Suppose the GOP brokers in Tampa

[DonCoquixote]

What is the plan if they do get Mitt to drop out? My fear is Jeb Bush and palin will try to ride in messiah style.

The harm can be that the Dem super pacs may wats emoney fighting Romney, only to have the GOP do a switcheroo at the end.

Thoughts?

[HubertHeaver]

1. Who ever the 'white knight' is will still have to face a popular president who has

a highly functioning organization behind him. I don't believe Jeb will want any part of it.

[bluestate10]

2. Jed wants to wait until 2016, when may be the stench of his brother's

Presidency would have dispersed from the nostrils of americans. The Jersey fatman wants no part of Obama, regardless of Jersey's bluster.

[metalbot]

3. A brokered convention will result in Rubio going against Obama

They don't have anyone else.

[customerserviceguy]

4. If the eventual nominee is someone who didn't fight for it during the primaries

it will be because by that point, the Repuke nomination is worthless, and it will be after the 25th ballot, or some such disaster. Nobody who has any real future in their party (or wants to) will have anything to do with it, even for the boost that the VP nod usually gives someone towards the next four years.

It's going to be whoever can cut the best deal with Ron Paul, probably by putting Rand on the ticket.

[mac56]

5. Rand Paul as the VP?

Ain't that a kick in the head.

[customerserviceguy]

6. Especially if it's Mittens

Grabs the attention of the tea partiers, and even the fundies.

[Motown_Johnny]

7. ~3 months to create an organization, raise money and campaign

against the incumbent President who's machine beat Sen. Clinton 4 years ago, with fewer resources than she had, and beat Sen. McCain by 192 electoral votes ( 365 - 173 ).

Besides that, anyone who wins the nomination without any primary votes cast for them will be seen as illegitimate by both independents and the (R) activists who tried to get their candidate elected.

Jesus himself could descend from on high right into the convention and even he couldn't beat President Obama under those conditions.

[Alexander]

8. Brokered/open conventions almost always lead to that party's defeat in the election.

Let's take a look at some good examples - 1976 for the Republicans, 1968 for the Democrats, and the 100+ ballot fiasco that was 1924 for the Democrats, for starters. In every case, the divided party lost, and in the case of 1924 (the last time a "compromise candidate" was ever chosen) the Democrats lost by a 25-point landslide, receiving only 28% of the vote.

I also don't know why you're so afraid of a Bush/Palin ticket.

Voters absolutely hate the Bush family now (much more than they did after Senior's presidency), and are not going to forget that after only 4 years.

And something like 70% of Americans think Palin is totally unqualified to be President. She makes Newt Gingrich look popular by comparison. You don't rebound from numbers like that, especially not during a 3-month campaign. On top of that, McCain picking her was by far the worst mistake of his campaign - she had the worst poll numbers of all 4 candidates by November.

I would be laughing my ass off if the ticket was Bush/Palin, because Obama would be guaranteed a landslide, winning over 40 states and probably about 60% of the vote.

[DonCoquixote]

9. Here is why

As much as we would not like to think so, Citizens United destoryed the rules of the game. I did not say change, because now not only are the old rules dead, but there is nothing to replace them. Simply put, there is nothign stopping Jeb, Palin, or more imprtantly their would be puppetmasters from dumping in three billion dollars and having an organzation made ready to go. Indeed, let's be honest, considering the pressure to get CU passed, such plans are probably already prepped and ready to go.

[Alexander]

11. So? Romney's approval ratings are still tanking - and that's with Citizens United.

I know a lot of DUers see this horrible SCOTUS decision as some kind of evil bogeyman that's going to destroy all Democrats, but it really isn't.

Just look at Mitt Romney - who has by far the most money, the biggest organization, and is undoubtedly the biggest beneficiary of Citizens United judging by Super PAC ads - and even with all those advantages, his approval rating is now an abysmal 28%. Nobody wins presidential elections with numbers like that.

And let's not forget the Democrats have their own Super PACs and quite a few wealthy people are willing to plunk down millions for Democratic candidates - most recently, Bill Maher.

Let's also not forget Obama is currently sitting on a huge war chest of his own while the Republicans are throwing campaign money around attacking each other.

As for your ridiculous idea of a Jeb/Palin ticket, voters despise both of those people. As we've seen again and again in politics, once everyone knows who you are and decides they really don't like you, it's almost impossible to change that no matter how many ads are broadcast in your favor.

By your logic, Linda McMahon should've beaten Richard Blumenthal in the Connecticut Senate race in 2010. The reality is, McMahon threw $50 million at that race - outspending Blumenthal by over 6-to-1 - and she lost in a 12-point landslide.

Bottom line is, you can have all the money in the world to spend on an election, but if voters don't like you, they aren't going to vote for you.

[Proud Public Servant]

10. PLEASE stop calling it a "brokered convention"

It'll be a deadlocked convention and then an open convention. But there's no mechanism that would allow it to be a brokered convention.