Perry and Gingrich Fail to Qualify for Virginia Primary

UPDATED: I noted this morning that Newt Gingrich - who is as always engaged in a tempestuous love affair with himself - failed to qualify for the GOP primary in Virginia. Now, the hubris fulled blowhard is ranting that his failure to be on the Virginia ballot is the equivalent of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Here are some highlights from Think Progress on this ridiculous diarrhea of the mouth:

Reeling from their own ineptness, the Gingrich campaign quickly announced that it would “pursue an aggressive write-in campaign.” But as we noted yesterday, Virginia laws prohibit such a write-in campaign.

The New York Times assessed that Gingrich’s failure could “shake the confidence of voters.” The National Review called both Gingrich and Rick Perry “idiotic.” On Fox, Karl Rove said flatly, “This is a problem — if you’re the front runner and you can’t organize your campaign so you can meet those filing deadlines. It’s elemental. It’s the fundamental thing you do.”

[Gingrich] Campaign director Michael Krull . . . . agreed that the analogy is December 1941: We have experienced an unexpected set-back, but we will re-group and re-focus with increased determination, commitment and positive action.

Gingrich, who fashions himself as an historian, frequently employs Peal Harbor analogies and anecdotes. In fact, he has co-authored an historical fiction book about Pearl Harbor, which literary critics blasted for its shoddy quality.

I can just imagine the vile ads that will run in advance of the Virginia Republican primary. Fortunately, two candidates will not be on the ballot, not that we won't hear lots of their batshitery nonetheless. The Virginian Pilot reports that both thrice married serial adulterer Newt Gingrich and Texas Christianist Rick Perry have failed to garner the 10,000 signatures required to be placed on the primary ballot. Gingrich is having a childish tantrum and blaming Virginia's ballot requirements rather than face the fact that he and his campaign staff failed to get their act together. Here are some story highlights:

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich issued a scathing critique of Virginia's nomination process after he and Texas Gov. Rick Perry failed to qualify for the March 6 Republican primary in the commonwealth.

The Republican Party of Virginia announced the developments Friday and early Saturday, saying that the two have failed to submit the required 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot, considered setbacks in their bids for the Republican presidential nomination.

That Gingrich and Perry failed to get on the ballot in this state that votes on Super Tuesday underscored the difficulty that first-time national candidates - many with smaller campaign operations and less money - have in preparing for the long haul of the campaign. The Gingrich campaign today said Virginia has a "failed system."

It also illustrates the advantage held by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. He's essentially been running for president for five years, and his team, smaller than in 2008 but larger than most of his 2012 opponents, has paid close attention to filing requirements in each state. He will appear on the Virginia ballot, along with Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who also has run a national campaign before.

"After verification, RPV has determined that Newt Gingrich did not submit required 10k signatures and has not qualified for the VA primary," the Republican Party of Virginia announced early Saturday on its Twitter website.

Failing to get on the ballot will be a major setback for Gingrich, who has tried to use his recent upsurge in popularity to make up for a late organizing start. Ironically, Gingrich had a slight lead over Romney, with others farther back, in a Quinnipiac poll of Virginia Republicans released earlier in the week. The load of catching up on organizing work and a lack of advertising money to counter an onslaught of negative ads from his rivals have been major disadvantages.

Meanwhile, Virginia's Democrats said President Barack Obama's re-election campaign gathered enough signatures to get him on the state's primary ballot though he was the only candidate who qualified.