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Plan to Steal the Nomination from Trump - Chicanery in Cleveland

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Trump is roaring toward securing the GOP nomination in Cleveland this summer.  While I am excited that the convention will occur in my city, I expect chaos and gridlock downtown.  I won’t be visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or any of our city’s other outstanding attractions, during that week.

I think that Trump may garner the necessary 1237 delegates prior to the convention.  For self-serving reasons, the trailing 2 candidates are stating that no candidate will meet the required threshold and that the convention will select the nominee according to rules, yet to be decided.  My candidate Kasich – who has won only Ohio – crows that it’s now a 3 man race!  Sorry, John.  Wining 1 out of 32 states, while Cruz and Trump have won 9 and 19 states respectively, does not make this a 3-way tug of war.

The New White House?

The media is preoccupied to determine if the candidates and the GOP establishment will award Trump the nomination if he falls a few delegates shy and the 2nd place finisher, likely Cruz, is several hundred delegates behind.  Cruz and Kasich maintain that rules are rules and unless Trump reaches 1237, then the nomination becomes an open contest.

Is this fair?  If a candidate has won more states than his competitors, and has nearly reached the 1237 delegate level, then shouldn’t the system bend in his favor?  If not, wouldn’t his millions of voters feel disenfranchised?   Should a candidate be nominated based on his electability in a general election rather than on voter preference?  If we opt for the former, then why have primaries at all?  We could simply select the most electable candidate through an elaborate polling process. 

I’m not offering a firm opinion here on how this process should be handled.  We all know that if Trump is very close and the nomination is snatched away – even if done by the books – that this will generate anger in a large segment of the population who are already disgusted with establishment politics.  Additionally, I wonder if Cruz and Kasich would have the same view on an open convention if their situations were reversed with Trump’s.  I’ll offer my opinion here.  No. 

Life beyond politics often has seemingly unfair processes and results.  Consider these scenarios.
  • A baseball team at bat loads the bases. The next 3 batters strike out and the inning ends.  Why shouldn’t the team get some credit for putting 3 men on base? 
  • A man misses winning the lottery by a single digit.  Should he get nothing when he was so close?  Shouldn’t he be rewarded more than a ticket that was a complete miss?
  • A hospital requires that a surgeon who is applying for privileges for a specific operation must have performed 50 of these surgeries.  If he has only done 48 with perfect outcomes, should he be denied privileges as if he has done none at all?
Cleveland will be on public display this summer.  But, what may really matter is what will be happening under cover. 


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  1. dog goneMarch 29, 2016 at 10:41 AM

    What do you think of the push for attendees at the convention to carry firearms?

    I understand that it is the policy of the venue as well as the policy of the Secret Service not to permit firearms.

    Will that be enforced (and if so, how)?

    My thought is that this is not about defending the convention from ISIS (because among other things, guns are useless against bombs going off) but rather the desire for guns is so strong precisely because so many supporting Trump are expecting to be screwed over (in their estimation) by the GOP establishment. I would argue that the desire for guns is a desire to intimidate the people controlling the convention - and it is not the delegates or attendees. I don't believe it is an accident that Trump has predicted blood in the streets if he doesn't get the nomination...

    Thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Michael Kirsch, M.D.March 29, 2016 at 12:58 PM

    @DG, always happy to hear from you. Though I remain skeptical on the legality and effectiveness of gun control arguments, I am glad the Secret Service is doing the right thing for the convention. I think that public safety and candidate safety 'trump' the argument of the gun enthusiasts. Of course, the petition being circulated favoring guns there is a political statement, not an effort to promote security, etc.

    Cleveland will be wild during that week! Downtown will be bedlam. I'll enjoy the spectacle on TV on the couch!

    ReplyDelete

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