Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Peter Robinson ·
February 26, 2012 at 12:59am
From an email in which a friend discusses the possibility of choosing a new candidate at a brokered convention:
I have to say, though, I 'm not enthralled with the lineup. I'd h ave a hard time going with someone who didn't have the guts to run in the first place.
My friend has a point, wouldn't you agree?
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Comments:
Aug '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
I will put the question to the table here at the Athens get together!
Dec '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
EJHill
More importantly Ralph you have to pay attention to the years. What you find are parties in disarray. · 9 minutes ago
Disarray? If Republicans govern badly, such as Nixon and Bush II, you get economic disaster--even if most Republicans are good soldiers. The Bush II disaster made Obama possible.
If memory serves, Milton Freedman said something like, Bush I governed the opposite of Reagan and was suprised when he got the opposite results.
Lets all go off the cliff together. No disarray there.
John Marzan
the case against a brokered convention on Special REport with Bret Baier. ·
Actually, I agree with Steve Hayes. Many, if not most supporters of Santorum and Gingrich would prefer either Rubio, Ryan or Daniels--especially to Romney.
I also doubt that the delegates are as bound to their candidate as they were in the past.
Dec '10
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Whether the convention is brokered or not, those who keep trying to say "It's over" are doing their best to disenfranchise all of the Republican base in states that have not yet voted.
The most populous red state won't get a meaningful vote in this primary season because the Texas map was thrown to the courts by the DOJ.
And since I live in Texas, I'm not going to feel nearly so resentful of a brokered convention.
Feb '12
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
John Davis, Dem nominee in 1924, was effectively plucked out of the blue. I am not sure if he was already running before the convention, but he received only 2.8% of the vote in the first ballot, the major battle being between Smith and McAdoo. When neither of those two could get a majority, eventually (after 100 ballots) the decision was to nominate Davis as a compromise candidate. Read the Wiki-story here.
He was clobbered in the general, but Pres. Coolidge probably would have beaten any Democratic contender in 1924.
Mar '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Your friend is exactly right, Peter.
I have cast my vote, and if the Convention were to come up with somebody else this would be undemocratic, no?
Surely the time has come for a simple majority of votes over the whole US. Same applies to the General.
Feb '12
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Percival
Lincoln and Garfield come to mind. · 2 hours ago
Lincoln was definitely running for president already. Not sure about Garfield off the top of my head.
Oct '10
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
The reality is that the stale political establishment needs some fresh blood. There are some new faces that show promise, save an untested lot at best. Can the party drag someone kicking and screaming into the fray ?
For what the country is facing, no wonder no one wants the job.
In short, if there were a draft and the man won, in order to turn things about quickly... Well, the new President would need a pass on executive orders that all despise in Obama. Go New Team, the new Quarterback gets a pass ?
Apr '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
David Williamson: Your friend is exactly right, Peter.
I have cast my vote, and if the Convention were to come up with somebody else this would be undemocratic, no?
Surely the time has come for a simple majority of votes over the whole US. Same applies to the General. · 20 minutes ago
Careful for what you wish for.
A simple majority vote spells the end for any chance of a free and fair election in the U.S.
Apr '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Leporello
John Davis, Dem nominee in 1924, was effectively plucked out of the blue. I am not sure if he was already running before the convention, but he received only 2.8% of the vote in the first ballot, the major battle being between Smith and McAdoo. When neither of those two could get a majority, eventually (after 100 ballots) the decision was to nominate Davis as a compromise candidate. Read the Wiki-story here.
He was clobbered in the general, but Pres. Coolidge probably would have beaten any Democratic contender in 1924. · 27 minutes ago
Thanks for the information.
Al Smith's story is an amazing piece of American political history.
Dec '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Karl Rove argues that "brokered convention" is "highly unlikely.
"http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577239234050721086.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEFTTopOpinion#articleTabs%3Darticle
Yet he notes,
"Meanwhile, a brokered convention needs party bosses, and today there aren't any. In the old days, party chiefs often led delegations of regulars who took orders and depended on patronage. No longer. In some states, winning candidates don't even pick their delegates—party conventions do. This means that while the delegation is committed to support a candidate for a certain number of ballots, many individual delegates remain loyal to other candidates. That makes it more difficult for anyone in a smoke-filled bargaining session to deliver a large number of delegates."
May '10
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Looking forward to being a Romney delegate from New York!
Nov '10
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
I've stopped worrying about who's electable. It may be that the presidency is unimportant at this point compared to winning the senate and keeping the House.
The value in this presidential race may come in a different form: Conservatives desperately need to learn to win in the narrative battle. Katievs had a title in the member feed this morning that hit the nail on the head: stop listening to the liberal narrative. They managed to discredit every one of the candidates in the race. It was an impressive bunch, including those who backed out. Still is. Every one of them has a lot to offer.
I sense that, in spite of the Tea Party, conservatives today have practically no confidence. Not the sort that enables us to take the fight into the progressive pits of personal destruction, and win. Being right is not enough -- we need to be right in the open, and in their face.
Paul, Gingrich and Santorum have all developed some chops for this. Romney is a bit timid except when he's fully prepped by his team -- then he's wooden. But let's win the narrative and both houses this time around.
Dec '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Please share details!
Apr '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
James Garfield was plucked out of the blue He had no intention of running at all. In fact he gave a speech early in the convention for another candidate. He won in a close election and if he hadn't been assasinated surely would have been a great President.
May '10
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Please share details!
There are none. It's purely aspirational and tweak-intended.
Apr '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Seriously, so what that a few delegates in a brokered convention get to pick the candidate instead of millions of voters, it's the process. If we can convince a better candidate to run then we are currently burdened with, the better off we are. Here's hoping for a brokered convention. I think we can win as it is now, but none of those currently running make many of us happy. Odds are we get a better choice if there is a change. Daniels, Ryan, etc.
Aug '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
Plato claimed that you don't want a leader who wants the job. George Washington was almost literally drafted (although not at a party convention). He was a great president.
Feb '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
or a SCOTUS. That would be fun!
May '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
wilber forge: The reality is that the stale political establishment needs some fresh blood. There are some new faces that show promise, save an untested lot at best. Can the party drag someone kicking and screaming into the fray ?
For what the country is facing, no wonder no one wants the job.
In short, if there were a draft and the man won, in order to turn things about quickly... Well, the new President would need a pass on executive orders that all despise in Obama. Go New Team, the new Quarterback gets a pass ? · 7 hours ago
Neither staleness nor executive orders are the problem. We are at war with Marxism, and we are losing. It is the McClellan Republicans we need to see off or we will continue to lose.
To say that EOs are the problem is like accepting the faulty premise that judges who overturn precedent are necessarily activist. Judicial activism is about increasing remoteness, not the expenditure of ink.
May '11
Re: Should We Even Be Hoping for a Brokered Convention?
David Williamson: Your friend is exactly right, Peter.
I have cast my vote, and if the Convention were to come up with somebody else this would be undemocratic, no?
Surely the time has come for a simple majority of votes over the whole US. Same applies to the General. · 8 hours ago
In both of your points you presume that the founders were wrong to fear a mob mentality. I therefore disagree with you twice for the same thing. Now that's economical.