I wonder if part of the GOP’s anti-Trump strategy is to encourage (behind the scenes, of course) most of the candidates to stay in the race. That will reduce the chances of Trump winning on the first ballot, after which the establishment can relatively easily install their favorite candidate. I don’t know much about the political parties or their workings, so this scenario could be totally far-fetched. I’d be interested to hear other opinions on it.
[/quote]
From the L.A. times today:
The Hail Mary pass would abandon their old plan — a failed attempt to coalesce around a single anti-Trump candidate — in favor of a new tactic that would involve keeping each of his three remaining competitors alive in hopes of preventing Trump from obtaining a majority of convention delegates needed to secure the nomination.
I guess it’s not far-fetched at all. They shoulda done it before Bush and Carson and the rest of them dropped out. We’ll see if they’re too late.
If they succeed, the anger among Trump voters could be spectacular.
Christie, from the same article:
“If people don’t believe in democracy, they should come out and say that,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former presidential candidate now backing Trump, said during a news conference. “But the fact is, we’ve had 15 contests and Donald Trump has won 10 of them. The people of the Republican Party who vote in primaries have the right to pick the nominee.”
He scoffed at efforts to choose a nominee at the convention.
“You want to see the party break up? That’s when you’ll see the party have a big problem.”
The republicans have been stoking this irrational fear and anger for decades, and when it turns on them (on their establishment candidates), they’re all, “this isn’t right!” “What’s wrong with these people, voting for an irrational fear-and-angermonger?” It’s kind of funny to me. They did it to themselves, and it serves them right.
