GOP Strategists Plotting Convention Coup To Oust Trump From Ticket

By
Liberal America
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GOP strategists who are afraid Donald Trump will not only lose the Presidential election to Hillary Clinton but also cause the party to lose control of the Senate are at work on plans for how Trump can be denied the nomination at the Republican convention in July.

Here are some of the options being considered:

Unbind the Delegates

How many of the currently bound delegates would be willing to vote for another candidate on a second ballot? Feelers are going out to determine if enough delegates are willing to face the likely wrath from Trump supporters and voters who might feel the nomination has been stolen if they do cast their vote for someone other than Trump.

Also, who would replace Trump if the delegates were unbound? The candidate with the next highest delegate total is Ted Cruz, who is also deeply disliked in most GOP circles.

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake opposes Trump and has been a sharp Cruz critic, and he believes it’s “too late” to get rid of Trump at the convention. Flake added:
“I’m told the rules are such that it’s very difficult to do.”

The Rules Committee

Might the RNC use rules committee to try to pass a rule freeing all the delegates to vote for whomever they want on the first ballot?
Conservatives Eric O’Keefe and David Rivkin, Jr., wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal  this week in which they noted that state party rules do not bind the delegates, national ones do:
“These statutes can’t be legally enforced. When Republican delegates arrive in Cleveland to select their party’s nominee, they should recognize that they are bound only by their consciences.”

Dust Off the ‘Conscience Clause’

In this scenario, the party would use an idea which originated in 1976: the “conscience clause,” which would allow delegates bound to a candidate to be unbound if they believe that the candidate has done or said things they disagree with in the time between their state’s primary or caucus and the convention.

Who Would Be the Nominee?

Again, who would the GOP get to step in for Trump? The name of Mitt Romney has been tossed around, but does Romney have any interest, and could he do any better than Trump in a race against a surging Hillary Clinton?

Additionally, should a new candidate be placed at the top of the ticket, what would that do the overall national strategy for Republicans? Might they only succeed in proving that their party is in greater disarray than ever imagined?

It appears the GOP is stuck with Donald Trump, and they have no one to blame but themselves.

Featured Image Via YouTube Screengrab

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