Posted on 04/24/2016 11:47:35 AM PDT by Beautiful_Gracious_Skies
In addition to "grass-roots" campaign workers, there are at least eight Super PACs backed by 'shadow elites' who are driven to defeat Donald Trump and they are banking on Ted Cruz. At least one of these super PAC leaders, Katie Packer of OPP, met behind closed doors at the RNC Spring Meeting this week in Florida. Packer states that a republican candidate should "uphold orthodox GOP ideology." This smacks of irony given her past allegiance with Romney/Ryan and Ryan's inability to uphold GOP principles as Speaker of the House.
The super PACs are calling, texting, emailing, lobbying, and all-out wining & dining the 2,472 delegates who will vote at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Elite super PACs directly interfere and influence delegates' decisions which is an encroachment and perversion of the electoral process. These deep-pocketed super PACs are funded by a small cadre of shadow billionaires. They appear to work in tandem with TeamCruz, yet just outside the confines of his official campaign to avoid scrutiny and violations from the FEC. After months of campaigning, the race boils down to a delegate battle funded by the shadowy money of a few elites, rather than the reflection of the caucus and primary votes.
While some super PACs were focused on advertising, they are currently playing a huge outside role in courting and flipping delegates for Cruz. The Our Principles PAC (OPP), run by Romney's 2012 deputy campaign manager -Katie Packer, is an organization developed exclusively for defeating Donald J. Trump. At the Spring RNC meeting in Florida, Packer distributed a four page plan to promote her delegate strategy.
OPP is the most well funded #NeverTrump super PAC. Funded by the Ricketts family -billionaire owners of the Chicago Cubs, OPP has spent $16,000,000 to defeat Trump. In addition to negative media advertising, they hire workers to distribute anti-Trump literature which can be found at precincts and state conventions. OPP's mission is to organize delegates and deploy any number of tactics with the goal of depriving Trump of as many delegates as possible in upcoming contests.
The culmination of the OPP effort is the utilization of staffers to target every state delegate bound or unbound. They seek to convince them by hook or crook to dump Trump at their respective state convention or in July at the RNC convention. Those already pledged to Trump after winning their state are being luxuriously lobbied to back Cruz on the subsequent ballots. The primary purpose of OPP, no matter the cost, no matter the ethics, is to ensure as few as possible delegates will be inclined to support Donald Trump.
Another anti-Trump super PAC, #NeverTrump, has focused on the logistics of the RNC convention in Cleveland. They have booked hundreds of hotel rooms in order to comp the targeted republican delegates. NeverTrump began as a grassroots group started by allies of former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). They have endorsed Cruz in some states and Kasich in others, frustrating both candidates. NeverTrump is pushing Kasich in Maryland, and Cruz in Indiana. Paul Singer, the billionaire hedge funder, is another elite that has already wasted millions on negative Trump advertising to no avail. Now Singer is spending his millions scheming behind the scenes to reduce the numbers of Trump delegates that Donald Trump has earned.
Be forewarned. What is being done to Trump by destructive outside forces can also be done behind the scenes to Cruz at the convention. In the end, these same strategists and operatives manipulating this election cycle aren’t just alienating potential GOP voters. They are positioning to help the GOP lose the White House. Again.
you are spot on.
i have faithfully voted repub since i became naturalized us citizen in 1970, mainly because the alternate choice was always more liberal.
but if trump is denied in 2016 by DIRTY tricks by GOPe,
I promise to abstain in all 2016 elections.
PS: I just moved to Florida, and my future votes may actually mean something in presidential elections. in WA state it was meaningless!!!!!!!!
“but if trump is denied in 2016 by DIRTY tricks by GOPe,
I promise to abstain in all 2016 elections.”
You and millions of other people. It has become undeniable that the Grand Old Poopah, controlling wing of the GOP is desparately trying to lose to Hillary so they won’t have to face an end to their grand theft of America’$ bright future under outsider Trump. It’s pathetic to watch.
Congrats on living in a state that matters in elections!
Oh, and the WORST part about it, or at least the most ironic, is that if it weren’t for some rich, flamboyant outsider entering the race and changing Cruz’s popularity, Ted Cruz himself would have been the victim of the GOP’s desperate attempts to put “Their Guy” into the White House.
And that’s not because I think Cruz is truly an outsider; I don’t. He’s one of them and has shown himself to be totally controllable. It’s because they hate him so much!
I forgot to tell you thank you for writing this well-written, thought-provoking piece. Lots of good stuff there!
I’m also embarrassed to be a republican. It gets worse and worse every day as the world looks on in amazement at what’s happening in ou so, called “free elections.” It makes our country look extremely hypocritical when viewed in the context of our history of “spreading democracy.
No need to comment back. Mainly I just wanted to say thanks. :-)
Oops. Sent that to the wrong person!
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