Posted on 12/11/2015 7:29:57 AM PST by SeekAndFind
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With Donald Trump leading a splintered field, top Republican Party officials are keeping open the possibility that the fight to be the party's presidential candidate could stretch to the nominating convention in July, officials said on Thursday.
A so-called "brokered convention," in which no single candidate has a sufficient number of nominating delegates to become the presidential nominee in the November election, used to be a common feature of American politics. But there has not been one in more than 60 years.
The possibility that the Republican battle for a nominee will extend to the July 18-21 convention in Cleveland was discussed at a dinner on Monday of top party operatives hosted by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus.
Three party officials said Priebus was asked at the dinner if the party was prepared for a brokered convention, and Priebus said he was. For Priebus, the subject comes up frequently in conversations, the officials said.
Trump's rise to the top of the 14-candidate field has confounded establishment Republicans who have been waiting in vain for the New York billionaire's insurgent campaign to collapse.
They are alarmed at some of his incendiary rhetoric and proposals, such as his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Various scenarios could play out in coming months with the battle evolving into a contest between two or three candidates, with none of them able to gain enough delegates.
One official at the dinner meeting said the discussion of a brokered convention only came up briefly and that it was not about Trump.
"It was more logistical in nature, not strategic. It was more like 'are you planning for a hurricane?'" said the official.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
“Brokered” = “Rigged” ... but we knew that some time ago.
There will never be a brokered convention. The Republicans have a history of cowardice. Trump will throw everything he has at them and they will fold.
>> top party operatives hosted by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus
Wow! GOPe “top operatives” AND Rinse Priapus! My favorite group of immoral syphilitic cretin dwarfs all in one place, at one time! Sorry I missed it.
They have a history of cowardice against the Dims, not their own. I think they are just waiting to see if Trump folds in some manner. There is NO way the GOP e is going to sit back and let him be the nominee. Not a chance.
From what I understand, some states elect delegates based on the proportion of the vote in primaries, and some states do winner take all. With this crowded field, maybe nobody has 50% plus 1 pledged delegate when the convention starts.
Then you would have to wonder what horse trading and back room dealing would happen. Wasn’t the last convention of either party, in which the nominee wasn’t known before the convention, back in 1948 or 1952? We have no recent history of how such a convention would function.
But the odds are, if nobody wins the first ballot, people are up all night in back rooms doing deals to come up with a compromise candidate.
I dunno. I suspect their spines will stiffen when the people who have been writing them checks put out the order to stop Trump by ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
We may have to take to the streets to save small “d” democracy at that point.
And these people think that Trump will sit quietly in Trump tower. These guy have no idea what is “Hell”.
>>There will never be a brokered convention. The Republicans have a history of cowardice. Trump will throw everything he has at them and they will fold.<<
Depends on what the half breed wants. If he wants to help SWMNBN, it’ll be a rigged convention. If he doesn’t care what they do, it’l be Trump, Cruz or ...... Mitt Romney.
The GOPe operates against its own by duplicity and subterfuge. They would not dare openly oppose the will of their base. Thanks to Mark Levin and people like him, we know what they are doing.
They would not dare do this.
Trump knows the right buttons to push.
Well said.
Agreed. If they did, it’s the end of the GOP as we know it and nothing means more than their power and position. My guess, fwiw, is they’ll fight like hell to keep Trump out, or Cruz, but in the end, if the polls show a strong support for either of them, and low support for the others, the GOP will let it ride and take their chances. It’s really a no lose situation. Oh yes, they’ll have to lick their wounds for being proven wrong, but they can stonewall anything the Pres wants to do (unlike they do with Obama, funny, ain’t it?) and make it difficult. If Trump or Cruz “fail”, the GOP can just shrug their shoulders and say, “See, we told you so”.
Let’s give credit to the Kountry Klub Krowd - they don’t give up easily.
Normally a third party candidate will split the Republican vote insuring a Dem victory, but I don't see any choice this time around. If Trump exits, then the GOP will resume pushing for a sure loser like Jeb or Christi... insuring Hillary's win.
Who's "we"?
I remember bits of the '68 DNC in Chicago, pre-teen though I was.
And yes, it was probably fixed, they just happened to have a roll of black fabric on hand to unroll in the crowd to signify their divided-ness while singing "We Shall Overcome" or the like.
They would not dare do this
Depends who they fear more, the common man- or whoever bought and paid for their souls.
I am betting they do not fear the common man
RE: I remember bits of the ‘68 DNC in Chicago, pre-teen though I was.
We all know how that turned out for the Dems — a LANDSLIDE for Nixon.
Do we really want this to happen in 2016, albeit the opposite party winning in a landslide?
“...Various scenarios could play out in coming months with the battle evolving into a contest between two or three candidates, with none of them able to gain enough delegates....”
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If the “outsiders” (meaning the candidates who actually don’t despise the Republican base) AND THEIR SUPPORTERS carry things out SMARTLY, none of these “various scenarios” will ever come about.
I support Cruz and would like him to gather as many delegates as possible. In my dream world, any delegates that Cruz didn’t get in a state would be won by Trump. Ideally, in the “proportionate” states, if Trump gets the largest number of delegates, Cruz would get the 2nd highest number of delegates for that state. The various RINO candidates (e.g., Bush, RUBIO, Huckabee, Graham, etc.) in these proportionate states would get either ZERO delegates or a tiny handful of delegates.
In the later winner-take-all states (March 15th & later) our goal should be for either Trump or Cruz to get the most votes (and, therefore, all the delegates).
Successfully carrying out this strategy will ensure that the GOPe can employ no trickery at the convention to “steal” the nomination for a GOPe-compliant candidate. It will also ensure that there will be a constitutional conservative majority in place at the convention to, essentially, rewrite the rules and take over leadership of the Party-—the K-Street & Chamber of Commerce stooges could be sent packing from their positions of power in the Party.
Folks, save your fire for the RINO candidates and don’t be tricked into going to war with another “outsider” candidate. Be Smart, don’t be manipulated by RINOs!
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