Free Republic

So, why not just change the rule to avoid this problem? According to the GOP rule book, the rule cannot be changed until the Republican National Committee holds its convention meeting in 2016. Unlike 2012 when Governor Romney had sufficient delegate strength to stack the rules committee, absent a candidate emerging with the capability to achieve majority wins in states throughout the nation, the 2016 rules committee gathering will bear representatives from the many candidates still in the game—meaning anything can happen.

"Rule 40(b) - Each candidate for nomination for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each of eight (8) or more states, severally, prior to the presentation of the name of that candidate for nomination. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these rules or any rule of the House of Representatives, to demonstrate the support required of this paragraph a certificate evidencing the affirmative written support of the required number of permanently seated delegates from each of the eight (8) or more states shall have...

Our coffee club conservative meeting yielded an unusual conclusion, that some thought everyone knew. The GOPe are pushing for Cruz, but not for the reason some people think. They, In Our Opinion, don’t want Trump to win the nomination because he could/would win against any Clinton/Sanders contest, whereas Cruz, would not win against either of the Democratic contenders. So they are not backing a winner, they are purposely pushing for the Republican that will lose against the Establishment candidate, probably Clinton. Why would they do this? To keep Washington exactly as it is, and understand, they don’t give a Da!m...

A majority of voters casting their ballots in the Wisconsin Republican primary on Tuesday said the party's nominee should be the candidate who receives the most delegates, regardless of whether that person clinches the 1,237 majority outright, according to an NBC News exit poll. While 56 percent said the nomination should go to the candidate with the most votes, 42 percent said the delegates should be able to choose anyone they prefer at July's Republican National Convention in Cleveland. More than eight-in-ten of those who said they supported Donald Trump (83 percent) said they preferred the nomination go to the...

While we disagree with Mr. Buchanan on which candidate is the best standard bearer for the conservative movement there is one thing we do agree on – passionately. No matter who gets the Republican nomination, the establishment must lose. In a recent column “Lock Out The Establishment In Cleveland!” Pat Buchanan echoed the conclusions of our four-part series on what conservatives should do if Trump wins the nomination: As Buchanan explained, to accomplish that goal, “All Trump and Cruz need do is instruct their delegates to vote to retain Rule 40 from the 2012 convention. Rule 40 declares that no...

Back in the day, when national party conventions were largely autonomous events rather than infomercials for a nominee chosen in primaries and caucuses, you'd have many names, including multiple "favorite son" candidates who were not really running for president, placed in nomination, with extensive time spent on nominating speeches and even "spontaneous" floor demonstrations. As conventions became more tightly controlled and their managers worried about things like ensuring that the balloting and acceptance speeches occurred before East Coast television viewers were asleep, nonserious candidacies were sacrificed to efficiency. Among Republicans, the tradition developed that no one's name could be placed...

The media and the Washington chattering class are very focused on the prospect of a "brokered" Republican convention – despite the fact that, as former Republican National Committee chairman Haley Barbour has pointed out, there are no "brokers" in smoke-filled back rooms anymore. Seriously: Who do people think the brokers are – Bob Dole? John McCain? Mitt Romney? Maybe a bunch of cigar-chomping scotch-drinking fat-cat lobbyists? Things don't work that way anymore, and they haven't for years. Voters wouldn't stand for it. "Our nominee is going to be picked by the voters in the primaries and the caucuses," Barbour told...

Anti Trump Infiltrators are moving into delegate positions in states Donald Trump has; either won by winner take all,or by proportionally awarded by percentage. This is being orchestrated by GOP County Chairmen, primarily in and out of County conventions. Rules differ by State and County with some delegates being appointed and others elected, so one size does not fit all cases. Here's the rub: Although all delegates are bound to vote for the delegates on the FIRST ballot. After that they can vote to change convention Rules and vote for any candidate you want. If you do not have a...

With the prospect of a contested convention looming over the Republican presidential primary, Donald J. Trump on Sunday complained about the party’s rules requiring a candidate to have a majority of delegates to clinch the nomination outright. Asked by George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” why he should be “guaranteed the nomination” if he failed to amass the 1,237 delegates needed to win it on the first ballot, Mr. Trump said that he might be unable to clear that threshold. But he blamed the number of contenders in the Republican field. “If I’m a little bit short – and one...

Solomon Yue, one of the 168 members of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from Oregon, has promised to present a startling proposal to the RNC Standing Rules Committee when it meets in April: toss the archaic, contentious, 1,500-page RNC rule book in favor of Robert’s Rules of Order: “To make the convention more transparent, I will advocate ... adoption of Robert’s Rules of Order to replace the 1,500-page U.S. House rules to govern the convention.”Yue is already picking up support for the idea, including that of Kansas RNC member Helen Van Etten, who said that “our party’s grass roots have...

Top Republicans will try to force more transparency at the party’s national convention in July, aiming to scrap their 1,500-page rule book in favor of simpler procedures that they hope will head off arcane maneuvers designed to deny Donald Trump the presidential nomination. The changes wouldn’t guarantee Mr. Trump the nod but would make it easier for all sides to see what sorts of changes anti- Trump factions are attempting. Some members of the Republican National Committee want to ditch the massive rule book, which is based on the parliamentary handbook of the U.S. House, and instead use Robert’s Rules...

As election season progresses… The scrutiny over a potentially brokered GOP convention is escalating. One America News examines one rule that would have to be changed in order for the presidential candidate pool to expand… And what it means for “Donald Trump and the future of the Republican party.

In order to be considered for the nomination of the Republican Party RNC rule 40 states that the canidate must win a minimum of 8 states with a majority (50% + 1). Going into the 2012 RNC convention rule 40 previously stated that elegiblity for the GOP nomination a canidate shall win 5 states with a simple plurality. In 2012 Ron Paul met the requirements of the 2012 version of rule 40. Well that was untenable for the party elites. They did not want it see Mitt Romney challenged on the convention floor by Paulbots. So in 2012 the RNC...

The topic of Rule 40 for the convention has come up a few times over the last several months, and I feel this rule is misunderstood. The rule in question in the one requiring 8 majority wins for a candidate to have their name entered into nomination. I call it the "Magic 8" rule. Below please find my attempt to explain the rule simply, and also include some analysis of where the race stands now in terms of this requirement. The critical language of Rule 40: A candidate shall demonstrate the support of a majority of the delegates from each...