Posted on 01/24/2014 11:06:55 AM PST by GIdget2004
The Republican National Committee gave near-unanimous approval Friday to a package of rules changes that would condense the 2016 presidential nominating calendar and help the party avoid the kind of protracted party infighting that dented GOP nominee Mitt Romney's general election appeal in 2012.
The changes dovetail with the party's desire to move the convention from late summer to a June window, which would make the next Republican National Convention the earliest convention in either party since 1948. The RNC has announced its support for the June move but will formally vote on the change at a later date.
"This is an historic day for our party," RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said after the vote....
The party is also taking steps to exert more control over Republican primary debates their moderators, but has yet to formalize any changes.
The rules changes, first reported by CNN in December, protect the traditional role of four early voting states while enacting harsh penalties against states that choose to hold early primaries or caucuses in violation of RNC rules. Those first four states – Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada – will hold their primary and caucus contests in February of 2016.
To prevent other states from jumping the order and compelling the first four to move their dates even earlier in January, as they did in 2012, any state that attempts to hold its nominating contest in February would have their number of delegates to the convention slashed to just nine people or, in the case of smaller states, one-third of their delegation - whichever number is smaller.
"It's the death penalty," said one RNC member.
(Excerpt) Read more at politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com ...
True. But you're not going to get the next Reagan by converting to a national primary -- which gives the establishment favorite and the candidate with the most money going in what amounts to an insuperable advantage.
Had the 2012 GOP candidacy been resolved by a national primary, Romney wouldn't have had to break a ssweat. Going in, he had the establishment support and the money to mount a nationwide advertising campaign and build a staff and GOTV effort in enough states to cinch the win.
Rick Santorum eventually finished 2nd...but he did it by going into Iowa on a shoestring, eking out a win, which earned him some morer financial support...which he turned into a win in some Midwestern states...which earned him some more financial support...which got him a few Southeastern states.
In a national primary, he would've eked out a win in Iowa...and that would've been it.
You can safely assume that the next Reagan will probably not be the establishment darling...and he may not have the deepest pockets. The present system provides him with a way to win -- if we conservatives unite behind him early.
Of course, there has to be a "next Reagan" running --- and have you seen anybody actually run that fit that definition over the past five or six election cycles?
What is needed, required in fact, is a Conservative secondary.
The candidate to represent Conservative wing of the Party in the Republican Primary would come pre selected by conservatives in the secondary.
“Of course, there has to be a “next Reagan” running -— and have you seen anybody actually run that fit that definition over the past five or six election cycles? “
Yes, I have, but they have gotten no traction in the primaries.
Would you mind sharing?
Can’t remember anyone right now except Alan Keyes.
I'd hardly call him the "next Reagan". He might've had the right policies, but he never had a significant body of support anywhere on the right.
Isn't it reasonable to say that, to be a viable candidate, one must bring not only some good ideas, but some financial support and some supporters with one's self?
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