Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson is making some serious noise lately.
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The retired neurosurgeon lashed out at Republican leaders who discussed the possibility of a “brokered convention” during a recent private dinner in Washington. “If the agents of change end up with 65 percent of the vote and they tried to nominate someone other than those three, huge chunks of the electorate will walk away from the party”. I mean that today, thanks to the Washington Post’s reporting on what a few fancy Washington people talked about at some fancy dinner the other night, marks the first of many days in which political media overflows with thrilling content about how There really could be a brokered convention this year!
I also tweeted another obvious truth, “If the Republican Party doesn’t dump Donald Trump, the American people will”.
Texas has a May 9 deadline for independent presidential candidates to appear on the ballot – that’s the earliest deadline among all the states.
Trump will more than likely fail in the election due to his own pride and foolishness, however, the failure of Republicans to speak out for what they themselves think is right in the name of protecting their party is deeply troubling. “If the victor isn’t our nominee then we have a massive problem”, said Carson.
Someone needs to tell the Trump Yahoos we’re not in a war against the world’s 1.2 billion Muslims.
And in Istanbul, the general manager of Trump Towers, Bulent Kural, says he “regrets and condemns” Trump’s comments. Monmouth pulled samples from voter rolls in recent elections, while CNN polled those who said they intend to caucus.
Trump still has some time to make up his mind – but not that much time.
“Trump would need to decide in March, if he wanted to be on in all states. But…” Recently, Trump proved his ineptitude yet again by vowing to ban Muslims from entering the United States if he is elected president. Without a great deal of personal wealth – on a Trumpian or Perotesque level – independent runs have very little chance of viability. The jockeying for delegates on a second ballot – or third, fourth or fifth – would be intense and full of political dealmaking, thus the term “brokered” convention.
The trickier question is what would happen if Trump chose to make the jump after having won one or more states.
It’s the pressure of the condensed calendar and the limited availability of resources that have convinced many in the party that the field of contenders will winnow far before the convention convenes in Cleveland. “The establishment is going to get behind Rubio to prevent a Trump or Cruz nomination”.
“But if it is [happening], I’d certainly go all the way”, Trump said, to the Washington Post.
What bothers me even more than the stupid things the billionaire says, however, are the cheers I hear from the crowds at his packed events.
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“Conservative Republicans are better served by casting out a demagogue like Donald Trump and, regrettably, the supporters who may follow him, in order to clarify and broaden electoral support for conservatism among new voters in the long term”, said Rory Cooper, a Republican strategist.
