TAMPA, Fla. -- South Carolina Republican activist Drew McKissick said in a brief interview Tuesday afternoon that despite talk of a deal to amend rule changes governing the Republican party, several state delegations remained upset and a floor fight over the issue was still possible.

"As a result of having this extra day, and everybody sitting around, it has snowballed. They have to back down," McKissick said.

The grassroots group FreedomWorks sent out an email to supporters on Tuesday afternoon urging them to call the delegates from their state who are on the Rules Committee and tell them to "stop the RNC power grab." Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin also weighed in overnight, posting on her Facebook page that the rule changes were "a direct attack on grassroots activists by the GOP establishment."

At issue is control of who fills delegate slots at conventions, how states apportion delegates during primaries or caucuses, and more broadly, how much potential there is for a grassroots uprising similar to the ones that gained some momentum this year behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/28/gop-convention-2012_n_1830116.html

'Heard the concerns'

Republicans who sought the rule change had tried to quash the uprising by Texas, Louisiana, Virginia and other states, for fear of a damaging, public battle erupting Tuesday, just before the party formally names Romney as its candidate.

Ultimately, they backed down.

In an email obtained by Hearst Newspapers, Republicans who led the fight against the proposed change said the GOP leaders "heard the concerns of the conservative grass-roots voices in our party" and amended their proposal.

"This will allow Republicans of all stripes to come to the convention united and focused on defeating Barack Obama in November," they said.

Under the deal, delegates who are bound to a presidential candidate who hasn't bowed out of the race or released them to vote for another contender are barred from casting a vote for a different person. During this convention, the change effectively would mean a delegate bound to Mitt Romney could not instead opt to throw his or her support behind Paul, who has not freed his delegates.

Deal explained

Any vote for another candidate would be voided and the delegate would lose his or her position. But under the compromise, states would still able to select individual delegates under their own laws and party rules. GOP leaders agreed to remove the rule change provision that would have allowed state-party-selected delegates to be disavowed.

Fredricks said the agreement appeared to satisfy Texas' concerns.

Representatives from Romney's campaign and the Republican National Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Delegate-deal-snuffs-Texas-rebellion-3819210.php