Gamesmanship: Did Barnes Run Out The Clock On Ros?
Posted on September 21, 2008 at 12:32 pmTim Barnes on why he took the steps he did to become the Democratic nominee in state Senate District 22:
“State law also advised there could have been another primary, but there was not time to have another primary,” Barnes said. “The only other option was to have this process. …
“After that process I was overwhelmingly named the nominee.”
But why was there no time? Tim Barnes lost the Democratic Primary on August 7th. That election was verified on August 18.
Instead of immediately filing to contest the election Barnes waited til the following Monday, August 25th, the last of five possible possible days, to file.
That week, of course, the movers and shakers of the Democratic Party were in Denver for the national convention and were unable the rule on the petition.
This timing set up a situation where the Democratic Party was up against a clock. Ballots had to be printed and sent out overseas by September 20th, yesterday. The Democratic Party did not hold there first hearing on this matter until Sept 13, seven days before ballots had to go out.
This not only ensured that there could be no additional primary, it also ensured that Kurita could not have received relief through the courts in time to change the November ballot.
So the question is: was this all coincidence or did Tim Barnes purposefully run out the clock in order to give the proceedings a sense of urgency and to provide Kurita little room to maneuver once he and his allies in the Democratic Party had flipped the election?
Comments
6 Responses to “Gamesmanship: Did Barnes Run Out The Clock On Ros?”
Hey, dude, the real act of gameswomanship here was Kurita filing as a Democrat this cycle in the first place.
How so? Wouldn’t filing as an independent been the real gangster move?
She would have had incumbency, Republicans and loyalists all on her side.
The only way she could have been beaten in this cycle was in a Democratic Primary.
How was her risking defeat in that way gamesmenship?
Maybe, the real truth is she wasn’t playing games but just letting the process work. Whoever won, won. She knew how hard the big D would work to defeat her. What she didn’t expect was for her party, and yes, she was and is, a Democrat, to so openly use little understood processes in politics to disqualify her. They brought more attention to the issue rather than less. It’s just the oddest political season ever.
the real act of gameswomanship here was Kurita filing as a Democrat this cycle in the first place.
Why didn’t Barnes just file as a Republican?
Why did taxpayers fund an election for the Dems only to see the results thrown out when they weren’t to the parties liking. If voting in a primary is just a ruse, let the taxpayers off the hook and the Dems can go back to the smoke filled rooms.
ACK -
You know that there are no coincidences when dealing with party politics.
This removal of the voters from the election process was the most coordinated maneuver by the Tennessee Democratic Party in recent memory. Thank God that they aren’t this organized on a regular basis or we’d all be in trouble.
Cheers,
Rob