Posted on 04/14/2016 1:21:21 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Morton Blackwell, founder of the Leadership Institute, is the Republican national committeeman from Virginia and a Rules Committee member since 1972, making him one of the foremost experts on GOP national convention rules.
He recently spoke out about the current delegate situation facing the party, discussing the way—because, as he put it, there is only one way now—the party establishment can prevent either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz from becoming the Republican presidential nominee. That "way" would be to rewrite the rules before the convention begins.
At issue for the GOP establishment is Rule 40(b), which requires a candidate much have a delegate majority from at least eight states in order to qualify for nomination. Trump has surpassed that number and Cruz, who currently has seven delegate majorities, is expected to surpass it, as well.
Blackwell tried to change the rule, twice, before any votes were cast in the current election cycle, but those efforts were blocked by attorneys representing the establishment interests. But now that it is all but impossible for any other candidate to qualify for the nomination, he fears they could try to change the rules between now and when the convention gathers in mid-July.
"I think what happened is the establishment that put in these rules, expecting that it would help establishment candidates for president, still believed in January that these rules would facilitate the nomination of an establishment person," Blackwell told World Net Daily last week. "It appears that the only two candidates for whom votes may count at the convention coming up in Cleveland would be Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. That is why the establishment is now talking about changing these rules."
He told The Washington Examiner the likely time for a rule change will come at the RNC's spring meetings. Those are scheduled for April 20-23 in Hollywood, Fla.
"[RNC Chairman Reince Priebus] has the votes to do that if he decides to do it that way," he said. "And don't you believe anybody who says—if it does happen that way—that Reince didn't decide to do it that way."
Blackwell has said any such move would likely be the end of the Republican Party.
The GOP at this point if it should survive would be in line with the workers party and the green party
Any rule change would require the majority of delegates to approve. This is one of the reasons that I want Cruz to remain in the hunt for the nomination. It comes down to this, if both Trump and Cruz work to keep rule 40 in place for the first and any subsequent vote, the GOPe can not field a candidate and will be forced to choose between the two.
From the article
“...”[RNC Chairman Reince Priebus] has the votes to do that if he decides to do it that way,” he said. “And don’t you believe anybody who says—if it does happen that way—that Reince didn’t decide to do it that way.”
Blackwell has said any such move would likely be the end of the Republican Party. “
And it would be the end of priebus’ job.
No party, no chairmanship.
If they try to be cute and put in an establishment guy as the nominee, neither Cruz nor Trump supporters will be happy about it. I am really beginning to believe that they would rather lose to Hillary than win with Trump or Cruz.
Let them do it. It will be the end of the GOPe. IMHO, a conservative third party will evolve and eventually replace the corrupt GOPe. Maybe this is what it is going to take.
I don’t think that changing convention rules alone will be the end of the GOP as it is now, but if the GOP leadership in the Congress doesn’t grow some gonads, the people will start looking elsewhere and it won’t be the Dimwit’s of the left. Congress would surely be in chaos if there were 3 parties, none of which had a majority. We would start looking in even more disarray like the parliaments of other countries.
The R party is dead to me anyway. If Trump wins, he’ll fire Priebus and if he doesn’t get a Republican elected, the RNC will fire him.
there is only one way now—the party establishment can prevent either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz from becoming the Republican presidential nominee
And why is Kasich still in this race?? they got something planned, sounds like a suicide attack.
I'll make a guess here. If do-whatever-it-takes Ted enables the shenanigans, there will be over a million Trump supporters in Cleveland.
Read my #10.
Cruz would have to win 708 of the remaining 789 delegates to attain 1,237.
==
The interest/concern now is what happens to the delegates already held by the other also-rans: Rubio, Kasich, JBush, Carson, Fiorina, Huckabee.
By Rule 40, they are all ineligible to be on the convention ballot. That leaves only Trump and Cruz eligible.
So, do the delegates committed to the also-rans sit on their hands or are they free to vote for either of the 2 eligibles?
If they sit on their hands, does that reduce the actual number required for nomination (down from the 1237)?
The RNC seems to have created a major fiasco.
I didn’t know that about Ohio, either way I still see a Suicide Attack coming.
In this instance, past performance IS an indicator of future performance.
Cruz would gladly cave on 40 if he thought it would enable his career path. I actually expect it.
Ted will require 700+ of the remaining 500 this time next week
He has no reason to change the rule He has wanted a two-person race all along.
I hope you're correct. I see Cruz differently. Since Iowa I see him as a person who will do whatever it takes to win.
That rule is only for the first ballot. I’ve read some in the GOP say it was only for 2012, but I don’t know. In any case some delegates can always abstain and prevent either candidate from getting 1237, unless of course Trump has the votes already.
AMERICA FOR SALE?
Let me see if I have this right!
Early American elections have been about competing ideas on how best to guide the country toward the Founders Constitutionally articulated goals and principles . Sadly, more recent electoral contests have become battles between those who wish to more closely adhere to those early goals and those advancing increasingly alien systems of government, some of which seek the outright abandonment of the Founders’ vision.
Both the early and more recent elections have always been about persuading enough fellow citizens to support a candidate’s or party’s position. It’s why there’re called “elections”.
The modern electronic media driven campaigns have raised the cost of getting out the competing messages to a level where only those who have or have access to large sums need apply. And, although we began as a “republic” (the rule of law, i.e., the Constitution), elections are the unavoidable and potentially troublesome democratic aspect of the process for which no one wishing to maintain the remaining freedoms we still enjoy has found a substitute.
With the recent controversy involving “delegate” selection by local and state party elites comes a new and rather frightening development.
Probably due to Trump having upset the “established order”, it seems that campaigns are no longer buying persuasive media to get the word out to the general election voters, THEY’RE BUYING DELEGATES in an effort to stack the deck at the nominating conventions. Since they only have to persuade a few thousand citizens as opposed to trying to reach millions in the general population later, it’s cheaper and they can effectively dictate and limit the choices the general voters will have on election day!
Question: Can someone explain why this isn’t the same thing as bribing members of a jury to secure a desired verdict?
But I’m far less troubled by some miscreant bribing jurors than I am by what’s going on right now as you read this. While the verdict in a rigged jury situation hurts or damages the entity or entities who were the victims of the tampering, the eventual victim of what can only be called delegate tampering is the entire nation and, if an agent of one of those alien systems is the beneficiary of the tampering, will be the very futures of your children and grandchildren!
Have we really become the philosophical eunuchs the Founders feared? Have we really sunk this low?
Please tell me where I’ve got this wrong. I really DO want to be wrong on this one!
D.Bachert 4/14/2016
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