March 12, 201610 yr This adds some depth to the delegate allocation rules. He makes some good points about how the party will have plenty of chances to smooth everything out before the convention in Cleveland. He also notes that even if a candidate gets to the magic 1,237 pledged delegate count that they aren't guaranteed the nomination if the party wants to manipulate the rules. At the end of the day, predicting what will happen, especially if no one reaches 1,237, is a fool's errand. Republicans' New Target: The 'Pre-Convention' - Bloomberg View
March 12, 201610 yr This adds some depth to the delegate allocation rules. He makes some good points about how the party will have plenty of chances to smooth everything out before the convention in Cleveland. He also notes that even if a candidate gets to the magic 1,237 pledged delegate count that they aren't guaranteed the nomination if the party wants to manipulate the rules. At the end of the day, predicting what will happen, especially if no one reaches 1,237, is a fool's errand. Republicans' New Target: The 'Pre-Convention' - Bloomberg View They used Virginia as an example of electing the actual delegates in May. Trump gets 17 because he won that many. What would keep them awarding Kasich Rubio's and Jebbies's delegates giving him more than Trump? That's a hypothetical discussion I don't even know if Jeb won delegates in Va.
March 12, 201610 yr They used Virginia as an example of electing the actual delegates in May. Trump gets 17 because he won that many. What would keep them awarding Kasich Rubio's and Jebbies's delegates giving him more than Trump? That's a hypothetical discussion I don't even know if Jeb won delegates in Va. The way I understood it is each state chooses who the actual people are who will serve as delegates, even though these people are tethered to the candidates who won each state by existing rules. But, hypothetically, the state party could choose all Kasich supporters as delegates and then once delegates are freed these people would all support Kasich. At least since the delegates are chosen by the state parties they will be more of the "establishment" hue, I imagine, and that could doom Trump. I'd be curious to hear more about how each state/party chooses their delegates.
March 13, 201610 yr One last link in here. Ross Douthat makes a traditional conservative case that the party should pull the rug out from under Trump. I'm not entirely sure where I stand on the democracy v. elites argument, but I think he makes some points worth considering. On the one hand, our system of government was designed to resist majorities precisely because of the perils of populism. To the extent that parties are part of that system it makes sense for their leadership to steer the party in the direction the "elites" think is best for it to go. On the other hand, most of us have internalized democracy's legitimacy. Having a small group of "betters" thwart what most of us want is seen as backward and corrupt. And due to the confines of the unintentional two-party system our choices for office are limited to who these parties decide to nominate, so the existence of a strong party leadership is seen as undemocratic and illegitimate. The Party Still Decides
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