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."
Establishment RATpubbies showed their colors after Trump’s statement on halting muslime invasion. Their reaction to the leader in polls and representing GOP is unprecedented and traitorous. They should be all fired.
Forget the futile talk about third party, what is needed is the transfusion of GOP, back to Reagan party, representing decent, conservative Americans.
Go TRUMP, sweep the garbage into dustbin of history!
The GOP has not listened to their base for 8 years (and longer). What makes any of us think they will listen to us now? on this? They have not changed their minds on how important they are and how they know what is best... FOR THEM.
I’m sure jeb would approve of the threat of a brokered convention.. and so would some of the other GOP picks. This is exactly why Trump is in the race.. same for Dr Carson. The deceit, the ‘closed door mentality’, dissing their base, the lying, all of it still in action.
GOPe are certainly trying to ram the amnesty whores through.
Trump should make Priebus sign a pact vowing not to have a brokered convention.
The meeting was clearly in a public place, but the issue discussed was revealed, I believe, by someone who wasn’t supposed to.
Ha! He certainly has!
Good stuff ~ Thanks!
A near majority of delegates do not come from the caucuses or primaries. They are sent by the state parties to the convention and vote as the state “establishment” leaders say. Conservatives must get control at the local and state level to keep the process honest.
Why wait until the election?
The evening the GOP nominee is picked at the convention is when Rinsing Priapus should be fired and escorted from the convention hall.
In fact, the nominee should insist upon it as part of his acceptance speech.
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...
YES!!!What YOU said. You all need to find out who the delegates and Super delegates are in your county and state GOP parties..
Myself, I always like to proofread before I hit the 'post' button.
This seems to dovetail with a theory that I have recently heard: That some people want to destroy the Republican Party, in order to rebuild it in their own preferred image...
This sounds like the talk of insurgency--and not just political insurgency, either.
How do you imagine that he would accomplish that?
Right on!
In the meantime, more information keeps rolling in. Here’s one from a democrat who could not easily be considered unreasonable about immigration:
Loretta Sanchez: Five to 20 percent of Muslims have a desire for a caliphate
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3371366/posts
California Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said as many as 20 percent of Muslims desire to form an Islamic caliphate, ‘to institute that in any way possible,’ and go after Western norms, ‘our way of life.’ [snip]
~ ~ ~ ~
Here is a friendly neighbor of Farook’s ...
Sources: Enrique Marquez said he and Farook built pipe bombs as hobby
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3371616/posts
~ ~ ~ ~
They gripe themselves blue in the face about ‘Islamo-phobes’. Who are they? The ‘Islamo-philes’. They suffer from ‘Islomo-philia’.
A brokered Deal reeks of ‘Islamo-philia’. They should broker their deal in Syria — move there and stay there with their dear buddies. Then they can defend refugees personally and have skin in the game.
God bless Ben Carson. Might not be perfect on the issues, but he’s a good man.
Many times people on this forum called for a Third Party to replace the ‘G’ OP. I told them we would need key leading figures to make that happen.
We are getting very close to that now as well as a constitutional amendment that allows official excoriation of corrupt and wildly unpopular politicians and judges in some strictly limited way. [More on excoriation in a followup post.]
Back to Third Parties ...
Looking back in history, even Teddy lacked the clout to replace the RNC with his Progressive Party. Thank God he failed, but being progressive was very popular back then.
Communication has come a long way since Teddy Roosevelt. Media power can come from credibility as much as money now.
If the RNC meddles with this primary in any significant way, Trump could convince talk radio to back him up in forming a new party. Get enough talk radio hosts together with Trump’s team along with other conservatives, debate on the internet, and they could negotiate a more accountable ‘By the People’ party system that decimates them in the next off-year election.
BOLD SOLUTION � Constitutional Excoriation
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3225815/posts
As people fester with impotent rage [at least until Trump came on the scene], we have a golden opportunity that another group of conservatives had. Remember the New Deal? It was not as popular as reported. FDR inspired the ‘Term Limit’ amendment [for presidents]. Congress also passed legislation to prevent packing of the courts, but that too could probably have been a constitutional amendment as well. [snip]
... we’re not talking about ‘narrow majority’ tyranny but rather a constitutional amendment would require THREE out of FOUR states to support it. If three out of four of our states are evil, then we’re lost as a nation anyway [as Mark Levin says]. So what sensible person wants us to be paralyzed in fear of 3/4ths of the states?
And I believe that three out of four WILL support some manner of this idea [probably a humdrum spin-off unfortunately]. And when the overwhelming uber-majority of states support an excoriation hearing, let’s see which congress critters object to the idea. [Write down names for the next primary.] And let’s see which members of the Ruling Class try to hide behind congressional rules [which can be suspended with the low bar of a simple majority].
The STATES can manage this hearing collectively and judiciously, and the verdicts can be creative and ribald hazings. But make no mistake — people don’t want conventional trials with all the legal baggage that goes with it. In our hearts every patriot among us yearns for subjective common sense to win the day for a change! [snip]
For starters, we could suggest an ‘Excoriation Hearing’ of the Obama Administration, [including Loretta Lynch], Lois Lerner, anti-originalist ‘justices’, Jamie Gorelick, Bill Ayers, etc.
But also the Fred Phelps activists [God-hates-bleeps], NAMBLA, ACORN. the KKK, skinheads, US Nazis, Black Panthers, New Black Panthers, La Raza, re Conquista zealots, the ACLU, FAnnie/FReddie, the credit rating agencies that deceitfully stamped ‘AAA’ ratings on bad debt, fraudsters who funnelled tax money into corrupt schemes, the most radical Islamic fanatics of our nation, the ‘carbon credit’ fraudsters, the Southern Poverty Law Center, US flag descecrators, zealot prosecutors who agitated the maximum sentence of the Philly 5, and last but not least — SOROS and his operatives. [snip]
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3225815/posts
Yeah, well I’m not afraid of the grammar or spelling police. Only the thought police.
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