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Wait, So Now Wyoming Cheated Too?
I just found out that some Trump supporters are also claiming that the Wyoming caucuses were unfair.
I attended the district (4-9) and county (Laramie) level caucuses. At the district caucus, I was elected to be a delegate to the county convention. At the county convention, I was elected to be an alternate delegate to the state convention. I did not attend the state convention due to a blizzard.
At each level which I attended, there were elections for delegates. At each level, the support for Ted Cruz was overwhelming. It was not even close.
At the district level, there was in my district only one person for Trump and one for Rubio. Neither opted to even run for county delegate.
At the county level, the WYGOP presented for vote a handpicked slate of electors. This slate was roundly voted down, specifically because the people there did not trust the WYGOP to not represent the GOPe.
For the rest of the day, and I mean the rest of the day, elections were held for delegates to the state convention. Of the delegates which the WYGOP originally suggested, only those who supported Ted Cruz were eventually elected.
Having been at these caucuses, I find any claim that the people of Wyoming did not get a chance to vote, and/or that the Wyoming caucuses were unfair to be misinformed at best.
Published in General
Trump assumes that any contest he lost must have been rigged against him somehow. He will figure out how it was rigged later, he just knows it was rigged.
This in particular is very interesting. Thanks for the report!
Facts on the ground always beat blowhards at 35,000 feet. Thanks for the update! From what I hear, caucus turnout was at record levels; curious that those people don’t think they are disenfranchised.
The district level caucuses were held at a local community college. It was absolutely packed. Even the people who were running the caucus were shocked.
Great report.
This is the best part of Ricochet.
Rick,
What the heck do you know? You were just there in person. Trump was nowhere near Wyoming and is therefore far more objective. (Or something like that.)
I think we need to get over the knee-jerk outrage factor. Trump’s MO – and by extension that of his supporters – has always been to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks. That strategy has worked quite well so far, and getting worked up about intellectual inconsistencies is only a waste of energy at this point.
There is a bigger issue I see here: Trump’s movement is exploiting the fact that most Americans have a 6th-grade view of how democracy works: process doesn’t matter, it’s all about what the people want as measured by who got the most votes. That’s the same mentality as the democrats who want the Senate abolished, or who think it’s okay for the president and Supreme Court to unconstitutionally usurp power as long as their actions are supported by public opinion polls.
As long as people hold this view of democracy, it won’t matter how fairly Cruz wins caucus states or how many people may have participated – they will still be persuaded by the “no ballot box = undemocratic” argument.
Thank you for the report, Rick.
Hey, Rick–good to see you! I really appreciated your report. It’s a great way to understand how the system works. I think that anything–I mean ANYTHING that Trump can do to feed the anger against the GOP (which means for Trump), he will do it. The truth doesn’t matter. I’m not sure with him that it ever did. Winning at any cost.
Trump is going to have a meltdown after Pennsylvania where only 17 of 71 of delegates are bound. This means that Cruz could come third and end up with the most delegates. See this:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2016/04/19/nbc_reporter_cruz_to_win_half_of_pennsylvanias_delegates_even_if_he_comes_in_distant_third.html
Great report.
If the shoe were on the other foot and Cruz was getting shut out of the delegates, people would credit Trump’s brilliant management.
Honestly, I would worry if Trump were president if he could really get the good deals he claims when he and his best men are so sloppy with the details.
Years ago I participated in the caucus process in Seattle. I was elected the precinct committeeman from my precinct, and, like Rick, I attended the county convention. The whole process in Washington state was exactly like that in Wyoming, only my involvement was nearly 40 years ago. Nobody, to my knowledge, has ever complained about the process being “undemocratic.” Trump is a buffoon populus who will use any lie or exaggeration he can get away with to create a sense of victimhood in his supporters, even the spurious claim that 37% represents a majority. I guess he thinks everyone has been raised on the “New Common Core Math.”
Rick, you’re a party boss. Stop suppressing the will of the people. The people have spoken, and regarding illegal immigrants, the people want them sent back across the southern border, and then want them to come back to the U.S. The people also want there to be less free speech, less private property rights, and they are tired of the freedom of religion too. Only party bosses like you would dare stand in the way of the people’s will. (sarcasm, for sure).
Trump should explain why the U.S. Senate and the Electoral College should be changed, and why he thinks federalism and freedom of association should be abandoned. The answer, of course, to each of these questions is simple: “Donald Trump”
Crap. I’ve been made.
Why doesn’t he just call himself Dictator Trump?
Because he needs the thin veneer of popular approval, like Chavez and Maduro.
Somewhat OT, but it sure has been a weird winter and spring in the Rocky Mountain states. WY and CO getting hammered with late season blizzards. Meanwhile, we’re getting into the 80s tomorrow in SW Idaho, after a very warm spring.
I’m not convinced his retinue would even care.
I appreciate your fact based report of what happened during the caucus you attended. But facts have nothing to do with the Trump strategy. Lies are his modus operandi. The system is rigged, the people didn’t get to vote, I have big hands….he’s preaching to zealots and the ignorant and unfortunately making headway. I just hope he doesn’t make 1237 before the convention.
Yeah, you’re probably one of those guys that sold his vote to Ted Cruz for a Florida vacation.
Sorry, I didn’t get to this until just now – I was packing.
Two days before the blizzard, it was in the 60’s. During bad weather, the highways around Cheyenne are closed.
The convention was two hours away – by highway – in good weather. There was no way I was going to drive there on back roads in a blizzard. It was apparent who my county’s delegates were voting for.
My experience in one of Washington state’s precincts and county conventions was very similar to Rick’s. Trump supporters were almost non-existent at the large collection of precinct caucuses I attended at a local junior high. The county convention was the same, with only a small Trump presence.
The idea that Cruz is somehow bribing the participants in the process is ludicrous. I’ve been in touch with the Cruz campaign and told them that I wouldn’t be able to afford the state convention to support him because of a recent unexpected set of expenses. Crickets….. Unless something really changes, I can’t envision anything happening at the state convention that dilutes Cruz’s strong support there.
We’re also working the precincts hard to boost Cruz’s support in the upcoming primary preference election, which will bind a certain number of national convention delegates. But regardless of the primary’s outcome, if Trump doesn’t win his 1237, Washington’s delegation will almost certainly move in Cruz’s direction in subsequent ballots.
Who knew I was a party boss too?
I think this goes to Micael Barone’s “bowling alone” social intelligence theory – Trump supporters are more likely to bowl alone. In other words, admitting to people you know and live with and work with and pray with that you support a hack real-estate mogul/reality TV star for president in spite of his opposition to the Constitution may not make you many friends among conservatives. Admitting you support Trump to loved ones and friends and colleague is hard because they may think you are unintelligent.
See you in Florida!
Today I’m hearing an audio clip on the radio where Donald Trump is suggesting that Cruz is buying delegates by sending them on Paris vacations. Do the Trump supporters believe him or do they just think it’s OK for him to make up lies? I guess some believe it, my step-dad told me that the Cruz campaign is buying delegates new cars.
If winning doesn’t work, try lying. Just ask the students at Trump University.
I heard a radio clip of Trump saying he “had the best toys” that he could use to bribe delegates. He said could send them to Mar-a-lago and he said he had some property in California that was “terrific” so I don’t get what he is complaining about. As a multi-billionaire who spent his entire life bribing politicians, he is much better positioned to bribe people than Cruz is.