Posted on 02/03/2008 10:36:28 AM PST by proudofthesouth
What is a brokered convention? What causes it? Would it be a GOOD thing for the Republicans to have this year?
Before primaries political bosses controlled state delegations at nominating conventions. When a party could not decide on a candidate after several ballots, the bosses would meet in “smoke-filled” rooms and “broker” a choice.
A little simplistic, but you get the idea.
It’s when none of the candidates get the majority of the delegates.
What is a brokered convention?
A fantasy.
It will never happen. About the time people start to figure out that the guy they don’t like is inevitable, they start talking about a brokered convention.
Not. Gonna. Happen.
It basically means a convention in which no candidate has a majority of the delegates. In such a scenario (it has been a long time since this has happened), a “Dark Horse” compromise candidate may emerge - someone no one ever expected and who may not have been running in the first place. Is this a good thing? It is if you don’t like anyone who is running right now...
well, they vote several ballots and no one gets a certain majority.....it may be more than just 50.1%
then they essentially negotiate delegates to reach a concensus
it’s a zoo i’d reckon
shame they can’t duel anymore
The party leaders can meet in smoke-filled rooms but the delegates still choose.
Merrill Lynch sells all the candidates to foreign investors and the election is cancelled. The proceeds are used to pay down the national debt.
NIRVANA!! THAT’S WHAT A BROKERED CONVENTION WOULD BE FOR ROMNEYITES!!
However, this has been an unusual year in that each party has two distinct front-runners and it is becoming likely that one if not both conventions this summer will be brokered.
As to whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen. For the GOP, if a brokered convention means that McCain will not be the nominee, than it is definitely a good thing. For the Democrats, the Clintons are nasty enough to emerge from any brokered convention the victors because they will stoop to any level and make any deal necessary to ensure that they emerge with the nomination.
It is caused by not enough delegates being won in the primaries to win nomination by any candidate.
Is it good? well, if it led to a strong conservative candidate I would say it is a good thing. OTOH, if it fractures the conservative vote and leads to a portion of the conservatives going to a McCain for example, giving him the nomination...it would not be a good thing IMHO.
Either of those two options will be on the table in a brokered convention...and maybe more.
Yeh, bshomoic, but then it could be...GADS!! It could end up being HALEY BARBOUR!!!! Man, I would split a gut...
I assume with the candidates left its possible no one gets a majority even with multiple ballots. Is there no rule that forces the lowest delegate vote getter off subsequent ballots which then pretty much assures a majority eventually? That would make it a two person race at some point.
Right, SamAdams, but it wouldn’t necessarily mean it would be Romney, either. In fact, it probably wouldn’t be EITHER man, pissing off a lot of voters from both camps...
Oh, and a brokered convention is far less likely to occur with the GOP than with the Dims because the GOP has so many “winner take all” states... A candidate can win 35% of the vote yet get ALL of the state’s delegates. With proportional, he only gets 35% of the delegates...
What a brokered convention would tell us is exactly who and what the party elites REALLY want to foist on the voters. That’s the exact reason they don’t want to allow a brokered convention to ever take place.
They want to always be able to point and say, “The voters choose him/her. If you want to have a different nominee, then vote for your candidate in the primaries. It’s too late now. Ha, ha, ha.”
(They don’t actually say ‘Ha, ha, ha,’ loud enough for anyone outside the realm of the elites to hear.)
This is exactly why WE want a brokered convention, so we can blame the ones whose fault it really is, the elites. This election cycle, anyone who doesn’t want a brokered convention is either one of the elites, or an elitist enabler. (Or an elitist wannabe. Or an idiot. Wait, I repeated myself.)
It’s like electing a new Pope.
Hey, SamAdams—
We COULD end up with...SENATOR LIEBERMAN!!
And don't forget about the superdelegates--I think 10% or 20% come directly from the party leadership.
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