Who populates that convention? All the delegates selected through these elections. The Primaries matter. If this boils down to Newt vs Mittens, you better believe the delegations will all be GOP establishment insiders. How is Palin going to sway them?
The last time there was a contested convention was between Ford and Reagan in ‘76 and both men were in the full Primary contest. Reagan had people in his corner to help with that fight and as we all know, it fell short. Thinking that Palin or anyone will be able to roll in there and just sway delegates that here there in support of other candidates is a stretch.
It ain’t over until the balloon drop.