Posted on 03/17/2012 5:07:29 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
All Odds Aside, G.O.P. Girding for Floor Fight By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG
CHICAGO — For the first time in a generation, Republicans are preparing for the possibility that their presidential nomination could be decided at their national convention rather than on the campaign trail, a prospect that would upend one of the rituals of modern politics.
The race remains Mitt Romney’s to lose, and if he continues to accumulate delegates at a steady clip starting with contests in Puerto Rico on Sunday and Illinois on Tuesday, he can still amass the 1,144 necessary to secure the nomination before the last primary, in Utah on June 26.
But as he struggles to win the hearts of conservative voters and hold off a challenge from Rick Santorum, party leaders, activists and the campaigns are for the first time taking seriously the possibility that neither he nor anyone else will get to that total.
In that case, the nomination would be decided by the more than 2,200 delegates — from obscure local officials and activists to national figures — who will attend the party’s convention in Tampa, Fla., in late August.
They would embark on an unscripted, contentious and televised drama that has not played out in 36 years, a period in which both major party conventions have become slickly produced and highly choreographed pep rallies kicking off the general election campaign.
With that in mind, campaign and party lawyers are dusting off their party rule books, running through decades-old procedural arcana and studying the most recent convention-floor fight, between Ronald Reagan and President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. Republican officials also are bracing for the possibility of a prenomination clash between the party’s establishment and members of the Tea Party movement...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Right you are, We need Republicans to vote and perform like the Conservatives they say they are. The real problem is not with the avowed RINOS, there aren’t that many of them. The problem are those who run as Conservatives. Of course when a RINO decides to run for President he becomes “Severly” Conservative. I believe Newt is the only one who can beat obama and repair our nation, if one of the others does happen to get the nomination I don’t believe they will have the capacity to get done what needs to be done to save our nation and we’ll probably have the socialist back in for or eight years.
There's going to be blood on the floor...
If they don't, I see a purpose for a new party forming...
If they don’t, I see a purpose for a new party forming...
Why a new party when there are numerous other parties existing out there today. IMO all another 3rd party does is further dilute the vote making it easier for the two major parties to keep control.
It’s not time to fight 0bama yet. We need to let the process play out. Generally it doesn’t ramp up until the convention anyway. I don’t know why everyone is in such a panic about this.
Cindie
Do you think the answer is to continue trying to clean up the Republican Party? That hasn’t worked so well, and I would argue that at this critical point in history they are even more hostile to conservatives than they were.
Do you think the answer is to continue trying to clean up the Republican Party?
I truly don’t know what the answer is. But I do know that if you can’t get control of the existing party then I don’t see how in hell you can expect to be a force with something much smaller.
3rd parties:
http://www.politics1.com/parties.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_party_(United_States)
I don’t know what the answer is either.
The American people don’t want Romney or Obama. We want a new government - a small limited government with freedom, liberty and back to the Constitution. I hope the various Tea Party groups get together and ‘call up’ a massive 2 million person Tea Party Rally at the convention. What is it going to take for them to get the message? We want our country back!
Every so often there is a nugget of wisdom on FR.
do Reagan democrats & Conservatives out number the winner of a race between liberals & rinos?
But when you have Dole, GHWB, and McPain against you, I don’t think the American people will listen.
The need to win popular support, well, did it just murk up the original intent... maybe that's what Franklin meant when he said, "A republic, if you can keep it."
I don’t think it will go to the convention. I think once the last state is done, I think Utah. Romney will have a higher number than the other 3 and Paul is going to give his to Romney. That is gonna suck too.
>> Newt: “The idea that the Republicans have to be organized before Labor Day or they will be out of the race I think is a fundamental misunderstanding of ...”
Not to mention a fundamental misunderstanding of the average citizen’s political attention span.
Landed here via:
There’s a Chance! Yes! (Could there be a brokered convention?)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2860503/posts
Same here; I’ll write-in before I vote for Romney-the-RINO, aka, the “Chosen One” of the Republican Establishment Elite.
It’s pretty much over for America.
The American people don’t want Romney or Obama. We want a new government - a small limited government with freedom, liberty and back to the Constitution. I hope the various Tea Party groups get together and ‘call up’ a massive 2 million person Tea Party Rally at the convention. What is it going to take for them to get the message? We want our country back!
**
This is right. This is correct. It’s evident MOST don’t want Obama, by any means ...and MOST don’t want Romney either ...so why are these two choices constantly being rammed down our throats??
WE should get to decide who WE want as president. There ARE more of us than of THEM — these liberals and pseudo conservative RINOS, AND the media ...there are STILL more of us than there are of these people. WE need to fight for it, and we CAN win it ...but we need to fight and not “stay home” and sit on our butts.
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