Republicans think Trump might quit — so they’re scrambling to find a replacement: ABC News
Source: RawStory/ABC News
Republican officials are so angry at Donald Trump and his imploding campaign that theyre considering replacing him at the top of the ticket just two weeks after nominating him.
The GOP nominee angered party officials by refusing to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain in their primary races, repeatedly insulting a Gold Star family, joking about receiving a Purple Heart and removing a noisy baby from a campaign rally all in about four hours Tuesday afternoon.
Jon Karl, the chief White House correspondent for ABC News, reported Wednesday morning that Republican officials were scrambling to plan for the possibility that Trump might suddenly quit the presidential race.
This is absolutely unprecedented, Karl reported. First of all, I am told RNC chairman Reince Priebus is furious, that he has had multiple discussions with Trump telling him he needs to drastically change course. But heres the news, I am told senior officials at the party are actively exploring what would happen if Trump dropped out, how to replace him on the ballot.
-snip-
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2016/08/republicans-think-trump-might-quit-so-theyre-scrambling-to-find-a-replacement-abc-news/
unblock
(52,317 posts)no gonna happen.
electron_blue
(3,592 posts)LoverOfLiberty
(1,438 posts)and the GOP needs those voters in November.
StraightRazor
(260 posts)keep the party from completely falling into the wrong hands - their voters.
unblock
(52,317 posts)i could be wrong, but i think the same delegates would do the actual voting
even if the republican party by-laws permit the rnc committee to overturn the results of the entire primary season and convention voting, as a practical matter they can't get away with that. it would destroy the party even worse than one failed candidate, no matter how horrendous.
that it would be 3 delegates per state. New candidate must get majority of those 150 delegates.
unblock
(52,317 posts)RULE NO. 9
Filling Vacancies in Nominations
(a) The Republican National Committee is hereby authorized and empowered to fill any and all vacancies which may occur by reason of death, declination, or otherwise of the Republican candidate for President of the United States or the Republican candidate for Vice President of the United States, as nominated by the national convention, or the Republican National Committee may reconvene the national convention for the purpose of filling any such vacancies.
(b) In voting under this rule, the Republican National Committee members representing any state shall be entitled to cast the same number of votes as said state was entitled to cast at the national convention.
(c) In the event that the members of the Republican National Committee from any state shall not be in agreement in the casting of votes hereunder, the votes of such state shall be divided equally, including fractional votes, among the members of the Republican National Committee present or voting by proxy.
(d) No candidate shall be chosen to fill any such vacancy except upon receiving a majority of the votes entitled to be cast in the election.
I know I saw a similar doc here at DU, but whatever, thanks for the correction.
Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)Fiendish Thingy
(15,657 posts)But only if Trump drops out. No new convention, no delegate vote.
BlueStreak
(8,377 posts)to make him an offer he can't refuse. A YUGE deal. Maybe they will offer him 10% of the Pentagon if he steps aside, or give him a section of western Virginia in which he can form a new state Trumpistan, totally under his own control.
I don't see the point of forcing him out at this late date. I doubt they could win with a replacement candidate so they might as well take their lumps. And at least this will leave the GOP brass in a position to blame the Teabaggers. This is starting to look like teabaggery's last stand.
democrattotheend
(11,607 posts)He has already been nominated. If he dropped out there are a bunch of RNC committeepeople who would choose a replacement. I don't think those people are the same as the delegates to the convention.
bucolic_frolic
(43,286 posts)allow them to do it either way, by members of their
National Committee (about 180 or so of them, I
think), or by all the delegates at another convention. They won't redo
the convention, as to if they could extend that to voting by phone
or electronic ballot amongst themselves is anybody's guess.
This is moving so fast ... did they plan it this way all along? I've
sometimes posted on DU about a late summer switcheroo, Ryan
has just been too too smug all along
But it looks more like a rapid onset narcissism/dementia condition
IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)this is good. They should keep it up.
drray23
(7,637 posts)The convention is over. The GOP has a rule called rule 9 allowing them to vote another candidate in without a convention should the nominee withdraw. They can not force Trump to go. However if he does they can nominate a new one.
I can imagine a scenario where the kocks, adelson, etc.. offer him a lot of money to withdraw. Trump would save face by claiming its for health reasons or other such nonsense.
unblock
(52,317 posts)they can reconvene the convention and the delegates re-vote, or the rnc committee could do it themselves.
that said, the rule only applies when there's a vacancy. not clear that they can do it while trump is alive and kicking and hasn't withdrawn. maybe in he was medically deemed to be incapacitated.
but just saying horrible things and dropping a few points in the polls? no way.
drray23
(7,637 posts)He first have to withdraw. I doubt they would want to reconvene the convention if this happens. They would probably go the commitee route to be able to control the process.
unblock
(52,317 posts)not reconvening the convention works best if trump withdraws at the last minute, so they can say there's not enough time for a convention, even by phone or internet.
again, not that trump is going anywhere.
Ilsa
(61,698 posts)Meet with him about his distracted message, keeping his mouth zipped, etc. over the next few days. Like a family intervention. I hope Trump walks out on it and sends someone for a bucket of chicken.
IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)jpak
(41,759 posts)3-alarm Trumpster fire
snooper2
(30,151 posts)truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)Rawstory has been a very good source for Dems. Explain please.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/senior-gop-officials-exploring-options-trump-drops/story?id=41089609&cid=abcn_tco
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)...whether they link to ABC or not. There are thousands of links to RS all over DU and there is a reason for that.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)have a chance to pick up steam.
Maybe they'll start a new party which would probably split Trumps poll numbers in half, but at least it would be a huge knock against Trump and if he drops out I'm sure all those people will go to the new guy.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)They may have had a chance, if they had cut him loose before the convention.
There is just not enough time left to get a whole new campaign off the ground.
truthisfreedom
(23,155 posts)All of the normal expectations are out the window. The majority of non-trump supporting republicans would absolutely leap at the chance to vote for someone somewhat normal. They detest Hillary in general and unless she's got a resonant message (I'd suggest Choose Sanity), they won't cross over right now. I live part time in rural Minnesota. This is a blue state but the countryside is filled with republicans and I can hear it at the bar... A couple of beers and they're just wishing trump wasn't so nuts.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)...was a concession, a "conciliatory gesture" to a party that Trump had been ripping to shreds. Trump leaves, they move Pence into his slot, they approach Kasich on their knees and there is the ticket.
Or, they put Kasich at the top and keep Pence as VP.
But if Ted Cruz is sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring, he's going to be waiting well past November.
In terms of procedure, I have no idea how the GOP could pull it off. My guess is that they would have to cite extreme circumstances and then re-write their own rules. I'm not an expert in this area so that is just a guess.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Less than 100 days is just not enough time.
After they spend three weeks discussing Trump's removal, they're down to 75 days...and that is if they toss him today.
Trump campaign has the Republican Party in a real pickle.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)If Trump had beaten Cruz by a narrow margin and Cruz were the second-most loved man in the Republican party, 100 days or 75 days wouldn't matter as much.
Pence has zero "marquee value." That, and the fact that unless Trump simply walked away...which his ego would not let him do...his supporters would go nuclear.
The RNC isn't sweating the Presidential slot as much as they are the down ticket positions and potential SCOTUS nominees. If Trump goes down...probably more accurately "when" he goes down...the house of cards goes with him.
The GOP's only option...other than the scenarios above...is to "reason" with Trump. And in every instance I've seen, it just encourages him to double down. I can only imagine the look on Priebus' face when he watched the footage of Trump throwing the baby and mom out of his event. That's crossing into sacred ground. People can get away with all kinds of things. Demonizing a crying infant tends to leave a mark.
The response to the Purple Heart thing kind of shocked me. The Trump apologists were out in full force on Twitter, not really getting the parallels between Trump...with five deferments...saying how he always wanted one, and how much "easier" it is to just have someone from the Military hand him one...and Dick Cheney, also a deferment poster child, saying he didn't serve because he had "other priorities" (like filling out the paperwork for his deferments, as an example).
Nay
(12,051 posts)has acted toward those who gave their lives, earned medals, and even just served their time. Trump shouldn't get even ONE vote from any veteran or service member.
adigal
(7,581 posts)For being the one who will be tough on ISIS.
Idiots!!!!!
angrychair
(8,733 posts)The vast majority of people outside Indiana don't even know who he is and most in Indiana hate his guts.
"Kasich who?" Even better.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)After that, all they have left is Ryan, Romney or Jeb.
It will come down to the 7 stages of the death of the Republican party. They have been in the denial stage for a while now. If they think there is any way to save the down ticket races and prevent "LIBRUL" judges on the Supreme Court, they could make a desperate attempt to get Trump out and someone else in, but the problem is that they lack a "someone," because if they actually HAD a someone, Trump would have never survived the convention.
adigal
(7,581 posts)He has always seemed more reasonable than the others, and after Trump, he would seem like a sweetheart to Reoubkcians and some Independents.
I said Trump would drop out a while ago. I'm still not sure, but it's a real possibility.
Miles Archer
(18,837 posts)...is at this point, Trump has to quit. They can't dump him. They can pay him off and concoct some kind of story that makes it sound like he didn't actually quit to spare his ego, but unless he leaves of his own free will. he's not going anywhere.
And yes...Kasich would be a concern, because he would not be "vetted" to the level that he has been "vetted" on DU...most voters don't dig that deep. He was the "sane" one, the "polite" one, at the debates, and would provide a sharp contrast to Trump, and could potentially be groomed to be "Presidential" between now and November.
I have no idea what's in their rule book regarding being obligated to offer it to Cruz if Trump bails out, but if they did that, there would be no incentive. Swapping out one loser for another would only cause them more embarrassment.
But it's still idle speculation. Trump would have to quit. If he didn't, they would have no other options.
tanyev
(42,613 posts)So who wants to replace Trump? Cruz certainly, someone who is probably too conservative for a national electorate and wildly reviled as someone actually less likable than Trump. Pence? A right-wing non-entity who his own state's Republican party didn't want anymore. Ryan? Maybe but he's probably too smart to put himself through that. Jeb or Rubio, who voters mammothly rejected?
The real story is that it reopens all the structural divisions in the GOP itself, precisely what the primary process was unable to grapple with successfully. Only now it gets hashed out not with any input from voters but literally behind closed doors by literally a group of Republican insiders and elites. And all this with 90 days before election day? That should go amazingly well.
This doesn't even get into the logistical and in some cases legal obstacles to changing the name on the ballot once you get into September.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/it-doesn-t-get-easier
Democat
(11,617 posts)Is he available to replace Trump?
bucolic_frolic
(43,286 posts)Any good plumber can
emulatorloo
(44,182 posts)I was struck by how optimistic he appears when I saw video clips of his appearances yesterday.
He thinks his strategy is brilliant, he beleives everything is going great.
Yes he is delusional, but this is not a man who is going to drop out.
MrModerate
(9,753 posts)emulatorloo
(44,182 posts)ChairmanAgnostic
(28,017 posts)Putin approved, America abused.
underpants
(182,878 posts)As reported on Morning Joe by some reporter (?) "he can almost smell victory".
MrModerate
(9,753 posts)muntrv
(14,505 posts)uawchild
(2,208 posts)that's not good news. He was going to drag the entire rethug ticket down with him.
Nay
(12,051 posts)WI_DEM
(33,497 posts)EV_Ares
(6,587 posts)and we know what he would do if they tried to force him to quit. You can imagine what he would say at his rallies & his supporters would be so revved up, they might even vote for Clinton to just put the screws to the RNC.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)any regular Republican assclown to vote for go out in droves, knowing nothing about them. Never do they even question why their party attracted and allowed a thing like "the Donald" to breeze on through. Never do they question what the FUCK is wrong with themselves!!!
Nitram
(22,877 posts)If Trump resigns, Clinton will win with a landslide.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)They have a way of falling in line. Cruz could even make a comeback as some prescient hero for not endorsing Trump so publicly at the convention.
Nitram
(22,877 posts)The conservative electorate has fractured. Trump has a better chance of winning than any replacement and they know it.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)There are celebrity names available, that don't need months of introduction, but none of them would appeal to Trump supporters, and thereby, honor the primary result.
Nitram
(22,877 posts)First of all, they didn't win primary. Secondly, they haven't even started campaigning. Thirdly, they will have to bear the slings and arrows of outraged Trump supporters.
ailsagirl
(22,899 posts)In so doing, they've sowed the seeds of their destruction
Nitram
(22,877 posts)Sit back and enjoy it while they flounder. Than vote in November!
kimbutgar
(21,188 posts)The millions of brain washed zombie supporters will riot if the GOP drops cheeto.
Look at those people at his rallies and outside attacking anti Cheeto supporters they will lose it big time. And those crazies have guns.
ailsagirl
(22,899 posts)makes me quake
stopbush
(24,396 posts)is that he would reserve the right to come back in sometime in October.
Even if the Rs picked a new candidate, Trump would be hanging around the edges, sucking all the air and media coverage out of the room.
moonscape
(4,673 posts)CrispyQ
(36,509 posts)I hope they're stuck with him till the end. They deserve this steaming shitpile.
Uben
(7,719 posts)...they are trying to come up with enough money to bribe him to quit. Probably what Trump wanted all along...punk the GOP and make em pay!
FigTree
(347 posts)Nitram
(22,877 posts)Cryptoad
(8,254 posts)FigTree
(347 posts)There's a number of pros. Business model (so to speak) is pretty much the same. Taste for gold, crowns and tacky shit is pretty much the same. Better tax evasion possibilities in Russia I'm sure. Russia is in terrible need for an image (e.g. Depardieu). I'm not sure business prospect in the US are that great after all this spectacle. His voters are poor idiots and can't afford anything he sells. He pissed off most of the others. The list is likely longer.
Happyhippychick
(8,379 posts)axiom3
(54 posts)You broke it, you bought it. It's astonishing how they chose such a clueless, dumpster-fire of a candidate for the presidency. Trump's landslide defeat in the fall should teach them a good lesson, though I doubt they'll learn from their mistakes, and nominate someone just as terrible in 2020.
SummerSnow
(12,608 posts)Boomer
(4,168 posts)On the one hand, as you point out, Trump gets his narcissistic supply of attention from running for president. But if polls keep dropping and Trump sees the looming disaster of being A Loser, then he'll protect his ego by dropping out "because the system is rigged. It's rigged. Believe me, I know. They would never let me win. And I would have won, I would have won BIG, bigger than anyone, but they rigged it."
That's his face-saving exit to keep from becoming a loser.
FighttheFuture
(1,313 posts)WhoWoodaKnew
(847 posts)to go all the way.
Hulk
(6,699 posts)This makes good sense. I'm not one to waste my energy worrying about the inevitable earthquake or meteor landing on my roof, but this could make great sense.
Should this worthless orange fleabag dump the race and return to his next catastrophic adventure to fleece his fan club of billions, it would leave the repuKKKes to select some "normal repuKKKe douchebag" to fill the ticket. I wonder what is the legal cut off for putting another name on the ballot, or elevating pence to the top of the ticket and having him select a vp at a later date?
This may not be so far fetched in light of drumpf's totally wacko behavior of late.
Cognitive_Resonance
(1,546 posts)It's not far-fetched, and it doesn't mean the goal would be to actually field a candidate capable of winning. Just stop further brand destruction, and try to limit the risk of losing the Senate and even the House. It may not be pretty, but there are certainly ways to drive him out. They were warned before the convention not to let this happen, but they decided to roll the dice.
It's definitely a lose-lose situation for the GOP, but they just can't afford to keep a raving lunatic as their standard bearer for the next three months. At this point they can only pick how they want to go down.
vkkv
(3,384 posts)Skittles
(153,193 posts)YOU MADE HIM, YOU *OWN* HIM
roamer65
(36,747 posts)These Trumpistas will burn it to the ground in retaliation.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Or that Trump is going to listen to them. He already thinks his way is best.