http://thehill.com/homenews/house/276321-pelosi-predicts-gop-doom-if-trump-toppledPelosi predicts GOP doom if Trump toppled
By Mike Lillis - 04/14/16 12:59 PM EDT
Democrats would reap huge benefits in November if Republicans reject their presidential front-runner in a contested convention this summer, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted Thursday.
Pelosi, the Democratic leader, suggested an effort to topple Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention, as some party leaders are considering, would tear the GOP apart and cede big wins to the Democrats.
“If they reject the public will, they will really hand us a bigger victory than I'm even anticipating now, because that will be an implosion of the Republican Party,” Pelosi said during her weekly press briefing in the Capitol.
Trump is far and away the leading contender in the GOP presidential field, tallying roughly 2 million more votes than his closest rival, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
But with many establishment Republicans rallying behind Cruz, and with Ohio Gov. John Kasich in a distant third and refusing to quit the race, a real chance remains that none of the candidates will have the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination before the party's July convention in Cleveland.
If that's the case, some Republican leaders — skeptical of Trump's devotion to conservative ideals and wary of his inflammatory statements on the campaign trail — are eying the possibility of a brokered convention, which could deny Trump the nomination even if he carries a commanding delegate lead to Cleveland.
Trump has warned of “riots” if he's ousted under those conditions. And the Cleveland police have taken notice, soliciting contracts for body armor and other protective gear ahead of the event.
Pelosi said Democrats’ convention in Philadelphia would feature much less drama, predicting that “the person who wins in the public arena will be our nominee.”
Still, Pelosi also amplified her long-held criticism of her party's superdelegate system, which empowers party leaders, including Capitol Hill lawmakers, to vote for any candidate at the convention. An overwhelming majority of congressional Democrats have endorsed Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), giving the former secretary of State a substantial advantage in the superdelegate race.
Pelosi emphasized that each lawmaker superdelegate faces “an individual decision” whether to back the candidate favored by the primary voters in his or her district or buck those voters for another choice.
“That's why they're ‘super.’ They have an individual decision to make,” she said.
But Pelosi, who has not yet endorsed a primary candidate, also made clear where her sentiments lie, arguing that primary voters should have the final word.
“In the campaign system, as the public knows, I show up this day, I cast my vote, I go to this caucus, I cast my vote, and I decide who will be president of the United States,” she said.
“It is not, shall we say, a recommendation to people in Washington, D.C. It is the Democratic process.”
