Republican National Committee member on nomination process: “This is the greatest hoax ever.”

The following article is one of the most amazing things I've ever read.

As post-debate pollsters assess how far the mighty Trump may have fallen after Wednesday’s Republican debate, there’s another dynamic that may deny him the 2016 nomination: Republican Party bosses could rig the arcane rules governing awarding delegates and convention votes to keep the nomination from Trump.

“I think they will eventually,” said Curly Haugland, a Republican National Committee member from North Dakota and longtime RNC Rules Committee member, in an interview before Wednesday’s presidential debate. “This process was set up for Bush or Walker to win—establishment guys.”

Though Haugland is one of 168 RNC members, he’s a maverick who’s been making the eyebrow-raising argument that the rules governing the 2016 convention are filled with contradictions that nullify whatever occurs before the opening gavel hits the podium in Cleveland next July—including the primary season’s results. Convention delegates and nobody else, he says, get to choose the 2016 presidential ticket.
Can GOP Party Bosses Rig the Rules to Keep Trump from Winning? You Bet!

People have been complaining about how the Democratic Party is apparently rigging its nomination process through super delegates. Meanwhile, the consensus opinion I've read is that the Republican Party is more pure and honest because it bases its nomination on the actual popular vote. According to the article above, the RNC may go that way, or it may not:

To Haugland, whatever unfolds during the caucus, primary and state convention season—apart from electing delegates who will travel to Cleveland in July—amounts to party “custom,” but is not legally binding. That includes the RNC’s apparent emphasis on requiring 2016’s delegates to commit to voting for a nominee that reflects their state primary or convention results.

...

“The only rules that matter are 26-to-42, which preserves the rights of the delegates to choose the nominee,” Haugland said. “The votes in the primary elections mean nothing except custom… With Robert’s Rules, when a custom and rule conflict, the custom falls away.”

Haugland said there were other problems that could lead to challenging the credentials of delegates. Rule 16(d)(2) only allows registered Republicans to participate in their primaries or state conventions, but 12 states now have “open primaries,” which allows anyone to participate. He said that it might be difficult to find a majority of delegates from eight states or territories, Rule 40, to officially put a candidate’s name in nomination.

“The only thing that matters is what the Rules Committee adopts” once the convention begins, he said. “This is the greatest hoax ever.”
Can GOP Party Bosses Rig the Rules to Keep Trump from Winning? You Bet!

Those sound like the words of a hardcore conspiracy theorist to me. However, they are the words of an expert and an insider who is just trying to make sense of all this like the rest of us.

To sum it up, IMHO, the primary season stuff means little or nothing unless Trump can earn enough pledged delegates. If he can't, it looks like anything could happen. The following is a detailed discussion of this topic:

Will Republicans have a brokered convention in 2016?

Can anyone believe that THIS is how the "greatest democracy in the world" chooses its president?

Simply put, it's their party and they can do what they want to. Same with the Democrats and the superdelegate controversy. Why do we continue this system again and again? I do not know

a reply to: Profusion

It's not that the game is rigged that surprises me.

It's the fact that they don't even pretend to be fair about it any more.

Both mainstream committees are extremely worried this election.

The desperation is obvious in each of the state primaries so far.

The fake audiences.

The slanted/scripted moderating etc. etc.

The phony/controlled MSM stories.

Now do you see why I called it for Jeb three months ago?

I think this election, more than any other in the past, will show how inconsequential our votes are. It will show EVERYONE this fact and it needs to happen. Change can't come about until the truth is laid bare for all to see and understand. I hope some good decisions are made to remedy this fake democratic voting process.

Well if any of this happened and we ended up seeing Bush vs Clinton, the country would collectively s### a brick.

Mass riots, Trump driving a tank down Park Ave, etc...

In the end, whoever gets elected better do the right thing and legalize cannabis at the federal level.
We're gonna need a ton of it to make it through the dark times ahead.

originally posted by: Arizonaguy
Simply put, it's their party and they can do what they want to. Same with the Democrats and the superdelegate controversy. Why do we continue this system again and again? I do not know

Exactly

You could have left out all of the verbiage - and just added


“The only thing that matters is what the Rules Committee adopts”

Damn good find Pro. I star and flag thee

originally posted by: Profusion
The following article is one of the most amazing things I've ever read.

As post-debate pollsters assess how far the mighty Trump may have fallen after Wednesday’s Republican debate, there’s another dynamic that may deny him the 2016 nomination: Republican Party bosses could rig the arcane rules governing awarding delegates and convention votes to keep the nomination from Trump.

“I think they will eventually,” said Curly Haugland, a Republican National Committee member from North Dakota and longtime RNC Rules Committee member, in an interview before Wednesday’s presidential debate. “This process was set up for Bush or Walker to win—establishment guys.”

Though Haugland is one of 168 RNC members, he’s a maverick who’s been making the eyebrow-raising argument that the rules governing the 2016 convention are filled with contradictions that nullify whatever occurs before the opening gavel hits the podium in Cleveland next July—including the primary season’s results. Convention delegates and nobody else, he says, get to choose the 2016 presidential ticket.
Can GOP Party Bosses Rig the Rules to Keep Trump from Winning? You Bet!

People have been complaining about how the Democratic Party is apparently rigging its nomination process through super delegates. Meanwhile, the consensus opinion I've read is that the Republican Party is more pure and honest because it bases its nomination on the actual popular vote. According to the article above, the RNC may go that way, or it may not:

To Haugland, whatever unfolds during the caucus, primary and state convention season—apart from electing delegates who will travel to Cleveland in July—amounts to party “custom,” but is not legally binding. That includes the RNC’s apparent emphasis on requiring 2016’s delegates to commit to voting for a nominee that reflects their state primary or convention results.

...

“The only rules that matter are 26-to-42, which preserves the rights of the delegates to choose the nominee,” Haugland said. “The votes in the primary elections mean nothing except custom… With Robert’s Rules, when a custom and rule conflict, the custom falls away.”

Haugland said there were other problems that could lead to challenging the credentials of delegates. Rule 16(d)(2) only allows registered Republicans to participate in their primaries or state conventions, but 12 states now have “open primaries,” which allows anyone to participate. He said that it might be difficult to find a majority of delegates from eight states or territories, Rule 40, to officially put a candidate’s name in nomination.

“The only thing that matters is what the Rules Committee adopts” once the convention begins, he said. “This is the greatest hoax ever.”
Can GOP Party Bosses Rig the Rules to Keep Trump from Winning? You Bet!

Those sound like the words of a hardcore conspiracy theorist to me. However, they are the words of an expert and an insider who is just trying to make sense of all this like the rest of us.

To sum it up, IMHO, the primary season stuff means little or nothing unless Trump can earn enough pledged delegates. If he can't, it looks like anything could happen. The following is a detailed discussion of this topic:

Will Republicans have a brokered convention in 2016?

Can anyone believe that THIS is how the "greatest democracy in the world" chooses its president?

It's the oldest trick in the book, all the grooming, (well not in Trump's case) in the world makes no difference if the face, 'don't fit' blackballing anyone?

originally posted by: EmmanuelGoldstein
Well if any of this happened and we ended up seeing Bush vs Clinton, the country would collectively s### a brick.

Mass riots, Trump driving a tank down Park Ave, etc...

In the end, whoever gets elected better do the right thing and legalize cannabis at the federal level.
We're gonna need a ton of it to make it through the dark times ahead.

Honestly, I half joked with my family that if Bernie & Trump's leads got big enough, we'd see a Clinton/Bush ticket. I even talked about the angles they'd use to justify it, like "the ultimate bipartisanship", "the most combined experience in modern history", "unite the country instead of divide it", "could keep each side in check while ensuring each side gets its core goals accomplished", etc. I even joked that they'd stage some massive attack against the public so the coalition would seem like a necessity.

a reply to: Profusion

Every good Republican knows this is how it's done. It's exactly what they did to Ron Paul. And plenty of Republicans were quite happy about it then... now not so much??? Imagine that.

a reply to: interupt42

Exactly

Einstein did not say that.
www.news.hypercrit.net...

And if they go so far as to strip a nominee who clearly won the vote of the nomination, on either side, then they are playing with fire.

The electorate is dissatisfied with the government. Each side thinks there are different solutions to the problem, but the problems are the same. The contempt with which the establishment nominees are being treated reflects the interpretations the electorate have of DC's ability to govern.

If the electoral process does not deliver a revolution against the establisment on one side or the other, then the next step would be open revolt.

This is what the 2nd Amendment is for and you leftists may start to thank your lucky stars you never actually got it curtailed before all is said and done because at this rate, you may wind up marching and fighting alongside us conservatives to take our country back from DC and the establishment elite.

originally posted by: ketsuko


This is what the 2nd Amendment is for and you leftists may start to thank your lucky stars you never actually got it curtailed before all is said and done because at this rate, you may wind up marching and fighting alongside us conservatives to take our country back from DC and the establishment elite.

The 2nd Amendment was actually to assure that the people were able to provide for the forces to put down an insurrection, not start one.

How is it that you parlay concerns about the Republican National Committee into yet another empty diatribe against the US Government?

Are you confused in that you don't understand the difference?

a reply to: enlightenedservant

Yeah & then there will be a Bernie /Trump to go
against...lol
This is just the beginning & who knows what will happen
between now and Nov.

Cheers
Ektar

a reply to: Gryphon66

Oh, you are missing the part where Hillary Clinton went into the primary season with most of the Super Delegates for the Democrat party nomination sowed up already according to her own campaign and DWS admits that the Super Delegates are to protect against the grassroots (you know the icky little people). It ensures that Hillary can get trounced by about 20% points in New Hampshire and still tie Bernie for delegates.

The Democrats are at much at risk for stealing the party nomination as the Republicans are.

a reply to: ketsuko

I'm not missing anything; your post makes even less sense than usual.

Neither the Democratic National Committee nor the Republican National Committee are the government of the United States.

You claimed, because you may not like the outcome of the Republican Convention, that we leftists should join you in rebellion even though the Republican Party is not "the government" or whatever you mean by your vague "DC's ability to govern."

Is the constant irrational rhetoric having an unfortunate effect?

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Gryphon66

Oh, you are missing the part where Hillary Clinton went into the primary season with most of the Super Delegates for the Democrat party nomination sowed up already according to her own campaign and DWS admits that the Super Delegates are to protect against the grassroots (you know the icky little people). It ensures that Hillary can get trounced by about 20% points in New Hampshire and still tie Bernie for delegates.

The Democrats are at much at risk for stealing the party nomination as the Republicans are.

You may be right that Hillery is ICKEY. But as I see it, Sanders is Old, Stinky, and doesnt stick his neck out for anyone

a reply to: StoutBroux

It certainly will be interesting if Trump and Sanders get the popular vote heading into the party conventions. We all know Jeb and Hillary were expected to get the party nomination from the beginning. (Anybody in Bush's position would have dropped out of the race by now). Maybe this will help expose the corruption of the two party political system. I don't think the American public will easily swallow nominating a candidate who clearly didn't represent the majority of voters. I could be wrong.