The Burning Issue: "Goodbye GOP. I Will Not Be Forced to Vote for Somebody I Don't Want. You're Toast. To Hell With the Republican Party"

Fifty years ago, primaries were rare, and brokered conventions were the norm. Remember James Daley screaming the podium in 1968? However, today primaries are the norm, and people expect to be able to vote for their favorite candidate. There's really no going back.

There's also the issue of yet another betrayal by the GOPe. Trump is having a happy dance over the Colorado shinanigans.

Posted by bob sykes at April 11, 2016 5:33 AM

V, once upon a time, I was a Republican State Committeeman, and a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1996. This is all Trumpian idiocy. There is a process, and it is different in each state. State parties make their rules, and jealously guard their power. Trump is either too lazy, or too stupid to understand this, and instead has taken to manipulating the media and the stupid to accept his message, so he can whine at the convention, that he was "cheated".

I suspect that those in the process today, and a majority of Republicans, think much as I do. Trump is not a Republican. He has not won a majority of Republican votes in a single state. He does not represent the party. Hell, even his own kids can't vote for him in NY because THEY aren't registered as Republicans.

Posted by Casca at April 11, 2016 7:54 AM

If you feel disenfranchised, there is always Hillary. "I know Hillary and I think she’d make a great president or vice-president.” -- Donald Trump, 2008.

Posted by chuck at April 11, 2016 8:11 AM

There is no political solution to this.

Posted by Leslie at April 11, 2016 8:36 AM

This morning on Fox Business Network, they interviewed (independently) Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy and a present Democrat super-delegate, and a Republican four-time delegate whose name I don't recall.

Both women said the primary system is "rigged," actually using that word.

Pelosi said that the super-delegate system is designed to make sure the Dem. establishment gets its way (not quoting her but summarizing) and the Rep. delegate said explicitly that the Rep. primary system and nomination process is not about voters getting their candidate selected, but about the party getting its choice at the convention.

Amazingly, Pelosi said that the Dem. super-delegate system is wrong and that she is speaking out for super-delegates at this year's convention to vote (at least on the first ballot) for the primaries' majority vote-getter. But the Republican delegate was quite content with the system she had already admitted was rigged.

Posted by Donald Sensing at April 11, 2016 8:43 AM

Many masks coming off this election season. The curtains have parted, the manipulators revealed, the people awakened by the howls of the disenfranchised, only growing louder. I will remain an R until my state votes. I will then switch to Independent. I refuse to vote the GOPe pick, and will write in Trump on my ballot. After that, I will disparage the GOP with the dems with every breath, and each chance to publically denounce, rebel, or civillay disobey I will take, with relish. My country is betrayed by socialists and elitists, my constitution denigrated and my rights impugned. Screw you, GOP.

Posted by Bettyann at April 11, 2016 8:47 AM

Here is the Pelosi clip I referenced above:

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/4840618698001/can-superdelegates-rig-the-democratic-nomination/?#sp=show-clips

Posted by Donald Sensing at April 11, 2016 8:47 AM

What the hell is the matter with all these Trump obsessed idiots? They neither know nor care about the country and its laws and institutions. I'm not sure what Donald Sensing's problem is, he's usually more astute than this year.

Political parties are not and never have been in the business of snapshot popularity contests. They are coalitions of state parties and are free to make their own rules, as they have always done. So Sen. Taft and Gen. Eisenhower couldn't wrap up the nomination beforehand, take it to the convention. Pres. Ford couldn't win sufficient support, let the Ford and Reagan forces each try to get sufficient delegates to win.

Trump cannot win before the convention when the majority of Republican voters and much of its party apparatus vehemently opposes him. If he can't unite the party, he doesn't deserve the nomination. Same rules for Cruz and Kasich and the previous candidates. If none of them can get the delegates, the party is obligated to nominate someone else.

The general election has its own rules. I'm sure the Trump crowd will fuss and fume about the electoral college, too. That whole concept is above the typical nine-year-old's conception of "more votes wins".

Maybe this country doesn't any longer deserve to be self-governing, based upon the leftist delusions and their Trump allies.

Posted by Ed at April 11, 2016 10:04 AM

It is sad to see so many celebrate a rigged system when it suits them, decry it when it does not, but go all-in for the system nonetheless. Don't cry about the establishment if you're satisfied by merely moving the needle towards the conservative side of the status quo.

Just like Dante's Inferno, it is apparent that the only way out is through the bottom. If the establishment rigs the system to oust Trump then a vote for Hillary is the only thing that grants the possibility for restoring America in my lifetime. I would have rather taken the easy way.

Posted by Clinton Nichols at April 11, 2016 3:36 PM

Gee, Ed, I guess *this* Trumpian Idiot will be pulling the lever for The Bitch this fall, if the choice is between her and that chiseling Cuban grease-stain.

Posted by Quent at April 11, 2016 3:41 PM

For all the bought and paid for RNC shills here, that are just fine with politics as usual, - your days of wine and roses are probably dwindling, as is the national political party meisters.

Matt Bracken wrote a treatise called "After the Revolution". Look it up and read it. Then make sure you convince yourself that it can't happen here. Consequences are hard to avoid once the table tilts.

In 1989 in Romania, the people there finally had enough and a political party meister ended up stood up against a wall. Along with 12 or 14 thousand party loyalist cronies.

One Man - One Vote; that is what this country has touted for a couple of centuries. Now the political prostitutes can't hide the fact that it's not really true; worse that it never was.

When a Nations Patriots, Veterans, Military and LEO's are betrayed and then told they are stupid for complaining - there will be a certain sure "come to Jesus" at some point. I would take care not to be on the wrong side of that correction activity, when it avalanches and rolls through a Nation betrayed by those elected to do the right thing. Truth is truth; lies are lies; One Man - One Vote. Are you RNC dweebs really advocates of Joseph Stalin? Joey once said,"Let them all vote; I decide who counts the votes." That is what you self righteous "delegate parsers" are; Baby Joes.

Lets see if it stands. Should be a right sidewinder to watch. All you political snakes out there listen up - all the millions of those "We the People" guys you so hate - they finally SEE YOU plainly for what you are. You're the same as the Democrat scum; different camo of course; but the same under the skin.

This is gonna be some fun, folks - see you after the revolution.

Bill Cleveland
One Old Soldier

Posted by Bill Cleveland at April 11, 2016 5:46 PM

"Trump cannot win before the convention when the majority of Republican voters and much of its party apparatus vehemently opposes him. "

Trump seems to win where the economy has suffered the worst. Else they vote Cruz.

Though Trump needs 494 Delegates of the remaining 771 (Does not include the uncommitted Delegates in States that already had their primaries), I believe Trump has a good chance of achieving the needed 1237 Delegates.


Posted by cond0011 at April 11, 2016 5:56 PM

They are way up there, and we are way down here.

They think they are safe as long as we are separated as they believe we are.

Their illusion will last until they see us coming over the wall.

Posted by ghostsniper at April 11, 2016 5:57 PM

Where has this guy been all his life? I can remember the GOP nominating Richard Nixon (which I really didn't like), so I voted for Schmitz. I was angry in 1992 that George H.W. Bush broke his word on "no new taxes," so I voted for Pat Buchanan in the GOP Primary, then wrote in "Donald Duck" in the general election. I preferred Steve Forbes in 200, but voted for GWB anyway. I was not happy with McCain in '08, but he put Palin on the ticket so he got my vote. In my life experience, my own top choice only very rarely wins the nomination.

Posted by David Zincavage at April 11, 2016 6:56 PM

Don't worry, Dave. It doesn't seem to matter when "our" guy wins as nothing changes anyway.

Posted by DrTedNelson at April 11, 2016 7:25 PM


The Curious Case of the Missing Colorado Delegate
Posted by Crista Huff on Apr 11, 2016 in Free Stock Market Content

by Crista Huff

On Saturday, April 9, 2016, a man named Larry from Douglas County, CO slandered Douglas County (CO) Republicans on Facebook. In that Facebook post, Larry claimed that he went to his neighborhood caucus meeting on March 1st, at which a precinct captain named Jan Morgan had threatened him about being a Trump supporter, with the implication that Trump supporters would not be allowed to be delegates to the April 9th State Republican Assembly.

Larry then claimed that he indeed had attempted to attend the State Republican Assembly on April 9th, but was cheated out of his delegate position. Hundreds of people initially read his story, which then quickly spread across America.

Larry was my Facebook “friend”, although I knew very little about him, other than the details of an aggressive encounter he’d recently posted about. After quizzing him about his delegate problem, and offering to assist, and doing research, here is the response I sent to him, via a private Facebook message:

Larry, I looked into your delegate problem today. I spoke at length with somebody knowledgeable on this topic.

In fact, you did not check in with your District 3 Captain at any point during County Assembly, nor did you sit with the District 3 delegates. (While it is technically possible that you might have checked in at the front desk — we will have that evidence in a few days — it is clear that you never attempted to sit with the delegates from your District, because they did not know that you were in attendance.)

I learned that this “Jan Morgan” person is not a precinct person in District 3, and might not exist at all. That explains why I could not find her on the Douglas County Central Committee list.

I learned that you were not present at the point, during County Assembly, when District 3 delegates gathered to elect delegates to go to the State Assembly. I learned that everybody from District 3 who wanted to go to the State Assembly was successfully elected as a delegate; and that there were no alternates, because there was not an abundance of people interested in going.

I spoke directly with the woman who supervised that election and filled out the subsequent paperwork. You were not present. What’s more, in keeping with normal County Assembly procedures, nobody was required to announce their favorite POTUS candidate.

In addition, I asked you to give me a factual written testimony, so that I could help you get to the bottom of this problem, and hold somebody accountable. You did not do so, which tells me that you are far more interested in drama than you are interested in problem-solving.

I frankly do not believe your story.

I will be unfriending you now. I’m sure you found it amusing to slander Douglas County Republicans today. It’s unfortunate that you did that, but I am confident that what goes around comes around. I will not, therefore, worry about this any further.

I then attempted to “unfriend” Larry, only to discover that he had already unfriended ME, prior to my sending him that message. Why would a man, for whom I was doing helpful research, unfriend me? One possible explanation would be that he knew what I would also discover: that his story had likely been fabricated.

Additionally, at some point on April 10th, Larry blocked me on Facebook.

On Sunday, April 10th, quite a variety of Douglas County caucus attendees, delegates, and Republican Party volunteers were interviewed, to determine exactly what took place. The paper trail was examined, from Larry’s caucus meeting, and from the Douglas County Assembly. None of the gentleman’s story holds water. In fact, not only did he NOT attend the Douglas County Assembly, which he would have had to attend in order to be elected as a delegate to the subsequent State Republican Assembly, but he apparently had a great caucus experience.

Larry’s March 1st Facebook post portrays a man who attended his March 1st neighborhood caucus and felt triumphant at the positive response he generated for Presidential candidate Donald Trump. At caucus, he was elected as a delegate to the Douglas County Assembly, which would take place on March 19th. Larry subsequently failed to attend the Douglas County Assembly.

Larry’s brief political hobby began and ended on March 1st, of his own volition. He squandered his elected position as a delegate to the Douglas County Assembly, and he squandered his opportunity to be elected as a delegate to the State Republican Assembly.

Not only is his entire story apparently false, but by accepting a delegate position at caucus, then failing to fulfill his delegate responsibilities at the Douglas County Assembly, Larry prevented other people at his caucus from winning that coveted delegate position and fulfilling their personal goals of being voting delegates during the 2016 Presidential campaign season in Colorado.

I don’t know which is more egregious: Larry’s apparent betrayal of the facts, or his betrayal of his neighbors at caucus.

Gear up, America. It’s only April. We have six more months of political shenanigans ahead of us.

* * * * *

http://www.goodfellowllc.com/free-stock-market-content/curious-case-missing-colorado-delegate

Posted by Elk Tracks at April 11, 2016 8:14 PM

Looks like you spoke the devil's name, Gerard.

Posted by David McKinnis at April 11, 2016 8:26 PM

Sounds like Larry either screwed up and is trying to cover his ass or is, umm.., confused.

Posted by chuck at April 11, 2016 11:05 PM

"Elk Tracks" is spamming this comment all over the net.
I CALL BULL...err...I CALL CRUZ-CONTROL.

Americans have an innate sense of "fair play", whether you want to call it that or "one man one vote" or whatever.

They also like to root for underdogs.

The GOPe is signing its own death warrant and Cruz is merely being the VICHY collaborator,
not necessarily in CO (though the prime beneficiary) but in general as relates to his devious conduct overall.

+++

THAT SAID...don't be surprised if the GOPe hands Cruz the nomination. HE'S GUARANTEED TO LOSE IN THE GENERAL.

Should blocking Trump be successful, the GOPe THEN has the choice, either to:
1) sweep Cruz to the side and go with some as-of-yet-unannounced GOPe toady “fresh face”
(which would mean the automatic suicide of the GOP),
OR
2) finagle a way to hand Cruz then nomination (which would be only a Pyrrhic Victory)
followed by millions of Democrat and Independent crossover voters (plus the Trump supporting GOP Base)
walking away from Cruz, giving America a President Clinton.

Option #2 above gives the GOPe the advantage of being able to not only
save face (and thereby try to retain a chance of viability for the future) by projecting blame
but also being able to say, "See? A conservative can NEVER win!"

In either case, with Trump out of the way,
the GOPe can maintain the Status Quo of control of power
by having their Democrat elite "relative" Hillary win…
…AND CRUZ IS CONSCIOUSLY GOING ALONG WITH EVERY BIT OF THIS.

At this point, the GOPe is utterly schizophrenic,
trying *anything* to appear fair, all while sabotaging Trump.

They claim, ”We need a bigger tent,”
BUT: they only use this as an excuse to move their policies closer to the Socialist Democrats.
Then they claim, ”We need more conservatives, not radicals like Trump,”
BUT: they say that, all while sabotaging REAL conservatives like Chris McDaniels, Dave Brat and others.

They don’t want a “bigger tent.”
They don’t want more conservatives.
The GOPe only wants MORE SLAVES ON THEIR ESTABLISHMENT PLANTATION.

Posted by Kauf Buch at April 12, 2016 3:13 AM

I just love the way Cruz supporters paint this as "Trump doesn't know how the game is played". CO changed the rules. My own state, WA, went from caucaus to primary this year. The system is designed to benefit party loyalists.

Trump is actually trying to win the nomination by winning primaries. Cruz has given up on that. The purpose of political parties is to WIN ELECTIONS. Giving the nomination to someone that can't get the votes is a perversion of the process.

Posted by Teri Pittman at April 12, 2016 7:17 AM

So, we'll soon find out if the GOPe wants to win with Trump, or would prefer 8 years of Hillary, which I really think they'd rather have... I guess they get paid regardless, which might be the problem. Is it time for a 3d party? or are we gonna keep on playing expensive games with the GOPe? Although I must say I can't see sending good money after bad by making further Republican donations.

Posted by Susan Lee at April 12, 2016 7:17 AM

I agree with Bill Cleveland upthread.

Of course the GOPe rules are legal, as far as I can tell, and, new or old, the rules are there to accomplish their goals. What about those goals? I have followed their platform, which is in line with much of my beliefs on small government and personal responsibility, and capitalism.

Then, consider their actions. None of their platform exists in their actual governance. It's all a shell game. They suck at lawmaking and governing. We hate you (fill in your favorite swear epithet).

If GOP state and convention rules are fair, then Trump's rhetoric is just as fair. If I were he, I'd be slaying CO at every opportunity. Trump has the delegate advantage, the most votes, and momentum (although Cruz has parenthetical momentum, Trump has the long game). The narrative now is old boy's club versus Americans. It is fair and true, and Americans will not be fooled by "rules."

In case you missed it, the Declaration and Constitution are revolutionary documents. Fair warning.

Posted by Casey Klahn at April 12, 2016 9:01 AM

The Repubs and Dems would like you to believe that their parties will last for eternity. If a political party does not suit the voters needs, we will replace it. I was reading up about the Whigs yesterday. Seems like they got the boot. No reason why we can't do the same to the current parties.

Posted by Teri Pittman at April 12, 2016 9:27 AM

> "Trump doesn't know how the game is played"

Trump plays by the threes esses: screwoff, screwup, screwyou.

Posted by chuck at April 12, 2016 9:27 AM

Best laugh I've had in a while:

"Colorado Trump delegate who burned his party registration: I may have missed a meeting"

http://hotair.com/archives/2016/04/12/colorado-trump-delegate-who-burned-his-party-registration-i-may-have-missed-a-meeting/

Posted by Drake at April 12, 2016 9:41 AM

Funny how all the people here who are complaining that the primaries are un-democratic have no problem with a candidate that gets less than 50% of the vote in a State getting all (or almost all) of the delegates from that State. Oh, "Those are the rules"? Well, that's right. The rules are the rules. If you want to take advantage of them when they're in your favor, don't cry foul when they're not.

Posted by RonF at April 12, 2016 10:02 AM

The reason our guy winning never fixes anything is because he or she isn't our guy. The reason I voted for Trump in my state is so the system will be exposed and burned down. I, too, have been a life-long Republican. I would vote for a stuffed armadillo before I'd vote for any Democrat. Now that applies to Republicans at the national level as well. Democrats and Republicans are two wings of the American Fascist Party.

I am done with the federal government.

They can pass all the laws they want. I live free or die trying.

Posted by Browncoat at April 12, 2016 10:35 AM

Sorry that Trump had someone else pull a Trump on him. It is the supreme irony that after a business career spent bending the rules and the politicians to get the outcomes he wanted that he should now be complaining about someone who played by the rules and just out hustled him. Laziness and entitlement don't cut it in presidential politics, and the whining and crying is nothing but sour grapes at getting outflanked fair and square. Sending out the Brownshirts through surrogates Stone, Manafort and his own tweats to intimidate delegates is beyond disgusting...... it is downright Trumpian.

Posted by Ghost Rider at April 12, 2016 11:07 AM

Excellent article, and absolutely true. Thanks!

Posted by Eskyman at April 13, 2016 5:07 PM

You are most welcome.

Posted by vanderleun at April 15, 2016 8:31 AM