Posted on 09/01/2012 1:16:40 PM PDT by Lazamataz
Recently, the GOP passed some Presidential primary and delegate rules changes, in a very shady manner, that enraged conservatives. This rule will lessen the impact of delegates, and soften the voice of conservatives and Tea Party members. I was one of those who were enraged. In fact, I was at the front of the parade.
However, in life and especially in politics, not all is as it seems. One of Mitt Romney's closest advisors, a man by the name of James Bopp Jr., led the charge to prevent the rules from being this drastically changed. In a letter he wrote, he states:
This is the biggest power grab in the history of the Republican Party because it shifts the power to select delegates from the state party to the candidate. And it would make the Republican Party a top down, not bottom up party.
It would also hurt state parties because they use delegate selection as a way to honor party volunteers and party contributors. A Presidential candidate will have his own agenda for delegate selection. As a result, this always is a threat to party regulars who make up most of our delegates. But it is also a threat to both moderates and conservative who could be purged, depending on who is the Republican Presidential nominee.
This proposal is an over reaction to the problems in a few states where Ron Paul delegates threaten to not support the winning Presidential candidate. I agree that they should honor that pledge, but that can be fix by a few tweaks in a few state laws. Massachusetts handled this successfully by requiring an affidavit promising to vote for the candidate, Mitt Romney, who carried the state. But the Rules change here is overkill -- killing a fly with a sledgehammer.
After the Rules change imbroglio, I decided not to dash off a furious editorial, but instead to let time reveal all the workings, and to allow a little cooling off period. I'm glad I did. It's not as simple as it seemed.
Are there some scoundrels in the Republican party? Absolutely. John Boehner, who ruled against the floor vote in an entirely arbitrary way, springs to mind. One cannot help but think that Karl Rove clapped his chubby little hands together upon the Rules Change, as well. John Sununu, another villain in this power grab, may have been instrumental in removing key Florida delegates from the Rules Commitee. Perhaps the largest and most damning villain in the fiasco is Ben Ginsberg, who is Romney's chief legal advisor. It appears he was interested in even more power-consolidating Rules Changes.
There will be more revelations in the days ahead. It has been leaked to me that there will be more to follow, and that it may well show that Romney's camp initially wanted the Rules Change -- to undercut the Ron Paul brigades -- but when some of the party Establishment took the ball and ran too far downfield, that many in the Romney camp backed off of support. Of course, at that time, it was too late. The blue-blood establishment hacks had grabbed the concepts, racheted them up, and ran as hard as they could for the goal line.
So, we are starting to see the first glimmers of discontent in the Romney camp over the Rules Changes. If more follows, the changes may well be addressed -- with a little push from us, the Dreaded Grassroots.
The fact remains, though, that the Rules, having been changed, are horrific for the grassroots conservative and Tea Party members.
Romney, if he wants our support, should lead.
He should get in front of some conservative groups and let us know that the Rules will be changed again to allow our voices to be heard. We do understand if Romney himself cannot do it, since it is an old chestnut -- run to the right for nomination, run to the left for election -- but a high level surrogate would help us believe his intent.
The jury is still out. Is Romney willing to forego conservative support? We shall see. The blowback from a Romney rejection would be tragic for his election efforts.
What, that Team Romney is the best thing since sliced bread?
Not buying it.
Exactly. When the rules committee didn't give them one rule they wanted, they were immediately ready to stick in another rule to let the national committee change rules, so they could get that other one later. And, the national chairman went right along with them and made sure they got that rule passed even though the vote from the body was NO. I saw two votes illegally accepted so it had to be planned, period.
We serioucly need a new party for true conservativees because today both the Republican and the Democrat parties are owned by the same people. Tea Party arise!
The GOP ‘base’ (IE ‘us’) has become the Fox Mulders of politics. We want to believe, so bad, that the Republican Party is still Ronald Reagan that we continually lie to ourselves and make excuses for what we se happening before our very eyes.
That’s the simple truth. The absolute lovefest that has transpired since the convention is exhibit one.
Folks, these are words. Period. All we have to go on is faith and if the past is a representative entity, that faith is highly misplaced.
But the alternative, Obama, has scared most to the point that they just do not care and are willing to embrace anyone and anything that can salvage the situation.
Perhaps R&R can, perhaps not. But all I am saying here is see reality for what it is and not what you want it to be.
“Romney’s PERSONAL pick of Paul Ryan” “That is another good sign.”
One picks a VP to shore up the vote the presidential candidate may not have or is weak in the group - get Ryan for the Tea Party vote, so he did. More absolute, concrete planning. Ryan gets put in the VP office and that puts him on ice - in the cooler.
We ARE???
Wow. This poll is all bunkum, then.
Well, no, maybe you are right. Maybe 40% of Americans who call themselves conservative, maybe that IS a small percentage of "you guys".
I might add this final point: Lulz.
And I mean it.
Whaddya, liberal?
Maybe Mitt is a better guy than we thought.
We will see soon enough after he’s sworn in.
“...see reality for what it is and not what you want it to be.”
People hang on to “normal” when it is not “normal” anymore. I am a realist. I taught election law and I know what happened when party rules were broken and how they were broken.
“Normal” is not “normal” anymore - I see it as it is, others will see it later (plus you see it now).
Marcella, I do NOT underestimate the damage and the problematic way these Rules were changed. I hope I made that clear in my original article. It is also why the only way I will accept that Mitt and his closest advisors are not on board, is if they change to something that will NOT exclude conservative and Tea Party voices. Maybe it can’t happen in time, but (and this would not convince me, but it would be the first positive indicator) at LEAST decry these changes.
Must be. Romney is the nominee.
What is Lulz?
I think the facts were pretty apparent when it was all going down.
This is all just damage control, and you're buying it hook, line, and sinker.
Well then. Most of Germany must have been genocidal freaks back in the 1930'a and 1940's.
Never confuse the will of the people, with the will of the Party.
In case you believe your own hype: The poll is solid. The most significant ideological demographic is conservatism.
And Lulz is when a person is so doubled-over with laughter, lol won't cut it.
(I still don't get why you are here? This ain't an (R) site, it's a conservative site.)
Does a leopard change its spots?
I do think you'll find me looking at all the facts, calling for further action by Mitt to .... um... Mittigate the problem (lol), and further investigation to see who's on 'our side' and who --being on the side of tyrannical rule of the Republicans -- must be ejected from the party leadership.
I am here because I didn’t get kicked off yet. Lulz!!!
Wanna make that happen?
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