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Conservative backlash grows against brokered convention
The Hill ^ | December 11, 2015 | Jonathan Easley

Posted on 12/11/2015 3:44:47 PM PST by jazusamo

Anti-establishment Republicans are up in arms over talk of a brokered Republican Party convention.

Ben Carson warned a brokered convention would "destroy" the GOP, while supporters of Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) expressed dismay that party leaders would take part in meetings considering the possibility.

"This is clearly their contingency to stop Trump and Cruz at all costs," Iowa radio host Steve Deace, who is supporting Cruz for president, told The Hill. "These people would rather lose elections than lose control of the party. And they'd rather have Hillary in the White House than someone the GOP base actually wants."

The Washington Post reported Thursday that party leaders -- including supporters of GOP presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio - met privately to discuss the possibility of a brokered convention, ostensibly to derail the hopes of a candidate deemed unelectable by party elites. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Preibus attended the meeting at a Washington restaurant, though they did not speak at it, according to the Post.

The meeting follows months in which Trump has dominated the GOP race. Carson and Cruz, two other candidates that some Republicans believe would be weak in a general election, are also near the top of polls, though Carson has been fading.

Trump's rise in particular has unnerved the GOP establishment, which worries his candidacy could sink Republican hopes of holding the Senate. Trump courted controversy this week by calling for a temporary ban on Muslims traveling to the United States, a position rejected by every other GOP candidate that polls show has support from the Republican electorate.

Supporters for insurgent candidates view the private discussions as desperation from terrified establishment figures, and believe it will only serve to harden their supporters. Carson's campaign was already fundraising off the report by mid-afternoon on Friday.

"Dumb. Big mistake. They just poured gasoline all over the fire," said Jeffrey Lord, a former Ronald Reagan administration official who supports Trump for president.

"I get that you need to have contingency plans in place, but this looks like they're trying to rig the game and it just feeds the narrative that the establishment is completely out of touch with the base."

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski had a short message for the RNC:

"Play the game out in front of us," he told The Hill, adding that he's not worried about a brokered convention because "every piece of data shows that [Donald Trump] is the clear front-runner."

The speculation that party leaders are privately discussing what to do if an outsider is on course to land the nomination provided fresh evidence to some of the disconnect between base conservatives and establishment Republicans.

"The Republican establishment is playing with fire if they take any action that is perceived to harm the winners of caucus and primary states," said Adam Brandon, CEO of the conservative activist group FreedomWorks.

"If that's what they are planning or doing, they may inadvertently set the stage for independent presidential campaigns and further damage an already fractured relationship with many conservatives and Republican voters, which is why insurgent candidates are thriving in the first place."

Supporters for Bush and Rubio attended the meeting, according to the Post, and officials from those campaigns did not respond to requests for comment.

The RNC pushed back strongly Friday against the characterization that some within the party are plotting a takeover at the convention.

RNC spokesman Sean Spicer said the discussion about the potential for a brokered convention was merely "cocktail conversation" over the nuts and bolts of the race.

"There was a dinner where the subject was how the delegate process works," Spicer said Friday on CNN.

"We walked through the delegate selection process, what states were going on what date, how each state handled the delegate process, and at the end we took a series of questions," he said. "It's really nothing more than that."

Spicer argued that it wasn't suspicious that supporters of Bush and Rubio were on hand, noting that Priebus's days are filled by meetings with representatives from all the campaigns, as well as conservative pundits, consultants and advisers from all corners of the party.

Still, some say the optics of the meeting are bad for the national party, which is once again seeking to stamp out a fire that has sprung up over its handling of the primary process.

Fair or not, the alleged discussion about a brokered convention will confirm the suspicions many in the base have harbored for a long time, which have helped to fuel the rise of Trump, Carson and Cruz.

"It's completely counter-productive if it looks like Republican power-brokers are trying to orchestrate this," said former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), who is supporting Bush for president.

Gregg said the party may be headed to a contested convention - not to ambush an outsider, but because it will be difficult for one candidate in the huge field of contenders to lock down a majority of delegates ahead of the convention.

The party needs to have the infrastructure and processes in place to handle that scenario, but it's unhelpful to plan for it in a way that could be perceived as putting a thumb on the scale, Gregg argued.

"It's something Priebus has to plan for, but he needs to be careful who he's discussing it with," Gregg said. "The days of party boss politics are over and have been over for a long time. People will have a negative reaction to anything that has a whiff of that kind of backroom dealing."

Supporters for establishment Republicans running for president mostly rolled their eyes at the controversy, saying it was an example of outsider candidates looking to stoke outrage over the byzantine rules governing the GOP nominating process.

"This is getting totally blown out of proportion," said Katie Packer Gage, a veteran of Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign whose consulting firm is assisting Rubio's efforts in Michigan.

"The idea that the Illuminati within the party is coming down from on high to decide who will be the nominee is ludicrous," she continued. "Ben Carson needs to call someone versed in parliamentary procedures to explain to him how this all works."

While some Republicans say the huge field makes it more likely that the party could face its first contested convention since 1976, there is still broad skepticism from many quarters that that's where things are headed. Many believe the eventual nominee will emerge once the primaries turn to winner-take-all contests on March 15.

"This is just a story that turns up at points in the cycle when there's no definition to the race," said former New Hampshire Attorney General Tom Rath, who is supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president. "This idea that there will be a stampede on the floor is very romantic but I don't see it happening."

A spokesperson for Chris Christie's campaign declined to weigh in, other than to say that the New Jersey governor is only focused on winning the nomination outright. That was the general message coming from campaign operatives in private conversations with several other campaigns.

"Here's the bottom line," Spicer said. "Republican voters will choose the delegates that go to the convention in Cleveland next July. Those people will decide the nominee."


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; brokeredconvention; conservatives; cruz; election2016; elections; gopbackstabbing; gopcheaplaborlobby; gopopenborderslobby; goptreachery; goptreason; immigration; katiepacker; katiepackergage; mittromney; newyork; ourprinciplespac; republicans; tedcruz; texas; trump; trumprevolution; trumpwasright
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To: Noumenon
That Rinse Penis guy and his pals can KMA and ESAD.

( Thanks a lot. After I clean the coffee off my monitor I'll have to go track down the cat that bounced off the ceiling. )

Fully agree. These wussiecrat SOBs are slippery snakes.

101 posted on 12/12/2015 5:34:05 AM PST by Democratic-Republican
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To: DaxtonBrown
"This is getting totally blown out of proportion," said Katie Packer Gage, a veteran of Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign whose consulting firm is assisting Rubio's efforts in Michigan.

And you're doing a fine job for the Rubester. Keep up the good work sweetheart.

So this is totally blown out of proportion and we're making too much of this? Yeah right. They want to make believe Mississippi did not happen.

I suggest Trump hold a Second Amendment rally coinciding with the convention. Just outside the doors. Open carry. 20,000 should keep them honest.

102 posted on 12/12/2015 5:34:32 AM PST by Democratic-Republican
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To: AndyJackson
his candidacy could sink Republican hopes of holding the Senate
What do they want with a Senate majority? All they have done so far is up the cost of the protection racket they are running against the taxpayers.

What is going to sink their Senate majority is that the rank and file republican voters have concluded that they cannot be trusted with a republican majority.

Ain't that the truth. Don't bother calling on the TEA Party to hand you the keys to the kingdom again, Mitch. I doubt anyone will take his calls.

Maybe they can bring back Karl Rover to run Whitman and FioRINO again and attack all the Conservatives.

103 posted on 12/12/2015 5:34:39 AM PST by Democratic-Republican
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To: goodnesswins
I think the house and Senate "leaders" figure if Trump or Cruz wins they will ALSO lose their power. We are really witnessing (forcing?) an epic battle folks...

Dream scenario ... Trump elbows out the current schmuck, appoints Sarah Palin with instructions to flush the RNC toilet with extreme prejudice. No more McCain shenanigans and no more Mississippi madness. Primary all those SOBs.

I had suggested earlier that newly appointed RNC Chairwoman Sarah Palin should hang suicide nets all around RNC headquarters, but I was wrong. Skip the nets.

104 posted on 12/12/2015 5:34:49 AM PST by Democratic-Republican
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To: jjotto

Good point and I agree...never hesitate to make your voice heard. I will do likewise.

It probably pays to be courteous and sensible but firm in what you want. Sometimes I have a hard time containing myself about certain issues but I do.

They understand most people are too unmotivated to call but that the views they get do represent thousands or millions of others that do not call.


105 posted on 12/12/2015 6:21:08 AM PST by apoliticalone (Political correctness should be defined as news media that exposes political corruption)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Since I object to FB and the privacy stealing leftist that owns it and do not use it ......how do you mean Priebus lost control of his Facebook page?


106 posted on 12/12/2015 6:29:36 AM PST by apoliticalone (Political correctness should be defined as news media that exposes political corruption)
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To: apoliticalone

It’s been taken over by Trump supporters.


107 posted on 12/12/2015 6:33:34 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not A Matter of Opinion)
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To: jazusamo

The best strategic response that all conservatives would be wise to take is to register, or remain registered, as a Republican.

That way we can all vote against any and all GOPe candidates in the primaries and caucuses.


108 posted on 12/12/2015 6:33:54 AM PST by savedbygrace (But God!)
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To: Timpanagos1

There was speculation on Fox and Friends this morning that the GOPe is going to try to put up Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney at the convention. That would be a suicidal move. But then IMO the Republican party has outlived itself and it would be a kindness to kill it and start a new and genuine Repulican Party.


109 posted on 12/12/2015 7:28:46 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: AmericanExceptionalist

He can’t, but that should have been Trump’s response to making him sign the “no third party” pact.


110 posted on 12/12/2015 7:37:45 AM PST by Rockitz (This is NOT rocket science - Follow the money and you'll find the truth.)
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To: Timpanagos1

what does a brokered convention mean?


111 posted on 12/12/2015 8:00:37 AM PST by dp0622 (..)
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To: SWAMPSNIPER

Priebus has totally lost control of his facebook page.

**********************************************

Awesome backlash meltdown going on ...... LOL!!!


112 posted on 12/12/2015 8:02:43 AM PST by Qiviut (In Islam you have to die for Allah. The God I worship died for me. [Franklin Graham])
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To: dp0622

They pick the candidate no matter who we want.


113 posted on 12/12/2015 8:23:02 AM PST by SWAMPSNIPER (The Second Amendment, a Matter of Fact, Not A Matter of Opinion)
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To: jazusamo

“and it just feeds the narrative that the establishment is completely out of touch with the base.” “

It’s a fact, not a narrative.


114 posted on 12/12/2015 8:50:14 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (`)
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To: AmericanExceptionalist

“This sounds like the talk of insurgency...”

Actually, the statement falls more in line with imagery.


115 posted on 12/12/2015 8:51:15 AM PST by sergeantdave ( If not you, who? If not now, when?)
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To: Seaplaner

And they are correct. People vote for them ‘NO MATTER WHAT” liberal BS they pull. So yes. “We” are incredibly stupid.

Whats worse is that we all know what they are and make excuses to vote for them anyway. If that isn’t the height of abject stupidity, nothing is. And if any of the little liberal GOP sycophants wish to explain how the above is in any way untrue, have at it. I need a laugh today.


116 posted on 12/12/2015 8:54:29 AM PST by Norm Lenhart (`)
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To: Mariner

Dont forget how DEM pull the trick to get OB nominated in 2008 at DEM broker convention in DENVER, CO.
GOP will do the same, may be worst.


117 posted on 12/12/2015 9:10:52 AM PST by Libertynotfree (Over spending, Over taxes, and Over regulation)
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To: jazusamo

Donald Trump live now Aiken, SC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWSVmgaJt_s


118 posted on 12/12/2015 9:12:38 AM PST by exit82 ("The Taliban is on the inside of the building" E. Nordstrom 10-10-12)
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To: polymuser
GOPe

e is for extinct


119 posted on 12/12/2015 9:13:51 AM PST by Paine in the Neck (Socialism consumes EVERYTHING)
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To: vetvetdoug

Why didn’t this article mention Thad Cochran and Lisa Murkowski?

Remember Mississippi!


120 posted on 12/12/2015 9:18:45 AM PST by butterdezillion (.)
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