Let's Settle This: Debate Suggested Over GOP Primary, Caucus & Convention System and Rules

Self ^ | 15 April 2016 | AmericanInTokyo

[AmericanInTokyo]

"To be suspicious is not a fault. To be suspicious all the time without coming to a conclusion is the defect." -- Lu Xun

Donald Trump and his campaign generals have lodged serious allegations and complaints about the 2016 Republican Party rules governing the election of delegates to the National Convention via primaries, caucuses, county/local and state conventions or a combination of these.

Words such as "rigged", "fixed", "corrupt" and "broken" have been thrown at the party on state levels in the aftermath of delegates allegedly being 'poached' from the Trump Camp by the Cruz Camp, with the conspiratorial assistance of the "establishment" of the Republican Party, which wants to do everything within their power to prevent the Will of the People to be expressed which would necessarily result in the nomination of a firebrand, Mr. Trump.

Ted Cruz' response, similar to that of state GOP parties or national party spokespersons, has been that rules and protocols governing the intricate selection of these national delegates were known way in advance, and that Mr. Trump is simply upset because through his lack of preparation and late ground infrastructre in the various states, he has come up short in organizing his followers through these processes.

Examining the potential impact of the charges to our very American Way of Life and the Rule of Law, it can be seen as serious, indeed. The standing inference is that basically a corrupt system is operating to deny the front runner the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. Internationally it is now widely reported that stunning, high-level charges have been brought against the concept of free elections in none other than the United States, and as a result the image of the United States is suffering. Because this is an open, volatile and festering wound at present, a clear conclusion should be reached through a public airing of these allegations, and subsequent rebuttals to them. It is in this spirit that the following is suggested:

[AmericanInTokyo]

A 90-minute, moderated, prime-time DEBATE on one of the major American TV or cable networks, as soon as possible should take place. The question should be the assertion, "The 2016 GOP primary season is tainted and illegitimate due to unfair practices and exclusionary tactics engaged in by the Republican party on the local, county and/or state level."

Participants in this prime time debate should be Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, the prime interlocutors. This could be structured as a one-on-one moderated debate between Mr. Trump and Mr. Cruz, to give clarity to and gauge the charges being currently leveled by Mr. Trump and specifics to prove his assertion, and time for Senator Cruz to refute the charges and likewise express his understanding of the various GOP presidential candidate selection procedures.

If necessary, a "team debate" concept could be fashioned, with Mr. Trump assisted by Mr. Manafort, and Mr. Cruz assisted by Mr. Cuccinelli or Mr. Roe.

Candidates and participants would be encouraged to bring specific instances of "corruption" they feel might be damaging the democratic system, and could further allow each candidate to reveal to the public at large their grasp of the intricacies of the process.

I would further expect many impassioned Free Republic supporters of Mr. Trump to support such a debate proposal since many of them are extremely certain in their statements that widespread corruption exists within the party resulting in delegate-stealing from Mr. Trump by Mr. Cruz. Cruz supporters have been equally adamant about this situation from their standpoint.

[niki]

The issues isn’t just the GOP it is the super-delegates in the Democratic primary. The whole thing is rotten.

[Bobalu]

[Just mythoughts]

eye - roll Nothing is going to undo the real and perceived damage the Colorado GOP pulled. They put up and pull off a sham election let them rot in the sewer.

[Tzimisce]

....you’re going to use a corrupt system to try to reform the system?

Good luck with that....

[AmericanInTokyo]

That certainly is a good observation about superdels over in the Socialist Party.

[crz]

Here is how an honest primary should be run and not one that is set up for scam.

1. Each county should get one delegate and the winning of that county by popular vote means that delegate is BOUND to the winner. Could be congressional districts if they do not lean towards the county. The candidate wins that county/district, then the delegate is bound to the winner.

2. Each State gets two delegates and the winner of the total popular vote for the state gets those two delegates and they are BOUND to the winner.

No backroom deals, no pandering or bribes. The candidate with the most delegates is the nominee at the convention-END OF STORY!

[Duchess47]

I am a Trump supporter and would never support another debate. Cruz is desperate for publicity and a chance to attack again. He’s had, what, 9 chances? Time to give it up and shut up.

[AmericanInTokyo]

That’s one side of the argument, definitely.

[DoughtyOne]

LMAO

Poor Ted. The guy is desperate.

It’s over. One day Ted will figure it out.

Until then it’s Kabuki Theater.

In three days, Ted is officially unable to get 1237 delegates.

Couldn’t happen to a more deserving guy.

[jimpick]

Why should Cruz have charges leveled at him because the GOP rules were not put in place by him? Why should he have to defend himself because he followed someones rules.

This whole thing is set up to put Cruz on the defense for problem he did not create.

[XEHRpa]

Our voting rights are protected for the general election. There are no voting rights for primaries. The GOP is a private entity, owned by the GOPe. The law permits the party to pick their candidate any way they want.

That said, if they hope to sell the public on their candidate, they pretty much have to treat us as investors, rather than mere consumers of their candidate product. And that is where the problem is. Americans perceive that we are being given a GOPe product and told to shut up and buy it. Legally, they are within their right to do it that way. But they risk going out of business with that style of marketing campaign.

[sargon]

Go for it...

[stockpirate]

Trump has no need to debate Ted, Trump is pulling away from Ted and Ted is crashing as we speak. It looks as if Ted will lose the next 6 primaries where the people actually get to vote.

The convention rules are ALWAYS written just before the convention starts by the incoming delegates made up of the 3 canadates delegates, two from each state, then all the delegates vote on the rules for this convention.

[21twelve]

I think having a national referendum vote should be done. A debate isn’t going to do anything. A nationwide vote of the people will.

[AmericanInTokyo]

But Trump and his side do intimate the sense that they are on to something, something really BIG (and rotten in Denmark). Would not such a debate, since you feel they are in the right, would be a chance to blow this thing wide open on national TV with deeper specifics than what we have been getting?

[stockpirate]

The GOP as a private company doesn’t hold water, they do get huge amounts of taxpayer money.

[AmericanInTokyo]

It is an issue of specificity and confidence. A counter point would be that the Trump team would be called into account for their precinct-level organization, so they too might well be on the defensive.

[MaxistheBest]

The one good thing that could come of this is the American public would finally get a good look at the sleazebag Jeff Roe.

[Duchess47]

Of course not. You know as well as I, the media, Cruz and Roe would spend the entire 90 minutes insulting Trump and his supporters. Don’t be disingenuous.