Five out of Seven is wrong!

The news broke right before Christmas that Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich have failed to qualify for the Virginia primary.  Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman found the qualifications so difficult that they did not even try.

There are seven contenders for the GOP nomination and only two will be on the ballot in March, unless something is done.

What can be done?

This whole situation is simply not right.  In November, less than two months before the qualifications, Virginia CHANGED THE RULES for qualifications.

The end result is five of seven serious Republican candidates not even being on the ballot.   The result is that Virginia voters will not have a choice, unless the Republican Party of Virginia changes its mind. 

Tea Party groups are gathering in support of all of the candidates appearing on the Virginia ballot.  The only way to change this terrible outcome is public pressure on Virginia.

A group of Tea Party leaders is sending a letter to the Virginia Republican Party.   The letter is below.  If you would like to be a signer of this letter, please reply to this post and put your name, the Tea Party group you are associated with and if you have a title with that group, put it as well.   We are on a tight time frame.  Signatures must be collected by 8 PM tonight, Pacific Time.

If you think it is wrong that Virginia is excluding five of the seven major Republican candidates, now is the time to speak.  Take a moment and tell your friends, those in Tea Party groups and other groups who believe the people should be heard, about this letter.  Ask them to come on to Tea Party Nation and sign this letter today so we can get it to the Virginia Republican Party.

Here is the letter:

Republican Party of Virginia,

America is about choice and representation, especially when it comes to elections. Civil, lively and extended debate and discussion about our voting options is what keeps our nation free and independent. Our freedom to choose whom we want to vote for, and the freedom to actually vote for that person is one of America’s unique defining features.

Elections encapsulate the vision of America’s freedom. Securing free and fair voting for citizens is part of an incredible birthright about the choice of electing representatives for any office in the land. Access for any citizen to become a candidate for any office should not be so limited that only a select few are able to participate in the process. The creation of rules that make running for office prohibitive rather than participatory and open limits the very freedoms guaranteed by our founding documents. Limiting the choice of a myriad of candidates further limits the debate, discussion and dialogue essential to the United States of America’s republic.

America is at a critical juncture in our history and the coming 2012 elections will prove to be one of the most important in our young republic’s history. This is no time to place exclusionary provisions on the electoral process. Our inherent and inalienable rights as Americans should be open, secure and inclusive in order to give voters the power of choice as we discuss the candidates for 2012, including the candidates for the president of the United States.

Virginia’s GOP presidential primary ballot is a perfect example of the exclusionary process for potential candidates. Our point is that when five out of seven GOP presidential candidates are either unable to secure the 10,000 votes needed to get on the primary ballot—something is wrong. The Republican Party should provide the maximum freedom of choice when it comes to conservative candidates.

Does the Republican party of Virginia want to elect a conservative president in 2012? If so, why are they denying the citizens of Virginia the opportunity to choose from all the candidates? As citizens of the republic of the United States of America we expect the freedom to choose our representatives and we invite the Republican Party of the Commonwealth of Virginia to expand our choices and do the right thing by allowing all the GOP presidential candidates a spot on the ballot in their primary.