Posted on 04/18/2016 2:51:08 AM PDT by markomalley
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told reporters at a press conference Sunday in Staten Island that the Republican primary nomination process is “rigged” against him and he refuses to play by the rules established by GOP state party committees he deems unfair.
“I don’t want to play the rule game, because I’ll tell you what, we live in a democracy and it’s all about getting the bosses out. The bosses are picking. Now I’m winning, you will say. I’m wining by 200 delegates. I’m winning, more importantly in my opinion, I’m winning by 2 million votes. In other words I’ve gotten more than 2 million votes,” Trump said, when asked why he does not work within the rules different state contests have.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz swept up all of Wyoming’s available delegates at the state’s GOP convention Saturday night. Although Wyoming Republican voters caucused on March 12 at local conventions to begin the delegate election process, Trump and his supporters called it a voter-less primary.
A similar situation occurred in Colorado where Cruz delegates won all the open slots to go to the convention through a process that began at local caucuses on March 1.
RNC Chairman Reince Priebus fired back at Trump this week for accusing the party of having a rigged system.
New York Republican Rep. Peter King told Fox News earlier on Sunday that the “system is what it is.” Ohio Gov. John Kasich as well as Cruz could call the New York primary unfair too, should Trump win at least 50 percent of the GOP vote statewide and receive at least 50 percent of the Republican votes in most or all of the Empire State’s congressional districts.
“He may get 53 or 54 percent of the vote, but if he gets 100 percent of the delegates, now, Cruz or Kasich could say, ‘That’s unfair.’ The very nature of a nominating process is always — Iowa has caucuses. Some have open primaries. Others just have local conventions. That’s just the way it’s been and it’s not meant to be easy. Whatever it is, I don’t see it as an attempt to stop Donald Trump,” King said. “These rules have been in effect in one way or another, with their idiosyncracies, for one hundred years. And in some cases, others get changed every few years, but that’s part of running for president. you have to learn how to navigate the minefields,” he added.
When did states begin having primaries? Did they change the Constitution to allow this?
When the parties held nominating conventions without having primaries were all of those candidates illegitimate?
We are not a democracy We are a constitutional republic. If trump wants to be president he should at least understand what kind of government he wants to lead. Someone enroll him in civics 101!
A republic is a “non-monarchy.” A democracy is a “non-monarchy.” An anarchy is a “non-monarchy.” It’s all the same, right? Any “non-monarchy” is essentially the same as any other “non-monarchy.”
Indeed, by very definition, a NON-monarchy *is* an AN-archy.
By your logic.
How you arrived at this garbage from what I actually said defies logic.
What, in PA? There are rules about how you get on the ballot. Just like any other office on a ballot. You have to collect signatures to demonstrate the plausibility of your candidacy.
You vote for the delegate. He represents the people who vote for him. Since this election matters they have been asked for statements from various news outlets.
Some support a candidate (Cruz or Trump), some say they will vote the way the district or state does in the preference election. At least on the first ballot.
I think the point is that the Constitution calls for a republic and NOT a democracy.
There was a time when any candidate who said “we live in a democracy” and “I don’t care about the rules” would be pilloried by 90% of the FReeper population for such a blatant rejection of our nation’s guiding principles.
Are you asking if all of the voters in the country went to the parties’ nominating conventions prior to 1968?
What is more corrupt? Crossing over to vote in your opponent Parties worst/most easily beaten candidate?
Or electing delegates who resolve contested election choices from within the Party?
The General election is coming up in November. That is where your “one man/one vote” takes place.
Either get involved with your local Party to change things, or stop bitching about the results you did nothing to prevent.
People who are registered members of the party could file to be listed on the local precinct delegate ballot.
Remember the crybaby who burned his registration because he was “denied” access to the state convention?
He managed to get elected as a delegate from his local precinct. It can’t be that difficult. It just takes prior planning and some organization.
You’re very flippant in your considerations when it involves how/why/where and by what mechanisms Ted Cruz runs for President. It is technically true that the Constitution doesn’t apply specific powers to a nominee except that they meet the eligibility requirements.
The point of my post was not about nominations, nor was it about Cruz; it was about what form of government this is and how the blanket denial that the US is a form of democratic government because staid contrarians like to use Republic completely refusing to even consider its ‘democratic’ aspects. I provided a reference to back up my assertion. You give me flak and say I was upset and implied that it (whatever that is you mean - I’ll assume it’s the Constitution) grants no power ?
The candidates are running for President and through the tenet of shared sovereignty, power and responsibilities, the Constitution cedes election running to the states. Most states use at least the semblance of citizen voter input to select convention delegates, and there are a few whose political parties act like Union leaders, doing what they damned well want with no voter input. Technically permissible but spiritually tyrannical in my opinion.
Thank goodness the Electoral College Electors are supposed vote based on citizen votes. 26 of the states even have “faithless voter” laws.
Finally, since you seem to be enamored that “it” grants no power to a nominee, it does require that the nominee if elected President do several things:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ed_marti_070621_the_twelve_powers_of.htm
How do you expect to influence people in favor of your candidate choice if you spread out and out untruths.
I’ve looked online to determine Colorado’s processes. And I have talked to my cousins who live and vote in Colorado. They went to the local caucus locations and VOTED on the delegates to represent them at the next level. Just Colorado residents have done since 1912:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Caucus.
The experience of a Colorado resident who participated in the local caucus for the first time:
http://ariarmstrong.com/2016/04/setting-the-record-straight-about-colorados-republican-caucus/.
Don’t like the system? Try getting involved and work to get changes implemented.
Come and baby sit us so we don’t cheat! Please.
We live in a republic. We do not have a Republic voting system in the primaries in the States at issue here. The Representatives are not chosen by those whom they are supposed to represent.
The facts that:
a. Unbound (Super) Delegates exist, and
b. Delegates are for-sale to the highest bidder
Negates any argument what we have in those states is a representative election for the primary. Its a Ruling Class protection scam nothing more.
Does Trump really not know what form of government the U.S. has?
Welcome to the French Revolution, 2016 version.
You'll have to explain that one to me.
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