I think Rinse and Repeat is going into the convention with two stories written: one if Trump already has the delegates, which is, “See the system works, business as usual, now let’s elect RINOs,” and the other, if Trump doesn’t, to ensure he doesn’t get the nomination.
Interesting interview ... more at link.
APR 28, 2016
Politics is a “blood sport”: Roger Stone on his CNN ban, the “real” Donald Trump and the billionaire’s scheme to lure delegates
The political provocateur and former Trump aide vows to Salon that Trump will not be derailed at the convention
EXCERPT
We learned this week that Ted Cruz and John Kasich reached some sort of agreement to join forces in order to block Trump from clinching the nomination. The deal, if we can call it that, appears to have collapsed before the first primary was held. But it’s rather telling that they even considered this. Thoughts?
This is not without historical precedent either. Frankly Ronald Reagan and Nelson Rockefeller had a backdoor conversation together closely to try to block Richard Nixon’s ascendancy on the first ballot in 1968. In 1964, Rockefeller, George Romney and Scranton banded together to try to stop Goldwater, so it’s not uncommon. In this case, however, I think it just underlines the extent to which Ted Cruz is now the establishment candidate. He is now aligned with the most liberal candidate in the race in an effort to stop the outsider in this race. Cruz tries to position himself as an outsider in this race, but he’s the candidate of Jeb and Neil Bush. He’s the candidate of Mitt Romney. He’s the candidate of Wall Street and Goldman Sachs. He’s the candidate of the oil and gas industry.
How far are you willing to go to stop Cruz, Kasich and the establishment from usurping Trump at the convention? You’ve suggested that citizens ought to visit delegates at their hotels in Cleveland in order to, what, pressure them in person?
We addressed this, if it’s not clear. The Hotel that are used by each state delegation will be publicly known. Without the room numbers, you can locate your delegates, you can use the house phone, you can try leave messages for them. The idea is to meet your representatives and ask them to take the pledge. If they don’t want to take the pledge, that’s fine, this isn’t about arguing. This is about taking a list of those delegates who don’t want to take a voluntary pledge and give them to the media, so they can be asked why did the votes of the people not matter? Why are you not respecting the will of the voters in your state. That’s the point of this entire exercise. Those Trojan Horse delegates are where the real danger to Trump could lie, in some kind of tricky maneuver here to hijack this convention from Trump.
But why encourage people to physically show up at these hotels, especially in this polarized climate and in light of the violence we’ve already seen?
Lobbying one’s delegates has happened since time immemorial whenever Republican National Conventions are held. Flooding the city with your reporters to produce a quarters to lobby delegates is a part of this process. No, we’re not suggesting anybody punch anybody out. We’re talking about a dialogue. We’re entitled to a dialogue focusing on the Trump delegates themselves.