2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumCould Virgil Goode Cost Romney the White House?
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/08/01/could_virgil_goode_cost_romney_the_white_house.htmlCould Virgil Goode Cost Romney the White House?
Time looks at Virgil Goode's run for president under the Constitution Party ticket in Virginia.
"His candidacy has Republicans sweating: Goode is pulling fully 9% of Virginia's vote, according to a mid-July Public Policy Polling survey, leaving Obama ahead of Romney 49% to 35%. In a tight election where Virginia's 13 electoral college votes could make or break the Romney's candidacy, even 2% for Goode could pull enough Republicans away to hand the historically red state to Obama in November."
http://swampland.time.com/2012/08/01/virginias-virgil-goode-could-this-man-cost-mitt-romney-the-presidency/#ixzz22KSb9hbq
Virginias Virgil Goode: Could this Man Cost Mitt Romney the Presidency?
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Goode could easily maintain at least a few percentage points in Virginia through the fall. He remains a popular local figure who served in the Virginia State Senate for 24 years and then then represented VAs 5th district in the U.S. House until 2009. His platform is simplehe can recite it under 15 seconds. One: balance the budget now, not later. Two: Get Americans jobs by ending illegal immigration and making legal immigration harder. Lastly: Impose term limits.
Its a message that appeals to many voters in rural, small-town Virginia. His Old Dominion charm is a break from a national race that can often seem impersonal. Goode remembers where his former constituents kids go to school, when their siblings moved to a nearby county, and how their family businesses have fared for the past two or three generations. He opens all his own doorsand all doors for his staffersand makes sure that women enter first. He attends Pleasant Hill Methodist Church (though hes Baptist) and spends his days on the trail at chicken festivals and gun shoots. To top it off, he narrowly missed giving a speech at a memorial dedication because he stopped en route to save a beagle who was hit by a truckhe even paid a passerby to drive the dog to the vet before he continued on his way.
Many supporters in Farmville support Goode for his conservative economics and social policies. He wants to eliminate foreign aid, issue a moratorium on 1.2 million green cards, and audit the Federal Reserve. For James Ailsworth, owner of Farmvilles Keys Office Supply store, signing Goodes ballot petition comes down to just one issue. Which side of the check do your supporters sign? Weve got a guy up there who signs the back side, he says, referring to Obama and the national debt. Goode doesnt miss a beat. Front side. Ailsworth grabs a pen: Ill sign. A woman in the checkout line signed up because of Goodes immigration positionshe doesnt support automatic U.S. citizenship for children born of undocumented parents, saying that the policy misconstrues an amendment to the Constitution, and he believes that showing a birth or naturalization certificate should be required to receive social service benefits. Youre like I am, she says. We take care of our own first.
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So, considering the close contest, does Goode see a vote for him as a vote for Obama? No, he says. Im taking votes away from Obama as well as Romney. So far no one from the Romney camp has tried to dissuade him from running, Goode says. At least not yet. But one thing is for sure: Goode is almost guaranteed to be on Virginias ballot. He has already has collected 17,000 signatures, well beyond the 10,000 required by the states August 24 deadline. And if theres one state where he can make a difference, its his own.
get the red out
(13,466 posts)I don't think some unheard of 3rd party candidate is going to be the top one.
Denninmi
(6,581 posts)But anything that helps that along is just icing on the cake.
cheezmaka
(737 posts)but he can possibly pull down Romney from the bottom...
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)I don't think it will be that close in EV.
sofa king
(10,857 posts)In his congressional career, Goode managed to betray both of the two major parties and the independents, if such a thing is possible. He's the poster child for political weasels, changing party and ideals whenever the political winds changed.
No serious voter will consider him a serious candidate, so that means he's not going to attract the attention of many Democrats.
He will, however, probably be attractive to low-information voters, as we now describe the irredeemably stupid. Guess which side they're mostly on?
A Butterfly Ballot-type situation may arise here and there where Goode's votes would have spelled the difference had he not been there, but otherwise, Goode's Presidential run is as insignificant as his Congressional career was.
tanyev
(42,557 posts)His middle name does't start with a B, does it?
FSogol
(45,485 posts)Arkana
(24,347 posts)People will get cold feet and vote for the Mittster on Election Day.
DCKit
(18,541 posts)no cell service, no mail, no phone, no internet, limited radio and little contact with other people, but I knew about Virgil Goode and his third-party bid. That's some freaky shit.
Add that to the threat of the Paul-bots, and the coming election could be a real bitch to steal. Given their previous track record, EDS is more than likely to flip votes from Romney to Goode and Paul as much as from Obama to Romney.
November is sure to be a hoot.
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)I don't think the electoral count is going to be so close that VA alone would make the difference. If this does nothing but make the (R)s spend more money there then that is good enough for me.
cheezmaka
(737 posts)That's what he thinks! Sounds like most if not ALL his supporters are CONSERVATIVE which will definitely split or weaken Romney's support in Virginia ESPECIALLY in a tight race. (Reminds me of the saying: If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, then it IS a duck!)