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Never Trump Forces Halted on Convention Floor
Many were predicting a floor battle Monday at the the Republican National Convention and they certainly got one.
A group of delegates, led by Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia, sought to unbind delegates from voting for the presumptive Republican nominee. A majority of delegates from nine states had agreed to their plan for a roll call vote on the official party rules, and they only needed seven states to make the plan stick. Another key part to their effort was to encourage states to hold closed primaries, allowing only Republicans to vote.
Rep. Steve Womack of Arkansas was presiding at the time and insisted on a voice vote only. Many Never Trump supporters in the crowd shouted “roll call vote” and “point of order,” while pro-Trump delegates chanted his name to shout them down.
Womack abandoned the stage, leaving both sides in confusion wondering what was going on. After several minutes, he returned and announced that that three states had withdrawn support for a roll call vote, which means the measure had fallen short of the seven-state threshold. Another voice vote was held (the volume of which sounded even from the televised coverage), and Womack quickly declared the “Free the Delegates” plan dead and buried.
The crowd loudly expressed their pleasure and displeasure as Montana Sen. John Barasso took the stage for a low-energy speech demanding unity. But there were few signs of it on the convention floor.
“I have never seen anything like this,” said Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a close ally of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a rival to presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“There is no precedent for this,” Lee said.
…After being denied the roll call vote, most of the delegation from Colorado walked off the floor in protest, leaving behind rows of empty seats.
…”It’s certainly disrespectful of the grassroots,” said former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, an influential rules committee member who had worked to whip enough support from the rules vote. “You win races with people, you lose races with people.”
“It’s all on them,” he said of the RNC before acknowledging the fight was over. “There’s nowhere to appeal.”
…While one angry delegate was speaking to the media about what just transpired, another Trump-backing delegate interrupted.
“Get over it!” she yelled.
Another delegate screamed “Go home!” at another anti-Trump delegate conducting interviews on the convention floor.
Delegates furious over the roll call vote insisted they were not giving up their efforts, but at the same time did not exactly know what their next move would be.
“Stay tuned. There’s a Plan B,” said Kendal Unruh, a Colorado delegate who co-founded the “Free the Delegates” movement. “We’re going to go back, we’re going to strategize…what they chose was to play hardball to make sure there wasn’t dissent, and now they’re going to get it.”
Reince Priebus and the GOP Establishment is now completely committed to the candidate which vilified them throughout the primaries. It’s Donald Trump’s party now.
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I am not a never Trump guy, but if these folks operated according to the rules they deserve to be heard and have a roll call vote.
Mike Lee and Ken Cuccinelli are a team that know the rules and how to operate. I think this is an awful backhanded maneuver by the GOP, but what we’ve come to expect from the most feckless political party on the planet.
FYI, this was not just a #NeverTrump tantrum no matter how much the RNC would like you to believe that.
There was also at issue a devolution from the RNC back to the state delegates so in my mind is less Reince Priebus and Paul Ryan protecting Trump and more them protecting themselves.
Agree. Those two know that lurking out there in the delegates might be enough delegates to advance a Ted Cruz nomination and I’ve no doubt that given the choice Ryan and Priebus much prefer the Trump/Pence ticket.
But Brent, weren’t these folks trying to change the rules after the fact? Did somebody do something to steal this nomination from its rightful winner? Is it wrong of the Republicans to give someone who played the game by the established rules…and wins…the trophy?
I never want to hear from a GOP Congressmember about about how they don’t know how to strongarm committees in order to win conservative goals ever again.
Convention delegates tend to be very active GOTV organizers. Throughout the campaign, Trump’s ground game has been shown to be sketchy at best. In some of the key battleground states critical for an electoral win if enough Republican delegates feel that they’ve been dissed by the RNC and the Trump organization, then the GOTV effort in some districts may end up being pathetic or non-existent.
Trump’s unwillingness to sit down and hear out folks like Lee and Cuccinelli and ask what it would take to get their support will hurt Trump going forward.
The Clinton machine is a massive organization. Her party is lining up behind her. She’s got the bulk of the media behind her. The stumbling block in her campaign is herself. She could massively screw up (one would have thought the email scandal, Benghazi or committing perjury to Congress would have been enough) or have a severe health problem. Short of that she will be carried to the finish line.
Trump would be wise to reach out to the NeverTrump contingent and make some concessions for cabinet positions, policy positions and agreed-upon first term objectives. He will need all the friends he can get.
My understanding is these folks are playing by the rules. The same way Ted Cruz played by the rules in Colorado and elsewhere.
If conservatives are for law and order or operating by the rules then that should happen in both favorable circumstances and less favorable. What I’ve read so far is that they had the the signatures and delegates for a roll call vote and the presiding officer walked off stage until some arm twisting could happen.
No kidding. I also don’t want to hear about how they can’t do anything with a majority, but less than 60 votes in the Senate.
If they can shoot their own guys in the face they can darn sure fight that hard against the Deomcrats.
This party is disintegrating. But take heart. Something will arise from the ashes and it won’t necessarily be worse.
Amen!
Regardless of who is or is not in the right, attempting to overthrow how Trump came to be the nominee is a very grave mistake. Why? Because let’s say it was successful. Are any of us naive enough to think that the Trump voter is going to support who is picked instead? And if it fails, as was evident today, the media and the Left get to run around saying how divided the Party is. Well all polls up to this point have Trump’s support among the GOP in the mid to high 80s, which is about what McCain’s and Romney’s was. I understand not voting for the guy. That’s their right. But for Pete’s sake I wish these people would have stayed home. Those of us who supported another candidate and lost (I supported Cruz once voting began) need to get over it. The real threat is Hillary.
He is not the nominee until the delegates make him so.
He is an unserious candidate whose lack of organization in battleground states has constructively abandoned the election. The pornographic Trump-Pence logo is just icing on his single-digit salute to the GOP.
Hear, hear.
Not at all. They were trying to follow the rules.
This isn’t about sour grapes because someone’s preferred candidate lost. This is about stopping Donald Trump because he is dangerously unfit to be president.
Sour grapes are in season.
Yes, it is.
The purpose of the roll call vote wasn’t to steal the nomination, it was to allow the anti-Trump delegates a vehicle to officially register their vote against him. In other words, Trump would have one, but the size of the anti-Trump faction would have been quantified and put on very clear display.
And this wasn’t an attempt to change the rules after the fact because the convention rules themselves are made at the convention. What I don’t know (and nobody seems to care to report on) is whether there are rules governing the rule-making process at the convention – in other words, whether Womack was required to give this proposal an actual vote or whether a voice vote was sufficient.
Yep. The whole freaking enchilada is either bad faith or functional insanity. There is no third option.
Was at dinner tonight with some friends who were staying with us this weekend. Theater people. Friends of Mr. Rand’s from his days as a Broadway press agent. All very lefty. Mr. Rand intervened to end several conversations this weekend, lest friendships be lost.
But we were talking at dinner about what happened today and one of them asked me if the Republican party was going to survive. My response was that whatever the parties are called a few years from now, I expect there to be a realignment in their constituencies. To my surprise, at least one of them welcomed that and said she could imagine being in the same party with me, just not this republican party.
This really may be a blessing in disguise, at least for those of us in the “leave us alone” coalition, even if we’re now in the sick-making part of the ride.
Politico reported that a majority from 7 states is required for a roll call vote. Majorities from 9 states were on record, but when it got the floor the presiding officer walked off stage, came back awhile later and reported that 3 states recanted.
The two issues I’ve read is that one would put Ted Cruz’s name in for the nomination and the other was to award more delegates to states with closed primaries.
Trump sewed up the nomination on May 26th. Since that time what has he done to reach out an mend fences with those he insulted or to bring around or offer any concessions to gain their support? With the possible exception of naming Pence as his running mate…what else?
The point being that leaders build coalitions. Narcissists hold grudges.
What has the NeverTrump Crowd done? This works both ways.
National Review has become the anti-Trump Magazine. They spend far more time going after Trump than Clinton.
There is plenty of bad blood on all sides.
A black guy is never going to win over the klan no matter what he does.
Apparently, wanting to defeat Clinton means I am a sellout. Nice. And I pay National Review to be insulted by them.
Whatever the issues were, I don’t think Mike Lee, Cuccinelli, or anyone else serious was actually hoping to “steal” the nomination. They knew any vote they would propose would actually lose, they just wanted the chance for the dissenting vote to be heard.
So it was only going to be a symbolic measure no matter what, and really isn’t worth losing sleep over. On the other hand, it sounds like the committee chair played dirty to silence the initiative, so if Trump’s allies feel like they have to play hardball just to squelch a symbolic protest vote from respectable members within their own party, that’s not a great sign for Trump either.
The NeverTrumpers aren’t the presumptive nominee. Donald is. The Against Trump issue came out at the outset of the primary season. It’s not up to the writers and editors at NR to roll over and play dead now that Trump is the presumptive nominee. I hope they continue to challenge Trump on his blunders, missteps and occasional idiotic pronouncements. I prefer National Review to the National Enquirer.
It’s not up to those opposing Trump to roll over. Their concerns about Trump’s recklessness and inability to focus are valid – amongst other concerns. It’s up to Trump to try and win them over. He’s had nearly two months to build a coalition of support. It’s not the responsibility of those opposed to him for valid reasons to keep quiet.
This from a guy trying to overturn the primary voters decision. Disconnect at minimum.
Thanks for clearing that up. I thought National Review was for Standing Against History and Shouting: Stop!
Apparently, electing Clinton, who is part of the “Right Side of History” Crowd, is more important.