Rubio Makes Unprecedented Bid to Keep Delegates for Contested Convention

NBC News ^ | March 30, 2016 | Ari Melber

[Innovative]

Despite suspending his campaign, Sen. Marco Rubio is attempting to keep every delegate he won while running for president.

The unusual move reflects preparations for a contested convention this summer — and comes as Donald Trump backed away from an earlier pledge to support the Republican party's nominee if he is treated unfairly after winning more delegates than his rivals.

Rubio aide Alex Burgos told MSNBC that while the Florida senator is "no longer a candidate," he "wants to give voters a chance to stop Trump."

[Innovative]

For shame. He must be totally delusional.

[Resolute Conservative]

He has officially become more useless than Rick Santorum.

[knarf]

No ... he’s part of the theft

[michelala]

He’s apparently already thinking about 2020. Some of these establishment types are willing to surrender the WH to Hillary for 4 years and are already looking to 2020. Disgusting.

[bigbob]

BS - he wants back in.

[pax_et_bonum]

Yes, but he never really got out.

Just suspended his campaign.

[alice_in_bubbaland]

Just one more reason to despise the GOP and the current crop of candidates.

[FreeReign]

Didn’t Rubio just lose 5 delegates in LA to Cruz?

[stocksthatgoup]

Rubio GOPe

[Dr. Sivana]

It wasn’t that many years ago that favorite son candidates would get put on only one state’s ballot in order to have control over the delegation of the state. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson was not on the ballot in the primaries, and had Favorite Sons run in his stead. No one questions the legitimacy of his nomination (unless you think he killed JFK, of course).

The system we have is not like the one at the time of the Constitutions inauguration, the Bill of Rights or even the post-war amendments. It’s not even the same as it was during the time of George McGovern. Except for Nixon-Kennedy, there were no debates until 1976. The system is inherently flexible and somewhat chaotic, by design.

Rubio is in effect, playing the part of a favorite son. He’s still in 3rd place, he wants SOMEthing for his work.

[The Toll]

Attempts to override to voters will need to freakin stop!

[Charlie Browns Gun]

Exactly. He knows what’s coming about the Cruz cheating scandal. He hopes to swoop in like a white knight and “save” the party.

[Political Junkie Too]

I think Rubio already lost his delegates when he suspended his campaign because of rule 16.

2012 Convention Rules:

Here is the third paragraph of the preamble to the 2012 convention rules.

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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the following be and hereby are adopted as The Rules of the Republican Party, composed of the rules for the election and government of the Republican National Committee until the next national convention, the rules under which delegates and alternate delegates shall be allotted to the respective states in the next national convention, and the rules under which such delegates and alternate delegates shall be elected and under which contests shall be considered, and the rules of business of this national convention.

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Notice the distinction between the NEXT convention and THIS convention?

There is also rule 42.

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RULE NO. 42
Temporary Rules

Upon the adoption of the report of the Convention Committee on Rules and Order of Business, Rule Nos. 26-42 shall constitute the Standing Rules for this convention and the temporary rules for the next convention.

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Rule 42 implies that they might change rule 16, but as of now it is a rule for the next convention and NOT something that was just in place for the last convention.

So, rule 16(a)(2) says:

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(2) For any manner of binding or allocating delegates under these rules, if a delegate (i) casts a vote for a presidential candidate at the national convention inconsistent with the delegate’s obligation under state law or state party rule, (ii) nominates or demonstrates support under Rule No. 40 for a presidential candidate other than the one to whom the delegate is bound or allocated under state law or state party rule, or (iii) fails in some other way to carry out the delegate’s affirmative duty under state law or state party rule to cast a vote at the national convention for a particular presidential candidate, the delegate shall be deemed to have concurrently resigned as a delegate and the delegate’s improper vote or nomination shall be null and void. Thereafter the secretary of the convention shall record the delegate’s vote or nomination in accordance with the delegate’s obligation under state law or state party rule. This subsection does not apply to delegates who are bound to a candidate who has withdrawn his or her candidacy, suspended or terminated his or her campaign, or publicly released his or her delegates.

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That subsection is about enforcing state binding rules. It says at the top that a delegate who does not vote as the state directed them to will be discharged, and their vote will be recorded as the state initially directed.

Then it says that the subsection does not apply to delegates whose candidate suspended their campaign, meaning they will NOT be penalized for unbound voting. Since Rubio suspended, this rule says that the penalty no longer applies. If the penalty no longer applies, then delegates bound to Rubio are free to vote for any candidate in nomination without penalty.

Rules is rules...

-PJ

[napscoordinator]

That was before Rubio decided to keep his delegates. Same with trump in Alaska. They all go back to Rubio.