defeating Perriello is the goal.

I’m the biggest Reagan fan there is, but let’s be honest.

OK, Tea Party activists, nominate your candidate. I think that while you might win some elections, you will be heading towards a dead end. Narrowing your appeal so that even someone like John Warner is excluded is not the path to victory.

However, people like Verga, who betray their lack of understanding (or expose their willingness to manipulate) by lobbing ridiculous bombs, making unfounded allegations and trying to pigeon hole this race into something it isn’t, are simply manipulating people into an “us v. them” fight for their own personal gain.

Well, now conservatives have been given their chance. Party insiders have in effect abdicated their ability to nominate their candidate of choice via convention. Instead they are giving the campaigns the opportunity to expand the base and bring new people into the party process. While a few people insiders deem as not-republican enough may show up to vote for their friend/neighbor/church member, those numbers can easily be dwarfed by the supposed grassroots groundswell that is out there. This process provides a excellent opportunity to take newly engaged tea party activist and merge them with the Republican process. As long as that process is fair, which it will be, and the nominee is a “conservative”, which if the reported size of Tea Party is accurate the nominee will be, than life is good.

The most irritating thing about this entire process though is our continued lack of firm principle’s on how we nominate. We almost always choose the method best suited to select the establishment candidate, usually a convention. We as a party in this state need to just select one method and get on with life, thus ending this almost routine bickering we seem to have with every nominating process for dog catcher to statewide.

like it or not, Hurt has indeed run for office & won. like it or not, he has the attention of big Republicans which all of us will welcome come next September when we need money, advertising & GOTV efforts. like it or not, he already represents about 30% of the district & has some name ID. finally, like it or not, he’s lived in the 5th all his life so he knows the issues.

and finally, he is a young, charismatic candidate. Damn, I’m grateful we have him. He is our best chance against Perriello.

It is not about online activists. It’s about turnout overall. The concern is that Rob Hurt wouldn’t be able to get the same type of turnout among conservatives, both Republican and independent, as what McDonnell got in 2009. Remember that this will be the only race on the ballot. Enthusiasm matters a lot!

1- Defeating Perriello.

2- Electing a conservative.

Depending on your approach to politics, your emphasis will be more on 1 than 2, or 2 than 1.

While I respect individuals who focus on 1, it’s important to remember that if our candidate is based entirely on an emphasis on defeating Perriello we risk alienating the people who want to elect a conservative. And in this political climate the people who want to elect a conservative are ready to be mobilized!

But I also understand the fear some people feel about Perriello surviving 2010. Here’s my attempt to calm your fears

1- We still have redistricting. And while a total GOP gerrymandering seems impossible now, let’s keep in mind that the 5th District doesn’t have a large pocket of Democratic voters it can be connected to. Charlottesville IS the Democratic island of the area.

2- A run for the Senate in 2012 or Governor in 2013 would mean, in addition to Webb retiring, that he is able to take down Connolly or McAullife in a primary. And while he’s liberal, he hasn’t been _that_ liberal.

The worst case scenario is that Perriello becomes a Boucher and is set for life in the district. The best is we elect a conservative to replace him. If asked to pick between a conservative in 2012 or 2014 and a less than reliable conservative in 2010, I’d pick the former.

Also, by saying that you don’t advocate a third party but say that the GOP better watch out is merely an empty threat. You demanded more of them on Saturday but the GOP in the 5th district responded with a big smack in the face.

Make no mistake about it. The Tea Party patriots are here to stay. It would be the most foolish thing in the world to underestimate a force that gets bigger and mobilizes more ever day. This election is the Republicans to loose. Periello won by around 500 votes and only on Obama’s vapors. If a candidate is does not create a reason for conservative Republicans to vote for him/her then he/she will likely loose. Whether Hurt is a liberal or not, he is perceived as one. Strike one. He is also perceived as the “establishment” candidate…more accurately he is the establishment candidate. Strike two. He is the reason that every county is now going to have to shell out +$20,000 each to hold a primary. Strike three.

Leadership at the top of the Republican party is going to find out real soon how painful the base can make it for them. They did in NY23 and they just might again here. I’m not advocating a 3rd party run but once again the “party” is ignoring it’s core…CONSERVATIVES!

Roanoke Conservative largely answered your question addressed to me but I’ll nuance it a little. Several of the “conservative” candidates would rally the “conservatives” but I view Morton as the only “conservative” who can also rally the “establishment.” Do not in anyway construe that as an endorsement. It’s not my fight and I’m not jumping in. Just making the point that Morton is beginning to look like the “uniter” candidate whereas the rest seem to be running “us against them” races within the party. That sets up a disaster in November. Just my 2 cents from a few miles across the line in the 6th.

Greg