NYT: All Odds Aside, G.O.P. Girding for Floor Fight

[Trajan]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/us/politics/republicans-brace-for-possible-open-convention.html?_r=1&hp

All Odds Aside, G.O.P. Girding for Floor Fight

By JEFF ZELENY and JIM RUTENBERG

CHICAGO — For the first time in a generation, Republicans are preparing for the possibility that their presidential nomination could be decided at their national convention rather than on the campaign trail, a prospect that would upend one of the rituals of modern politics.

The race remains Mitt Romney’s to lose, and if he continues to accumulate delegates at a steady clip starting with contests in Puerto Rico on Sunday and Illinois on Tuesday, he can still amass the 1,144 necessary to secure the nomination before the last primary, in Utah on June 26.

But as he struggles to win the hearts of conservative voters and hold off a challenge from Rick Santorum, party leaders, activists and the campaigns are for the first time taking seriously the possibility that neither he nor anyone else will get to that total.

In that case, the nomination would be decided by the more than 2,200 delegates — from obscure local officials and activists to national figures — who will attend the party’s convention in Tampa, Fla., in late August.

-snip-

How delicious this GOP nominating process ? ... Let me enumerate the ways .....

110 % Delicious !

[Turbineguy]

1. After his recall

ex-guv Scott Walker will be available too.

[alp227]

8. Walker=the Palin of 2012, TOO disastrous a choice!

Oops I think I might've given away some ideas!

[Turbineguy]

9. If we have learned anything from the GOP

it is that there is no such thing as "too disastrous"!

They have not yet begun to explore low.

[joeybee12]

2. I would love to see this...

I don't think it will...rMoney should get to that total, barely, but still will.

[sarcasmo]

3. I would love to see a bunch of clowns roll up in a clown

car at the start of the convention.

[Trajan]

6. According to the story; A schism could develop between the old party cadre and the TeaVangelists ...

Fireworks between the fire breathers and the 'establishment types' will make for good reality TV ....

It wont do much to keep the moderates from fleeing, however .... That breach is already accelerating, thanks to the antics of the extreme right ....

Somewhere along the way, I want to thank them for hitching their wagons to the Tea Party idiots ..... could NOT have happened to a 'nicer' bunch ....

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. The know nothing's will take over

Moderates, I suspect, will go on to create a new conservative party with more than just a few blue dogs.

Ah the 1850s all over. Some of us have seen this comming. Now it is in the paper of record, that is the schism... The second part, you read it first on du.

[Mopar151]

18. The Shriners are ready! And so are the Ringling Bros. clowns

Been drinkin' since sunup..... (eerily like the current field)

Rb, B&B "blue unit"

[sarcasmo]

21. +1

[opihimoimoi]

4. Its all their own fault for putting up weak candidates to the Oval Office...as these

candidates have shown, they are weak in the categories needed for sound decisions...weak on wisdom. common sense, fairness, Clarity, and Honesty....

thus their probs in the search for Obamas replacement ....

[Old and In the Way]

5. I would hope that concealed carry is allowed at their convention....right?

If I were in this convention of crazies, damn right I'd want protection.

[MrModerate]

10. I'm generally opposed to concealed weapons-carrying . . .

But I'd be willing to make an exception for the Republican convention. Who knows what excitement might ensue?

[SunSeeker]

11. Now THAT is a funny visual.

Thanks, I needed that laugh.

[JoePhilly]

17. It would look something like this ....

[SunSeeker]

32. LOL!

[MrModerate]

35. What board game are they playing?

Unless they're just threatening each other with carved blocks of cheese.

[JHB]

15. No one would speak of "Chicago '68" anymore...

That's for sure.

[SamG]

7. I so love to see Republicans, the richest among them, wasting their

fortunes, fighting with each other 10 weeks before Americans re-elect Obama.

Let's hope Rmoney is about 2/5ths as rich as he is now by Dec 1.

And all that money spent for nothing, well, making more enemies, making more women, Latino's, Blacks and even more white men hate their party.

Good to see them spending that money for no purpose other than to make their party obsolete.

Silly Republicans!

[Skittles]

12. BRING IT ON

[grantcart]

13. Its beginging to look a lot like Christmas

[JDPriestly]

14. The Republican candidates ranged from stupid to obnoxious to boring.

Not one normal, likable person in the bunch.

The entire Party is desperate to get attention. And since their candidates are such losers, they have to keep attention focused on them through spectacle even if it makes them look stupid.

Romney will be the candidate. The Republicans plan on using their PAC millions to plaster the country with lies making Obama look like a bad guy.

It isn't necessarily a strategy of choice. It is more less a strategy necessitated by their ridiculous choice of candidates and the divisions in their party.

Democrats had a lot of candidates in 2008, and many of us disagree with certain of Obama's polices. But, on the whole, we Democrats were not that far apart, not really divided in 2008, and aren't divided now.

[Motown_Johnny]

16. Loving it, from late June to late August without primaries or a nominee

What a huge cluster F__k that is going to be. The floor battle itself is just icing on the cake. Then they will only have about 10 weeks from the time of their convention to the election. That is like the ice cream next to the cake with icing. Delicious!

[elzenmahn]

19. Here's the problem with a brokered convention

The delegates might not have to select any of the four stooges in the race now, and would be free to select a Jeb Bush, a Marco Rubio, a Chris Christie, or someone else stronger. With ten weeks of campaigning after the convention, the Obama team would not have time to vet one of these new candidates, and with the organization and money behind the Repubs (not to mention their overwhelming hatred for Obama), a brokered convention may not be that desirable for our side.

My suggestion - forget what the polls say now. Assuming R-Money gets the nod, imagine him in a debate with Obama. My prediction is that R-Money's clock will be cleaned and buffed to a shiner after attempting to deal in logic with the President. Those should make for fun viewing.

[leveymg]

20. Jeb doesn't even need to fly in. He can just ride his dark horse across town and onto the stage.

[lark]

24. You got it!

The brokered convention means a better candidate can be picked. NO, NO, NO. I want one of the clown car residents to be the Repug nominee, not a seeming adult. Jeb is still my nightmare, and I live in FL so know what a sneaky conservative he is. Sounds reasonable in speeches & campaign mode, then vetoes everything that isn't straight ring wing craziness.

[Amonester]

36. The bu$h family *brand name* is as good as trash meat NATIONALLY.

After junior's absolute DISASTER, expect no jeb for at least before 2016 (when chimpy's nightmares will be long gone down the memory hole).

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. Is that really the case? A completely different candidate? Rmoney would

just have to step aside after all the primary votes and millions of dollars?

I really am wondering.

[elzenmahn]

26. I wouldn't put it past them...

...remember, Mitch McConnell stated that the Repub's #1 goal was to make Obama a one term president, and they'll do anything to make that happen. With the Supreme Court at stake, not to mention all of the lower court judgeships still awaiting appointments due to Repub obstructionism, and some of the better parts of the Health Care Reform law coming into effect in 2014, the Repubs aren't going to concede for anything. And as for R-Money, between his investments and anything else he might want to do (i.e. become a VERY high priced lobbyist, with all of his connections), he'll make back what he spent campaigning in relatively short order. It isn't like he's going to worry about a roof over his head or his next meal anytime soon.

[Cosmocat]

34. eh

Pretty hard to see how anyone other than the guys who actually are running now, actively, and garnering delegates, will get the number needed for the nomination.

People WANT to think the Rs are some great, monolithic entity that has some great plan at work. They are a bunch of petulant children who have all bought the evil liberal boogeyman. Beyond that, they blow with the wind.

Someone like Bush or Christie might make some get all misty, but to get half the delegates?

No way the Romney delegates bail on him like that. Hard to see the Santorum delegates bail on him. Paul won't have a lot, but they are very unlikely to sell out to a guy that is foisted on them.

BO is too steady, too strong, too organized to lose to candidate that might come from a brokered convention.

A brokered convention candidate would pretty much ensure a landslide win and good gains in the house and maybe even the senate. The party would lose the middle by a BIG margin - people who have no real skin in the game would have a hard time chosing someone who rose from chaos vs Obama's steady hand.

IF things stand, with a decent economy and not security issues, BO should be able to earn a solid, but not overwhelming win over Romney - the best "looking" of the candidates, the best general election candidate, and BY FAR the candidate with the best overall operation, something that NO candidate out of a brokered convention could muster.

[dotymed]

22. Jeb Bush....that has been my prediction since

this clusterf$$$k called the primaries began. The BFEE, IMO, has had this planned for a while. I think ALL of the curent candidates will stand behind Jeb (or else).
The bush criminal enterprise has a lot of experience "fixing" elections, world-wide. The GOP'ers know that this is probably their only chance.
IDK how anyone can deny that Amerika is a criminal enterprise. Jeb could bring the families together....an offer they can't refuse.

Poppy bush has groomed Jeb for this moment, all of his life. I think "w" was a "test-run." Poppy knew that if he could install w, then anything is possible. Honestly, I think it surprised even poppy. Of course, when I say "poppy," I am referring to the criminal enterprise that he used to lead. IDK who is "in charge" these days. W is too damned stoopid.

[elzenmahn]

28. Jeb would pose some challenges as a candidate....

...since he is bilingual, has a charming personality that makes him seem, to the less educated voter, to the a guy you could have a beer with (remember what they said about W?), and is perceived as somewhat moderate, more so than Sanitorium or the Tea Party. He could be a real threat, and I hope that Obama's team has done some opposition research on him. I've a feeling they may need it.

BTW, about criminality, Poppy, and W - remember that this trait of theirs goes back even further than Poppy. Remember Poppa Prescott? The former head of the Union Bank in the 1930s and 1940s who has his bank seized by the Feds for doing business with the enemy, namely the Third Reich? It runs in the family.

Make it a bumper sticker: Want to criminalize weed? Criminalize BUSH, first!

[craigmatic]

27. I hope this year turns out to be their 1968.

[elzenmahn]

29. I hope for no violence...

...but I fear that with the recent passing of the House bill that clamps down on protest (making some protest actions felonies), voilence may be inevitable, and in fact, may make 1968 look like a picnic. Which would play right into the Repub's hands.

Keep it peaceful, folks. Don't give 'em any weapons.

[craigmatic]

30. We won't have to get involved the tea baggers will do it all to themselves.

[FailureToCommunicate]

31. Tea baggers violent? It might look like reply 17 above.

[Jennicut]

33. I don't want a brokered or contested convention. Romney is a weak candidate.

Obama can beat him. He has the whole 1% out of touch thing going on and that is good for us.