“The delegate selection system is intentionally complicated, making it extremely hard for voters to control the commitment of delegates to any particular candidate,” Stuart said. “I think the selection process for delegates in West Virginia not only is bad. It may be the worst in the country.”

It’s also bad for Trump because even if he wins the popular vote in a landslide, how that support translates into delegates depends on his supporters’ ability to navigate a complicated, arcane and confusing voting system — the results of which are an open question.

I'm embarrassed for you.

No wonder we can't get stuff done. I gotta,say, I had no idea how rigged the system is. Any thought that the voters select their candidate, is purely coincidental. This is true of both parties. The system is designed to give the illusion that your vote counts. It DOES, as long as you pick the same candidates as the elites. As much as I despise him, Sanders is getting screwed. If EITHER of the Dems win, we are royally screwed . I really do not care whether Trump or Cruz win the nomination, I will vote for them. If Kasich wins, it won't matter whether I vote for him or not. He is a weak candidate. I am appalled that either of the Democrats would have any chance at all to win. Americans are idiots, it seems.

sTrumpetts are Stupid all they can do is bitchandmoan
the rules are there...all you have to do is look.
These azzwipes believe that getting 1/3 of republican votes PLUS 2/3 of both parties hating you...somehow translates into winning the Whitehouse. Sheeeesh are they effing STUPID.

Of course if bitchandmoan translated into votes sTrumpy would be flying in Air Force One by now.
Helloooooo...it doesn't work that way you morons.

duuhhh... thank you Stupid

Cruz is just about the most unlikeable person I have ever seen.

Absolutely.

Which is why the Cruzzies love him so much.

If ya wanna look skinny, hang around with fat people.

If ya don't wanna look like the biggest a$$hole in the room, hang around with the Cruzer.

Which is why the Cruzzies love him so much.

If ya wanna look skinny, hang around with fat people.

If ya don't wanna look like the biggest a$$hole in the room, hang around with the Cruzer.

sTrumpetts are Stupid all they can do is bitchandmoan
the rules are there...all you have to do is look.
These azzwipes believe that getting 1/3 of republican votes PLUS 2/3 of both parties hating you...somehow translates into winning the Whitehouse. Sheeeesh are they effing STUPID.

Of course if bitchandmoan translated into votes sTrumpy would be flying in Air Force One by now.
Helloooooo...it doesn't work that way you morons.

If Trump gets the nominee I will vote for him. Sad though, we had Scott Walker, Rick Perry, Jindal, and Rubio, but we decide on a guy who was a democrat till five yrs ago. Even Trumps 2 kids , Eric and Ivanca could not vote for him in the Primary. WHy? ? ? ? Cause they were registered democrats and I dont think they could even change parties in time. They are democrats, nothing more, nothing less. My conclusion is many on the fire are not as conservative as it seems.

They aren't registered in any party but don't let facts get in your way.

Notice how the MSM keeps suggesting that both Trump and Cruz are outsiders? Clear PSYOP. Cruz is a two time Ivy League graduate, was praised at ultra-establishment Harvard Law School, and prospered there, permitting him to quickly transition into a political career at a very young age, where he's remained since. Total Washington insider from the get go, and he's constantly referred to by the MSM as the other outsider in the primary race.

This is a total setup for when Trump comes into the Convention significantly in the lead, and they hand it to Cruz, while the MSM drives home the message, "Well, at least one of the outsiders won."

The_Real_Hawkeye,



Tell us about the dozen or so senators who think he would make a great president, please, since he's such an Washington insider.

Originally Posted By Ringman
The_Real_Hawkeye,

Quote:
Notice how the MSM keeps suggesting that both Trump and Cruz are outsiders? Clear PSYOP. Cruz is a two time Ivy League graduate, was praised at ultra-establishment Harvard Law School, and prospered there, permitting him to quickly transition into a political career at a very young age, where he's remained since. Total Washington insider from the get go, and he's constantly referred to by the MSM as the other outsider in the primary race.

This is a total setup for when Trump comes into the Convention significantly in the lead, and they hand it to Cruz, while the MSM drives home the message, "Well, at least one of the outsiders won."


Tell us about the dozen or so senators who think he would make a great president, please, since

Lifelong politicians aren't outsiders.

But billionaires with lobbyists and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions are outsiders?

......... but it's obvious that Cruz is establishment because everybody in Washington is backing him rather than Trump..

sTrumpetts are Stupid all they can do is bitchandmoan
the rules are there...all you have to do is look.
These azzwipes believe that getting 1/3 of republican votes PLUS 2/3 of both parties hating you...somehow translates into winning the Whitehouse. Sheeeesh are they effing STUPID.

Of course if bitchandmoan translated into votes sTrumpy would be flying in Air Force One by now.
Helloooooo...it doesn't work that way you morons.

Lifelong politicians aren't outsiders.

Ron Paul????

If the delegates swap at the convention and go for Cruz, the RNC won't have to waste money on the upcoming election. They won't have enough voters show to get within 20% of the D candidate.

Cruz's plan is to flat out ignore the popular vote, ignore the will of the people, and manipulate the political process. That is somehow going to lead to victory according to Cruz supporters.

Not only should that not be supported by the electorate, it isn't a viable path to the white house, and shouldn't be used as a plan for future candidates to win the nomination. All he can do with that move is set a bad precedent and alienate himself from the voters that he needs just a few short months in the future.

"Be careful what you wish for" is something that the Cruzettes should think about.

If Trump is at 1200 delegates(97% gained, 3% short), Cruz will be in the neighborhood of 870 delegates (71% gained, 29% short).

The RNC will fold if they let a coup happen.

Lindsey Graham does agree though "It's better to loose with Cruz."

Reagan vs Ford at the '76 convention went to the leader, Ford, when the contenders were within 5% of each other. The divide is much wider this round.

So a coup now is defined as any failure by Trump to meet the mandatory 1,237 delegates?

It's a very simple process. Get 1,237 delegates to vote for you at the convention and you win. If you can't get 1,237 delegates, YOU CANNOT WIN.

Why does the Trump camp have so much trouble understanding that?

I heard Trump's son complaining about the disenfranchisement issues of the Republican party and he kept going on and on like the RNC was a covered by the fundamental principals of Democracy.

Acting like they are a victim of the RNC chicanery and convincing everyone that its a Democracy is the best shot they have in covering up the other [bleep] disaster that was their ground game.

I honestly think they believed it was a popular vote, and they probably think the general is the same way.

All that stuff that bothers you about the GOP is going to go away.

It'll be all yours if Trump doesn't get the nomination.

You can do anything you want with it,....except get people elected, of course.

But other than that, you'll have free reign.

So a coup now is defined as any failure by Trump to meet the mandatory 1,237 delegates?

It's a very simple process. Get 1,237 delegates to vote for you at the convention and you win. If you can't get 1,237 delegates, YOU CANNOT WIN.

Why does the Trump camp have so much trouble understanding that?

All Trump has to do to stop it is walk in with 1,237 delegates for the first vote.

All Trump has to do to stop it is walk in with 1,237 delegates for the first vote.

Here is your second ballot delegate waiting on deck, congrats?

Mitch McConnell told WHAS-TV that he anticipates he himself will be a delegate, and "on the second ballot I'll be free to do whatever I want."

Think about what that represents... Ted Cruz stood on the floor of the Senate and called this man a LIAR, publicly and it went world wide.

And this man will still vote for Cruz rather than Trump.

All Trump had to do was act even slightly presidential instead of playing the reality TV comedic vulgarian.

It's a very good lesson in how to lose when all the odds are in your favor.

I find it ironic that Cruz will then ask the voters to vote for the guy who undermined them.

That is Cruz's long game.

Even though he's only got 37% of the vote?

Here's how it will very possibly go down: If Trump doesn't walk in with 1,237 delegates on the first vote, Cruz will announce Rubio as his running mate. Cruz and Rubio together have many more voters backing them than Trump.

Think about what that represents... Ted Cruz stood on the floor of the Senate and called this man a LIAR, publicly and it went world wide.

And this man will still vote for Cruz rather than Trump.

After another 16 states, Trumps lead is likely to out pace their number combined. We can count up the votes on April 27 if you like.

The other thing about the rules is, it's a man vs man race at this point. Adding another candidates total to your own doesn't help Cruz any more than it helps Trump. Add Rubio's votes to Trump and where does that leave Cruz? Alongside Peter Pan in Neverland where rules are made up to suit the imagination, and voters show up in support after being screwed.

Starting on the 2nd and 3rd ballots, adding another candidate's total to your own CAN win it and often has in history.

All Trump has to do is walk in with 1,237 and this doesn't matter.

Cruz's plan is to walk in with 870 and start screwing over the republican constituents.

It's going to be very obvious to everyone in the country what his plan is after he's mathematically eliminated around 11pm eastern time tonight.

Cruz's plan is to talk in with as many as possible, and allow the delegates to vote. He'll follow all of the rules that are plainly laid out for all of the candidates to help his chances, but ultimiately it's up to the candidates.

Nobody wins with 40% of the vote. Participation medals don't count.

All he has to do is walk in with 1,237. Or get 1,237 to vote for him after the 1st ballot...

And how do you see that playing out with the voters? How do you see that working out for Cruz in the general election?

I think 50%+ of the voters will be thrilled, as opposed to 40% of the voters being thrilled if Donald gets it.

I think 50%+ of the voters will be thrilled, as opposed to 40% of the voters being thrilled if Donald gets it.

And I see it playing out better in November than if Trump gets the nomination. Right now Trump has made the campaign such a toxic mess with his talk and lies that I doubt anybody can win, but I'm sure Trump can't. You feel different, and we already know that the Trump followers here won't vote in November for anybody but Trump.

Wrong-not only on your numbers.
Do you pick the numbers of the other candidates to add to Cruz' numbers willy-nilly or do you go state-by-state? Say Ohio you add Kasich, in Virginia add Rubio? etc
Either way saying 50% if Cruz should get it is pretty comical.

I think 50%+ of the voters will be thrilled, as opposed to 40% of the voters being thrilled if Donald gets it.

But some Republicans, namely supporters of real estate mogul Donald Trump, are raising their eyebrows at the process and raising their voices to oppose what they see as unfair practices.

Among them is Ellisville Mayor Adam Paul, who attended the Wild Horse township caucus in St. Louis County. At that caucus, Paul said that former Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones also attended, despite the fact that he lives in the Meramac township on Wild Horse’s southern border. Paul said Jones brought a slate of candidates that supported second place Republican presidential candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and eventually, Jones’ slate of candidates won.

While Paul recognized that Jones and his supporters followed the rules and procedures, the decision made at the caucus troubles Paul.

“Those things don’t pass the smell test,” he said. “We had a slate that we presented which was more a reflection of the will of the people, and their slate was filled with Cruz supporters.”

Those Cruz supporters could come into play at the national convention that eventually chooses the final nominee. Each state picks their delegates in their own way, as determined by the state party. In Missouri, a presidential preference primary is held. Trump edged out Cruz by fewer than 2,000 votes March 15, but he won in certain places to give him a favorable allotment of delegates. As the Missouri GOP site explains, Trump will receive 12 of Missouri’s 52 pledged delegates for winning the state and another 25 for winning five of Missouri’s eight congressional districts (five delegates per district). Cruz will get the other 15 pledged delegates for winning the other three congressional districts.

Those delegates are selected in two places: at the state convention and at congressional district (CD) conventions. The county and township caucuses select slates of delegate candidates to attend both the state convention and the CD conventions. Each CD convention will select three delegates for a total of 24 delegates, then at the state convention, 25 delegates will be selected.

The other three delegates are automatic delegates. Missouri COP Chairman John Hancock, National Committeewoman to the Republican National Committee (RNC) representing Missouri Susie Eckelkamp, and Missouri’s delegate to the RNC’s Rules Committee Lance Beshore are those three delegates.

So what does all of this have to do with Cruz supporters potentially stuffing county and township caucuses? The race between Cruz and Trump is relatively close at this point in the race, and national media as well as Republican party officials have mused on the possibility of a contested convention. At a contested convention, delegates must vote how they are pledged by their state’s in an initial round of voting, but afterwards, they may vote essentially as they please if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

If Trump does not hit the 1,237 delegate mark, who the delegates support rather than who states voted for could matter a great deal. Trump supporters like Paul are taking notice.

“This is shedding a negative light on the process of the delegates to a larger group of people, and they’re realizing ‘What’s the point of going to a primary and voting in Missouri when your delegates aren’t going to be appropriately’,” he said.

NBC's Hallie Jackson reports Cruz has changed his focus to Pennsylvania and making a play for the state's unbound delegates. Jackson, the network's Cruz correspondent, said even if Cruz has a third place finish in Pennsylvania's Republican primary, he'll win more than half the delegates.

"It's very telling that's Ted Cruz tonight is not in Brooklyn or Manhattan or any of the boroughs or state. He's in Pennsylvania," reported Jackson.

"He'll be in Philly for his watch party tonight," Jackson said. "That's indicative of where he and his campaign see this race going, to Pennsylvania, where they are looking to make a play for these unbound delegates. Even if they come in a distant third, a top campaign aide tells me, they will still, they believe, pick up more than half the delegates there."

"They're looking at more than 30," Jackson said.

Pennsylvania allots 71 delegates in the Republican primary; 54 of which are unbound.

I heard Trump's son complaining about the disenfranchisement issues of the Republican party and he kept going on and on like the RNC was a covered by the fundamental principals of Democracy.

Acting like they are a victim of the RNC chicanery and convincing everyone that its a Democracy is the best shot they have in covering up the other [bleep] disaster that was their ground game.

I honestly think they believed it was a popular vote, and they probably think the general is the same way.

And how do you see that playing out with the voters? How do you see that working out for Cruz in the general election?