Posted on 01/23/2014 10:06:05 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The Republican National Committee on Thursday unveiled new rules for the party's 2016 presidential nominating process, but the changes are expected to protect the traditional schedule and status of early-voting states.
The first nominating contests of the GOP presidential primary calendar are reserved for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- and all are scheduled for February. But the party is also proposing new, stiffer penalties to prevent other states from moving up their election schedules in an attempt to gain greater influence.
The RNC has failed in the past to prevent state parties from moving up their primaries, which the causes traditional early-voting states to move theirs up even earlier. In 2012, that maneuvering pushed the Iowa caucuses to immediately after New Year's Day with the New Hampshire primary barely a week later, making it difficult for candidates to campaign effectively in either state.
But following two presidential election defeats and a chaotic primary process in 2012 that many fear undermined the eventual nominee, Mitt Romney, the RNC is hoping for greater cooperation from the states in 2016.
The new rules, rolled out during the RNC’s annual winter meeting this week in Washington, include:
• February 2016 would be reserved for Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Other states would be permitted to hold their primaries on or after March 1.
• Any primary held between March 1 and March 14 will award their nominating delegates on a proportional basis, rather than giving all of them to the overall winner. Any state holding a primary after March 14 would have the option of awarding its delegates on either a proportional or winner-take-all basis.
• Tougher penalties for states violating the GOP's primary plan. States with 30 or more delegates, like Florida, would be allowed to send only nine of those delegates -- and any RNC members in the state -- to the nominating convention. Any state with 29 or fewer delegates would be allowed to send only six delegates plus RNC members. The reduction in convention delegates would seriously reduce the influence those states would otherwise hold in the nominating process.
I wonder just when the RNC and the DNC will announce their merger.
The only reason not to do so is so that the insiders can dictate the outcome.
This quadrennial circus with Iowa and New Hampshire is totally stupid. So what if it’s ‘tradition’? It’s a useless and outdated one. Back when people rode trains and rode buggies it may have made sense, but not in the 21st century................
But protecting the status of pissant media whores like Iowa and New Hampshire evidently has a higher priority. They don't call it the Stupid Party for nothing.
Romney undermined Mitt Romney. And the statist GOP-e undermined the Republicans’ chances. Some people never learn.
Why would they do that when the secret merger in the Senate and House chambers work so well.
And of course, open primaries will still be common.
If not all on the same day, the primaries should all be held the same week. It would reduce the opportunity for back room deals like McCain made with Christ in Florida to knock out Giuliani or with Huckabee to know out Romney.
I like my plan better:
1) The states agree to let the national party set the primary/caucus schedule, which it will do according to a published formula that is approved by the GOP membership; any state that deviates will receive zero delegates (rationale: this only works if everyone is on board)
2) The formula will ensure that a mix of small and large states are included at all stages of the calendar, and especially early (rationale: small states allow longer-shot candidates a chance to show they’ve got the chops, larger states can prove the ability to create infrastructure and fundraising needed by a national candidate)
3) The formula will not single out any specific state(s) for early primaries/caucuses, but will instead schedule earliest (as far as #2 allows) those states who have trended the most Republican in recent national election and latest for those states who have trended the least Republican (rationale: reward those states who are trending GOP)
We gotta STOP lying to ourselves.
A decade, maybe TWO, of stupid moves, and you can call yourself the Stupid Party.
But when you are going on three, four, even five decades, you are NOT the Stupid Party.
You are the Complicit Party.
Horrible idea. All that does is ensure that the insider with the biggest war chest wins without a serious fight.
Bye Bye GOP. The old guard MUST GO!
Go peddle your papers elsewhere.
This is about the GOPe controlling the outcome in the beginning primaries to assure momentum for their hand picked candidate. Nothing more. Conservatives need not apply.
I meant to add that it should be a runoff. First one with 50% wins.
“Pssst. They’re all in this together. Pass it on.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3114526/posts
These azzholes are making me not want to vote for them no matter what, even with me knowing what a stupid stance that is, considering the alternative. But their arrogance is pizzing me off so much that I’d rather see them lose than see me “win” through them. That’s how badly their arrogance is making me hate them, so much that I’d knowingly lose before supporting them to win. I know it’s stupid, and I keep trying to be rational about it, but they just don’t quit finding ways to show me how much they hate conservatives.
Exactly, they are just one wing of the globalist uniparty.
of course they made rule changes... it is the only way they can continue to ignore the voters
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