COMMENTARY | Texas Gov. Rick Perry just won't take no for an answer. This time, he's asking a federal judge to order Virginia to include his name on the primary ballot in March. I admire his courage, but I seriously doubt he will still be a candidate when primary day rolls around.
On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that Perry's attorneys filed a motion with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., asking that the court order his name to be included on Virginia's GOP primary ballot.
A lower state court has already ruled Perry did not meet state law requirements and it would be inappropriate for a federal court to simply overturn that requirement. Only former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Rep. Ron Paul will be on the Republican ballot.
Virginia's rules are pretty restrictive -- everyone knows that. To qualify, a candidate must secure 10,000 signatures, which must include at least 400 signatures from each of the congressional districts in the commonwealth. Perry did not qualify under those requirements, nor did any of the other GOP candidates. Restrictive or not, they are the rules and every candidate knew about them from the onset. Clearly, the Romney and Paul campaigns were able to follow the rules and qualify.
In an ideal world, it would be best if Virginia voters could choose from all of the candidates that are running. But in the real world of politics, March 6 is a long time away. There will two candidates still standing on that date -- and Perry will not be one of them. In fact, after the South Carolina primary on Saturday, the field should be pretty well pared down to Romney and Ron Paul (only because that man isn't going to quit under any circumstances).
Every state gets to determine the qualifications for ballot access. Virginia rules are what they are and Perry failed to comply. For that reason, his name does not belong on the ballot.
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