 18 will be elected at their convention, scheduled for June 13, 2008. (County caucuses will be held in April to select delegates to the state convention.) Their remaining 21 delegates are either set aside for elected officials, or will be handpicked by elected leaders, state party officials and the state executive committee. (You can read the Democrat plan by clicking here.)
Obviously, the Democrat state convention is occurring after voting happens in the May primary for presidential candidates. The Democrat plan (which mistakenly lists May 6 as the Primary date) calls for a delegate apportionment system based on primary results.
The bottom line is that the Republican convention process is more geared toward actually choosing a winner for president, while the Democrat convention is more geared to choosing who gets to serve as delegates to the convention after the winner of the May Primary election is already known.
The GOP plan gives West Virginia Republicans an early and important voice in choosing the president. In fact the Democrat nominee will likely be known by the time the May primary rolls around, let alone the Democrat convention in June.
For Republicans in West Virginia, the new convention format offers Republicans in all 55 counties the chance to choose delegates to the Feb. 5 state convention, either through a county convention or through online balloting, which will occur between January 1-14. In the past, candidates for delegate to the national convention were listed alphabetically on the Primary ballot.
That format led to constant complaints that individuals whose names started with letters at the lower end of the alphabet had a more difficult time winning than people with names starting with, say, "A" through "M," since voters had likely already picked the allotted number of candidates by the time they reached the middle of the pack.
The new convention format was approved last year by the GOP state executive committee at the recommendation of then-Chairman Robin Capehart.
The amount of attention the new GOP format will focus on West Virginia by presidential campaigns will very possibly result in higher participation in the convention process than would occur in the Primary process.
By May, when the Primary happens, the presidential nominees will likely be known, depressing turnout. Under the Republican plan, West Virginia will be a major player in choosing the GOP nominee, announcing the victor of its winner-take-all convention by mid-afternoon, before the results are known in states holding primaries that day.
Greater participation likely due to focus of GOP presidential campaigns on WV
Adams fields questions on WEPM
GOP gubernatorial candidate discusses reasons for running
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Adams was a guest Wednesday on WEPM's "Panhandle Live" program, fielding questions from hosts Chris Strovel and Judy Boykin on his vision for West Virginia and his reasons for seeking the office.
Adams pointed out that the status quo in charge of state government has failed to bring about the changes the state needs. He pointed out that as a small businessman, husband, and father of four young children, he cares about the future of the state and wants to use his campaign to present a positive vision for West Virginia.
McGraw jumps the gun on announcing concealed carry agreement with Ohio
When Attorney General Darrell McGraw last Friday announced reciprocity agreements with several states in regard to honoring West Virginia concealed carry permits, he apparently jumped the gun in regard to at least one state.
The agreement with Ohio had not yet been signed, and as of Wednesday neither Ohio or North Carolina had West Virginia listed on their official websites as having a reciprocity agreement in place.
In Ohio, carrying a concealed firearm without a valid permit is a felony, and gun advocates were busy warning West Virginia residents not to count on their West Virginia permits to be honored in Ohio until the issue has been clarified.
