I’m thrilled that here in Virginia, our votes might actually count. We vote on Feb. 12, one week after super Tuesday, and it looks like there will still be a muddle on both sides. And even if one race appears set, Virginia has open voting, so we can vote in the one that matters
I can’t get the link to work. But I posted some thoughts on the possible future of the GOP nomination over at my blog. A brokered convention is not at all beyond imagination. My slightly more detailed thoughts can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/2fuxkg
Ad O.
I read your blog entry. Well written. But I’m having trouble with those who are writing that we haven’t seen an “open” GOP convention in 50+ years (or longer).
Wasn’t the GOP convention in 1976 open? I was 13 at the time and it’s the first convention I can actually really remember in some detail. If my memory is right (and Wikipedia seems to suggest it may be: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Republican_National_Convention )
Ford went into the convention without enough delegates to secure the nomination. My Mom was a huge Reagan supporter, so I well remember the family excitement that Reagan might have a shot at the nomination…
Granted Ford was an incumbent and thus the presumptive nominee, so the situation is different to this year, but still, Ford did not have the nomination locked up. So at least for many of us T19 readers in our 40s and beyond, an open convention HAS happened in our lifetimes and memories.
Florida got tired of being a key state who only voted to affirm the rest of the nation’s choice, so we moved our primaries up to Jan 29.
As a result, the DNC has rejected all the delegates from Florida, and the RNC is rejecting HALF. Well, at least us Republicans still have a voice! But the DNC is acting in a very unfair manner towards the Democratic delegates, especially since they had very little say in the matter. Surprisingly, the courts so far have upheld the DNC’s decision.
The ’76 Convention wasn’t quite “open.” President Ford didn’t have quite enough committed delegates to be able to count on a first ballot victory — there was still a sizable number of delegates who had the position by right of office or appointment (rather than by election in primaries or caucuses) who had not formally declared who they were going to vote for, and there were a few disputed delegations that the Convention itself would have to settle. As a “Young Californian for Reagan” about to enter 12th grade, I was one of a 4-5 busses full of high school and college agers to receive quite a civics lesson in Kansas City as we assisted with grunt work as the Citizens for Reagan campaign tried to convince uncommitted delegates to vote for the Governor instead of the incumbent President, who showed no hesitation in taking advantage of his office to convince these same delegates otherwise. The vote was very close, but settled on the first ballot.
Earlier Republican conventions (think ’64 and ’52) hadn’t been settled prior to the call to order either, but one needs to go back to 1948 to find one that took more than one ballot (Gov. Dewey, on the 3rd). For some reason, modern political pundits seem to think a party’s Presidential nomination ought to be sewn up as soon as possible, so the Conventions can be boring coronations that no one cares about. Heaven forbid that a Convention have a choice between 3-4 people and take a few ballots to decide, delegates actually publicly debate some of the Party’s platform, and the press have to report news that hasn’t been pre-scripted. (That’s almost enough to hope Sen. Edwards and Mayor Giuliani pull off a victory! Almost.)
I’m thrilled that here in Virginia, our votes might actually count. We vote on Feb. 12, one week after super Tuesday, and it looks like there will still be a muddle on both sides. And even if one race appears set, Virginia has open voting, so we can vote in the one that matters
I can’t get the link to work. But I posted some thoughts on the possible future of the GOP nomination over at my blog. A brokered convention is not at all beyond imagination. My slightly more detailed thoughts can be found here. http://tinyurl.com/2fuxkg
If others have problems with the link, go to the blog homepage and scroll down a few items:
http://www.aircongress.com
Ad O.
I read your blog entry. Well written. But I’m having trouble with those who are writing that we haven’t seen an “open” GOP convention in 50+ years (or longer).
Wasn’t the GOP convention in 1976 open? I was 13 at the time and it’s the first convention I can actually really remember in some detail. If my memory is right (and Wikipedia seems to suggest it may be:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1976_Republican_National_Convention )
Ford went into the convention without enough delegates to secure the nomination. My Mom was a huge Reagan supporter, so I well remember the family excitement that Reagan might have a shot at the nomination…
Granted Ford was an incumbent and thus the presumptive nominee, so the situation is different to this year, but still, Ford did not have the nomination locked up. So at least for many of us T19 readers in our 40s and beyond, an open convention HAS happened in our lifetimes and memories.
Florida got tired of being a key state who only voted to affirm the rest of the nation’s choice, so we moved our primaries up to Jan 29.
As a result, the DNC has rejected all the delegates from Florida, and the RNC is rejecting HALF. Well, at least us Republicans still have a voice! But the DNC is acting in a very unfair manner towards the Democratic delegates, especially since they had very little say in the matter. Surprisingly, the courts so far have upheld the DNC’s decision.
A political junkie’s dream: a brokered convention! It could happen, but my guess is that things will be decided sometime prior to that.
The ’76 Convention wasn’t quite “open.” President Ford didn’t have quite enough committed delegates to be able to count on a first ballot victory — there was still a sizable number of delegates who had the position by right of office or appointment (rather than by election in primaries or caucuses) who had not formally declared who they were going to vote for, and there were a few disputed delegations that the Convention itself would have to settle. As a “Young Californian for Reagan” about to enter 12th grade, I was one of a 4-5 busses full of high school and college agers to receive quite a civics lesson in Kansas City as we assisted with grunt work as the Citizens for Reagan campaign tried to convince uncommitted delegates to vote for the Governor instead of the incumbent President, who showed no hesitation in taking advantage of his office to convince these same delegates otherwise. The vote was very close, but settled on the first ballot.
Earlier Republican conventions (think ’64 and ’52) hadn’t been settled prior to the call to order either, but one needs to go back to 1948 to find one that took more than one ballot (Gov. Dewey, on the 3rd). For some reason, modern political pundits seem to think a party’s Presidential nomination ought to be sewn up as soon as possible, so the Conventions can be boring coronations that no one cares about. Heaven forbid that a Convention have a choice between 3-4 people and take a few ballots to decide, delegates actually publicly debate some of the Party’s platform, and the press have to report news that hasn’t been pre-scripted. (That’s almost enough to hope Sen. Edwards and Mayor Giuliani pull off a victory! Almost.)
spt+ (recovering political junkie)