February 26, 2021 News & Press Releases

GOP Week in Review: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Parking Spots


by Democratic Party of Virginia

Richmond, VA — The Republican Party of Virginia never misses an opportunity to show the Commonwealth and the country why they are unfit to lead. In another bitter meeting, Virginia Republicans decided to host a massive single convention to choose their nominee this year — guaranteeing a chaotic race to the right over the next several months.

Meanwhile, the Republican candidates continue stumbling over themselves to win support from the Donald Trump wing of their party and catch up to frontrunner Amanda Chase. Here’s the week in review:

The Republican Party of Virginia Finally Chose a Nomination Method...

After weeks of chaotic deliberation, the Republican Party of Virginia decided that this year, they will select their nominee for governor at a single, massive drive-in convention at Liberty University. The “disorganized and broke” Virginia GOP will now have to orchestrate a mass gathering of thousands of delegates from across the Commonwealth — and they have absolutely no plan for how to pull it off. 

This guarantees that as they struggle to plan the convention, the Republican nomination fight will continue to play out as a disastrous sprint to the right as candidates vie for the support of only the most hardcore Republicans. 

...But Forgot to Check the Details

During the RPV’s meeting, when asked about the logistics of hosting a convention at Liberty and whether the University had even approved such a proposal, a committee member made a bold promise:

"We do have approval from Liberty...We certainly would not have proposed it if we did not have their authorization to do so. We most certainly have the authorization to do that."

It turns out, this was entirely false. Liberty was caught by surprise and promptly issued a statement that they had “not agreed to any particular plan or contract.” The good news for Virginia Republicans is that Liberty made it clear they have experience renting out their parking lots for circuses and carnivals, so the GOP convention would be right at home. 

This disaster led Rich Anderson, the chair of the Republican Party of Virginia, to apologize to his weak, crowded field of candidates for the “prolonged period of uncertainty” caused by the party’s ceaseless “infighting, division, and disagreement.”

Things are off to a great start.

The Rigged Primary Chaos Continued

Despite the party’s decision to hold a convention, the chaos surrounding the Republican primary process is only getting worse. After the chaotic meeting, it was reported that Pete Snyder’s campaign treasurer has been advising the committee tasked with making nominating decisions — a blatant conflict of interest.

Frontrunner Amanda Chase — who has repeatedly stated that she’d run as an independent if she is treated unfairly — immediately called foul on this conflict of interest and warned that “the shenanigans are already starting.” While the other candidates have yet to comment, the allegations of a rigged primary will surely continue.

The Republican Candidates Rushed to Prove Their Loyalty to Donald Trump

As reported by The Washington Post, five of the six GOP candidates for governor declined to say that Joe Biden legitimately won the presidency. For Glenn Youngkin and Pete Snyder, however, declining to say whether Biden was legitimately elected is just the start. 

Glenn Youngkin has launched an eLeCTiOn iNtEgRitY tAsK fOrCe — designed to spread misinformation about our democracy and do very little else — as he scrambles to figure out which direction to take his desperate campaign next. 

Pete Snyder — who appointed Ken Cuccinelli to lead his campaign’s “ballot integrity and electoral security operation” — is peddling the same conspiracy theories as Donald Trump. Now, as he continues his efforts to undermine faith in this year’s election, Snyder is calling for “NFL-style scouting reports” on Virginia election administrators.  

The problem with these initiatives is that they don’t go far enough for GOP frontrunner Amanda Chase. Chase complained that she’s “the only candidate that's actually saying, ‘you know what, I do believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen.’”

A healthy competition of ideas is upon us.

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