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?
“...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...”
I agree if a brokered convention got to a third or fourth ballot that no one who ran in the primaries would end up nominated.
It could end up being a “drafted” candidate, Cheney, Condi Rice, someone else from the administration, Gingrich, or alternatively a compromise liberal selection, Colin Powell, that Hegel guy (ugh)... Which convention goes first? Anyone remember? You could play the race card and nullify Obama with Rice or Powell, or the gender card to nullify Clinton with Rice.
Whoever said Clinton would win a brokered convention among the Bolshies is no doubt correct. They’ll slit throats if they have to.
What might be fun at the Repub convention is for conservatives to show up in the streets and stage protests and such. I mean, we NEVER to get to have any fun. Instead of Yippies, we could call ourselves the Yip-Yip-Yippies as a nod to Rush—and our tendency to be older than your average political rioter. If we’re gonna be marginalized into oblivion, we might as well get tear-gassed and meet some chicks along the way. (Well, I’m pretty sure I’m just kidding here...?)
123 delegates from the RINO elite? Now that is scary.
How did that happen and how can we stop it?
That would be Yip-yip-yahoos.
I am happy to be a Yip-yip-yahoo.
Well, I like CZB's suggestion above that we all show up at the convention and stage a 'riot'.
A brokered convention would simply be a recipe for electoral annihalation in November.
Instead of the candidate being known in March or April and being able to essentially campaign and get their ideas across from then, the candidate would only have a couple of months. That would be suicide if the other party have had a clear run for all those months while internal bickering was going on on the other side.
If we look at the Republican race as it stands, the most likely route to a brokered convention would see McCain with the largest (but not decisive) amount of delegates, Romney with the second largest and Huckabee with the third largest. The most likely scenario in that case is that Huckabee simply pledges his delegates to McCain in return for the VP slot. That could be arranged well in advance of the convention.
The chances are very very slim in that scenario of the process stretching out and no decision being reached leading to a ‘dark horse’ candidate emerging (although this is a common fantasy that you will see being mooted on FR currently). The incentive would be for two candidates with sufficient delegates between them to reach agreement. What reason would there be for them not to do so?
It could also mean the devil himself emerging.
CZB-
YOU CRACK ME UP!! LOL!! Well, you could be right...However, it would NOT be Rice or Cheney. No Bush Admin person is going to get the nod from conservatives. 8 yrs is enough, too much, actually...
If they nominated Kansas GOP Chair and GREAT anti-illegal alien laywer Kris Kobach, I’d be in Seventh Heaven...
Why does this remind me of the process through which the Pope is selected?
“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...”
Now wouldn’t that suck. McLame and Romney spend 100 million to get the nomination and some politico with clout says Gingrich would be a better choice for the party.
A fantasy where people magically get a candidate they like.
I’d love to see Newt factored in. Yes, he has baggage, but what candidate doesn’t? I see a lot of negatives in all the candidates. We’re going to be fighting negatives with any of ‘em. Might as well be fighting for one I actually want. That would be Newt.
Actually, I still have a “none of the above” feeling.
What about Franklin Pierce?
"nominated for president as a dark horse candidate on the 49th ballot at the 1852 Democratic National Convention. In the presidential election, Pierce and his running mate William R. King won in a landslide,"
I don't know if Cardinals smoke, but they do use smoke signals to communicate the status of their deliberations to the outside world.
I think the Libertarian Party delegates smoke too, but not tobacco.
Believe it or not I remember the 1940 Republican Convention that I heard on the radio. Thomas E. Dewey was set to “get” the nomination when the galleries started yelling “WE WANT WILKIE”, “WE WANT WILKIE”! They got Wilkie and he lost to FDR in November. Not exactly a “smoke filled room” It was a long time ago and I do trust my memory(?)
That's basically the scenario that I see has a good chance of unfolding. Obama will win a small majority of delegates in the primaries and then you will have the Clinton camp howling that it is unfair to not have the Michigan and Florida delegates counted (states in which the Clintons won handily) and as you state above, all hell will break loose.
We should all remember how the Clintons would not take their name off the ballot in Michigan while most other candidates did (at the request of their party), guaranteeing them an easy win as Obama did not contest there. Then in Florida, the Clintons showed up for "fundraising" right before the primary and had the audacity to claim they weren't really campaigning there. The Clintons knew they needed to "win" those states as insurance, in case Obama happens to squeak out a slim majority of open delegates.
I guarantee you all that if Obama goes into the convention with small lead in delegates, the Clintons will find a way to make Florida and Michigan count after all.
Thanks for this thread, I was wondering the same thing.
I'm wrong, I read that somewhere but didn't check facts, shame on me.
Last time it happened was 1940 - Wilkie.
Voting will not correct the real root problems. I’m sorry to say that, but though it’s theoretically correct what you said, in reality, it is impossible.
SADNESS.
This too shall pass.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%202,%2047%20;&version=9;
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