Posted on 12/28/2011 6:39:01 PM PST by Rational Thought
Newt says that one of his paid campaign workers turned in 1500 false signatures which killed his bid to get on the Virginia ballot.
Algona, Iowa (CNN) – Newt Gingrich cited fraud Wednesday as the reason he didn’t get on the Virginia primary ballot.
Last week his campaign acknowledged they used paid volunteers to scramble to get the required 10,000 signatures but fell short after the former House speaker and Virginia resident boasted his campaign was submitting as many as 12,000-14,000 signatures.
On a campaign stop at an Algona chocolate store, the former House speaker said the “mistake” occurred because one of their workers committed fraud.
“We hired somebody who turned in false signatures. We turned in 11,100 – we needed 10,000 – 1,500 of them were by one guy who frankly committed fraud.”
The campaign called the Virginia ballot qualification process a “failed system” after they learned that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul were the only candidates that were successful.
I think headline writers are among the real vermin of the planet. Sounds to me like Newt was explaining what happened - probably in response to a question about what happened.
Header makes it seem like he called a press conference to point the finger.
Clever...Newt knows some of the next questions will be casting doubt on the other campaigns.
The Gingrich campaign is becoming a bigger jobs by the day. The campaign worker’s name wasn’t Yamamoto by any chance, was it?
I’d look it whatever legal measures I could use to collect the expenses of collecting those false signatures, if he can figure out who was responsible.
That is the price you pay for surrounding your self with dishonest people. Not presidential material.
I wonder if the headlines about Newt and Bachmann this close to Iowa will benefit another candidate?
Doggone, what a larcenous mind you must have. :)
Romney did this in 2008, and knew exactly how to get signatures. He started early, has a great ground game, and was able to collect thosands more signatures than needed.
Ron Paul did NOT collect 15,000 signatures, so every one of his signatures was checked. But he has a fanatical volunteer army, and he’s been through this before, and he had no trouble getting 10,000 valid and verified signatures.
Perry and Gingrich both apparently had to trust people who in the end were not trustworthy.
It’s time to look at romney’s names.
How do we know those names were checked? Where are the witnesses.
Of course, if the worker hadn’t forged 1500 signatures, he would have had fewer than 10,000 and wouldn’t have even been able to submit.
If he’s saying they stopped collecting signatures because they thought they had enough, that would be stupid because he really should have been shooting for 15,000.
Still, I feel bad for him. It’s not easy to get signatures if you don’t have a reliable volunteer base, and it’s hard to enter into a state you know little about and put a team together.
Well, one of them is dead. So I guess we can’t check HER work.
Willard, the organized candidate who won exactly three primaries (only in his “home” states) in ‘08 by self financing? That impresses you and the other Rombots?
I believe it was Bagdhad Bob.
If this is true that man should be on his way to jail. The guy who forged signatures committed a crime.
We’d be calling for it if it were a democrat.
EVERYONE knew how to get Virginia signatures last time due to different rules, that is NO ONE checked addresses.
This time, if you had moved between elections, your name was thrown out.
That’s fair. Not.
That would be about 99.9% of them.
Really, the whole exercise of collecting thousands of signatures has the practical effect of reducing the size of the real electorate, and that reduces my opportunity to VOTE ~ and I object.
Nothing can be off the table.
Why on Earth would Newt hire ACORN to do his ground work for him?
Actually, it's worse than that. It's stupid and meaningless and expensive. Or, in the words of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, it's "embarrassing" and a"sad" rule. But some folks around here treat it like tablets from Moses.
Newt has admitted he had fraudulent signatures. I can’t imagine Rick Perry’s campaign filing a lawsuit knowing he has fraudulent signatures.
We should be calling for it anyway. Fraud disenfranchises voters. That’s why I’m pleased that Perry has filed suit, all the candidates will benefit if he prevails. (Except Romney and Paul)
You read my mind. Nothing to add as you said it.
“Still, I feel bad for him. It’s not easy to get signatures if you don’t have a reliable volunteer base, and it’s hard to enter into a state you know little about and put a team together.”
Newt Gingrich has lived in Virginia ever since he was first elected to Congress 30 years age. If he should be organized anywhere, it should be Virginia.
“Still, I feel bad for him. It’s not easy to get signatures if you don’t have a reliable volunteer base, and it’s hard to enter into a state you know little about and put a team together.”
Newt Gingrich has lived in Virginia ever since he was first elected to Congress 30 years ago. If he should be organized anywhere, it should be Virginia.
LOL, I did get the reference. Just didn’t understand why he would say something like that. One day prior to the deadline he only had 8000 signatures. Someone like a Baghdad Bob had to be sitting in a coffee shop writing down names from a phone book. It didn’t work.
” in the words of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, it’s “embarrassing” and a”sad” rule. But some folks around here treat it like tablets from Moses.”
Or Joseph Smith....
It is not surprising if the opponent(s) sent the frauds over to Gingrich and/or Perry to sabotage their petition.
Oh well, VA stupidly limits their voters’ choice. It will backfire on them.
I still say - demand equal protection under the rule - check soetoro/obama’s documentary proofs that he is constitutionally eligible to be the president, or his name will be off the ballot!
That’s a stupid response. Mitt Romney has been running for President for 5 years now. You can be assured that he has an organization in place to win primaries.
UNderstanding that he has an organization is not the same as being “impressed” by it, and acknowledging the strength of an opponent doesn’t make him your friend.
That is true. And he had to sign each page and get it notorized, affirming that the signatures were real. So that is a clear case of fraud.
Ron Paul had his signatures validated line by line, and seems to have managed to get 10,000 with valid addresses.
The pages we used in 2008 clearly stated that addresses were required.
I have exchanged e-mails with the former RPV chair, and am assured that during HIS term, they checked the forms carefully (that would be the 2009 statewide primaries), including checking for valid addresses. He can’t say what they did in 2008 because he wasn’t there in 2008.
SO while I can’t say what they did in 2008, I can say that this isn’t the first time RPV checked the addresses, they did it in 2009. Another myth busted.
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