Libertarians Need Not Apply | Bacon's Rebellion - Peter Galuszka:
June 14, 2020 - "The Virginia Republican Party had a big shock Saturday. Far-right candidate Bob Good snatched the party’s nomination in the fifth congressional district from incumbent Denver Riggleman, who was backed by President Donald Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr., the head of Liberty University.
"The remarkable twist could presage an arch-conservative backlash against Trump’s populism in the run up to elections this November. University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato tweeted early Sunday morning that 'the Virginia GOP has gone so far to the right that a congressman backed by (Trump and Falwell) isn’t conservative enough to renominate.'
"The 5th District includes the cities of Lynchburg and Charlottesville and covers broad swaths of highly socially conservative rural areas. Riggleman’s problem was that he had Libertarian tendencies and had officiated at a gay wedding. Good hit Riggleman hard on the wedding and pushed a platform that included considerable xenophobia. For example, in his campaign, he stated that he wants to make English the official national language and 'stop accommodating immigrants and their native tongues, because it’s our unity that’s our strength,' according to the Roanoke Times....
"The drive-in convention that decided the candidate also is extremely odd. Riggleman wanted a primary but the local GOP opted for a convention instead. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the GOP decided that the Tree of Life Ministries Church would be a polling place for the convention in which people would drive by in their cars. It just happens that the church is where Good worships.
“'This is the most perverse way to choose a candidate,' Riggleman said Saturday before the results came in. Good claimed he got 58 percent of the vote....
"The Virginia GOP has been in disarray for years. Republicans haven’t won statewide races in a decade. The three top state posts are held by Democrats which made big inroads in the 2018 congressional elections and the 2019 General Assembly races."
Read more: https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/libertarians-need-not-apply/
June 14, 2020 - "The Virginia Republican Party had a big shock Saturday. Far-right candidate Bob Good snatched the party’s nomination in the fifth congressional district from incumbent Denver Riggleman, who was backed by President Donald Trump and Jerry Falwell Jr., the head of Liberty University.
"The remarkable twist could presage an arch-conservative backlash against Trump’s populism in the run up to elections this November. University of Virginia political analyst Larry Sabato tweeted early Sunday morning that 'the Virginia GOP has gone so far to the right that a congressman backed by (Trump and Falwell) isn’t conservative enough to renominate.'
"The 5th District includes the cities of Lynchburg and Charlottesville and covers broad swaths of highly socially conservative rural areas. Riggleman’s problem was that he had Libertarian tendencies and had officiated at a gay wedding. Good hit Riggleman hard on the wedding and pushed a platform that included considerable xenophobia. For example, in his campaign, he stated that he wants to make English the official national language and 'stop accommodating immigrants and their native tongues, because it’s our unity that’s our strength,' according to the Roanoke Times....
"The drive-in convention that decided the candidate also is extremely odd. Riggleman wanted a primary but the local GOP opted for a convention instead. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, the GOP decided that the Tree of Life Ministries Church would be a polling place for the convention in which people would drive by in their cars. It just happens that the church is where Good worships.
“'This is the most perverse way to choose a candidate,' Riggleman said Saturday before the results came in. Good claimed he got 58 percent of the vote....
"The Virginia GOP has been in disarray for years. Republicans haven’t won statewide races in a decade. The three top state posts are held by Democrats which made big inroads in the 2018 congressional elections and the 2019 General Assembly races."
Read more: https://www.baconsrebellion.com/wp/libertarians-need-not-apply/
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