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Politics : A Hard Look At Donald Trump -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (3612)	7/11/2016 2:48:20 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 47002

No joke: Trump might have to RIG the convention to win By: Amanda Carpenter \| July 11, 2016 Wouldn’t it be ironic if Donald Trump--the man who spent the entire primary season illegitimately claiming that the system was rigged against him--has to rig the rules of the convention to become the GOP’s presidential nominee? During a strategy call on Sunday evening held by FreetheDelegates.com and DelegatesUnbound.com, “Unbound” author Sean Parnell argued that’s what Trump would essentially need to do in order to force unwilling GOP delegates to nominate him at the upcoming convention in Cleveland. Parnell, and others he is working with, contend delegates have always had the freedom to vote for the candidate of their choosing at the convention with the notable exception of the 1976 convention. That was the year when incumbent President Gerald Ford affirmatively changed the rules to “bind” delegates to him and defeat conservative insurgent Ronald Reagan. That was the only year in which delegates were “bound” and has been described as one of the most chaotic, riotous GOP conventions in history. At the time Ford allies targeted Rule 18, which contained explicit language to provide delegates the power to vote for the candidate of their choosing. The President’s powerful team was successful in amending Rule 18 at the 1976 convention to instead “bind” delegates to the winner of the primary election from the state they hailed. At the next convention when Reagan became the nominee, enjoyed wide support from the party, and had no desire to strong arm delegates, Rule 18 reverted back to its original language and has remained that way ever since. It’s no coincidence that Trump has hired Paul Manafort, who helped Ford defeat Reagan at the 1976 convention, to run his campaign. Trump may need to change the rules and rig the convention in his favor, just like one-term President Ford did when he killed Reagan’s candidacy before going on to lose to Democrat Jimmy Carter in the general election. FreetheDelegates.com organizer Regina Thomson expressed delight with how much interest her group has generated in recent weeks. She claimed on the call to have built a “larger campaign organization in one month’s time than the Trump campaign has all year.” DelegatesUnbound.com organizer Dane Waters confidently stated that Trump would not secure the nomination on the first ballot and said their effort had the support of “hundreds and hundreds” of delegates, although he would not “disclose the size of our army before going into battle.” Waters is leading a whip operation and offered to provide updates through the convention to anyone who texts “UNBOUND” to 53445. To add legal heft to the argument that delegates are free to vote their conscience, Virginia delegate Beau Correll has gone to federal court challenging his state’s laws. Roughly 20 states have laws on the books dictating how delegates should vote at conventions although they are largely unenforceable, haven’t been prosecuted, and are trumped by the party’s convention rules anyhow. That said, Correll has suggested a favorable ruling would become a “permission slip” for the delegates in all those states to vote for a candidate of their choosing at the convention. Correll expects a ruling as early as Monday or Tuesday of this week. Rebel delegates also plan to present a proposal at the convention that would allow delegates to nominate a vice president. Correll described it as an “arranged marriage option” that would provide a “counterweight to Trump’s instability.” This all amounts to an all-of-the-above approach on behalf of the rebel delegates to containing Trump. Conservatives recognize that Donald Trump is not the next Ronald Reagan. He’s Gerald Ford---with even less chance of winning the general election. So, Trump would be right in saying there are people out to defeat him at the convention. And the system might be rigged. But if the convention is rigged, he’ll likely be the one rigging it to become the GOP nominee. - See more at: https://www.conservativereview.com/commentary/2016/07/no-joke-trump-might-have-to-rig-the-convention-to-win#sthash.hyZ7aCrD.dpuf