There can be no doubt that the two major parties missed the deadline. The deadline doesn’t relate to stand-ins. It relates to knowing the final nominees of the parties. The law was passed in 2005 to make it possible for Texas to get started printing its ballot by the end of August so as to mail military foreign absentee ballots early.

It’s not the strategy that elicits giggles, it’s the inability you have to see that your candidacy, under any circumstances, is anything BUT “viable”.

Of course both heavies will claim that they did in fact submit and corroborating paperwork will appear. Subsequently, an amended filing will be considered legitimate. Unless someone from the inside comes forward or contradictory information surfaces, it’s doubtful anything meaningful will emerge from this.

If, however, there is a legitimate cause or standing from the Barr campaign, it might prove to be the most fruitful and disrupting aspect of the campaign. One would think that if the prospect of denying ballot access to major parties in a mjor state were actually possible, it could easily be forgotten (at least by those with standing in a possible case) if entrance to said debates were suddenly ‘negotiable’ . . .