Posted on 03/15/2016 9:26:18 AM PDT by dlt
The Northern Marianas are a collection of 15 islands in the Pacific Ocean, located at about the focal point of the Pacific Rim. It's a United States territory, 179 square miles of land -- an area smaller than New York City -- that happens to jut out above the surface of the water. And on Tuesday morning, before you even woke up, it made Donald Trump the first man to qualify for the Republican presidential nomination.
Ahh yes... Puerto Rico which can’t vote in the presidential election and Washington DC, where a Republican candidate has a snow balls chance.
Damn, that Rubio fellow is a strategic genius. More to him than just foam dancing.
;>)
It’s Guam, Tinian, and Saipan.
I may be one of the few FReepers who have been there. I have been to Saipan.
PING!!
Trump has a majority in 8 state delegations.
Tuesday morning, before you even woke up, it made Donald Trump the first man to qualify for the Republican presidential nomination.
Thanks, WildHighlander57
Knock it out, TRUMP!! TAKE IT! Whoo Hoo!
Been through all kinds of times here at FR in going on seventeen years. Have never seen a time when folks felt the need so widely to make declarations as if wishing makes it so.
I am concerned also. But, possibly, the GOPE is reluctant, at least for the moment, to go into the Rules just yet and instead is experimenting first with these take down TRUMP ads, to hold him under the 1237 threshold.
Romney, in 2012, was behind the Rules change from 5 states to the 8 states threshold.
I can not recall when it was that those changes occurred, but it must have been pre-convention in order to shut out the Ron Paul forces at the convention. Right?
Presently, the Rules Committee is composed of those same Romney forces, until the convention itself elects new committee members, in Cleveland.
1.) Was it Romney who came up with the 1237 threshold, or was that rule already in place?
2.) Can the Rules Committee change rules at will, prior to the Convention in Cleveland?
Anybody know?
“But no mention of Donald Trump.”
That’s not surprising. He hasn’t been a conservative for that long.
Yes. The rule change was a defense against Paul.
Regarding the Rules Committee, what I don’t think people appreciate is that Trump will have 0 support in the committee. There are basically 2 members per state. They are not going to Trump people. They are going to be a mix or GOPes and Cruzers. Even most of the Trump pleged delegates will likely be GOPe and Cruz.
If Trump doesn’t lock it up in the primaries, he ain’t gonna get it.
Rush said the GOP will put Kascik on the ticket and Trump and Cruz are out
GOP would rather lose than have Trump or Cruz
Of all of the things to worry about with regard to the nomination, Rule 40 is not one of them. It will get changed by the Rules committee before the convention.
The Rules Committee WILL meet before they convention - they do before every convention. And if Rule 40 is a problem, they will change it, I'm sure.
Wrong. Even if Trump were to be the only person on the first ballot, unless he had 1237 pledged delegates he still would not win on the first ballot. You cannot win the nomination with a majority of the votes cast, but you must have an absolute majority of the delegates. And after the first ballot, pretty much anything goes.
So when do the Rules Committee members change out?
I believe it is not until the Convention, where individuals will “campaign” throughout the hall, for a spot on the Rules Committee.
But, meanwhile the current Rules Committee is still the Romney committee, who were quite willing to endorse and vote for the rules changes that hindered the Ron Paul forces. Right?
My limited understanding is based on what I have read here and elsewhere — and it’s hard to know how much authority a writer has on the subject — so, FWIW, I think the rules committee meet to set the rules for the next convention, so in 2012 they set the rules for 2016 and in 2016 they will set the rules for 2020.
The 1237 is half + 1 of the total delegates (2,472) for 2016. I assume the committee or the juridictions decide the total delegates.
This is a point that many don't understand. One of the first things the convention will do when it is called to order is to approve the rules of the convention. So any rules changes suggested by the Rules committee must be approved by the delegates at the convention.
Now Trump supporters might assume that if Trump has the most delegates, even if he doesn't have a majority, that he can block any rule changes he doesn't like. But the actual delegates pledged to vote for Trump on the first ballot may not actually be Trump supporters themselves. And while they are obligated to vote for him on the first ballot, they are not obligated to vote the way he would like them to on any other issue, such as rules, delegate challenges, etc.
Thanks, QS. That makes sense. Perhaps the new Rules Committee will be cautious about acting as an oligarchy busy plotting to disregard the majority voters.
Wars are fought over this kind of behavior.
Can the Rules Committee change rules at will prior to the Convention in Cleveland?
Here is what I have been able to find out:
The rules if tweaked will need to be sent to the floor of the delegation to be voted upon. So the rules can be changed if the delegations on the floor agree to those changes.
“The delegates could vote to change the convention rules even BEFORE the first round of balloting takes place. That’s right, in the days leading up to the convention, the RNC Rules Committee could recommend rules changes to the Convention Rules Committee. That committee could tweak the recommendations but they they would ultimately have to send the new rules to the floor of the convention for a vote by the delegates. If the delegates vote to change the rules so as to ‘unbind’ themselves, then they could vote for whoever they wanted even in that first round.” (http://lawnewz.com/important/how-the-gop-could-steal-the-nomination-from-donald-trump-even-if-he-wins-majority-of-delegates/, March 6, 2016)
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