ABC: RNC Considering Options If Trump Drops Out

[Emjay]

If Trump drops out, which I think is highly unlikely, Pence would be the logical candidate.

I don't like him... he's a sellout, but I think Pence could win even if he got in by September.

[musiclady]

And yet they despise Rush on Free Republic because he is not totally worshipful of Trump.  But... lately he's getting there.  I could be okay if he was strictly on the Better than Hillary meme, but now he's defending the indefensible.

He mentioned considering retiring a few days ago.  I'm sure his ratings have fallen. But then he signed a new contract so....

He should have retired when he was on top............ and suckers like me thought what he meant what he said about being a conservative....   

[Chieftain]

If Trump drops out, which I think is highly unlikely, Pence would be the logical candidate.

I don't like him... he's a sellout, but I think Pence could win even if he got in by September.

Elect Trump/Pence along with as many Conservative Congress Critters as  their coattails will allow.  Trump being Trump, Congress should have excellent reason to impeach the SOB leting Vice-President Pence to take the oath and get to work.

Sure beats the alternative...

[Jazzhead]

He mentioned considering retiring a few days ago.  I'm sure his ratings have fallen. But then he signed a new contract so....

Rush should retire.  I used to listen to him all the time 15- 20 years ago (how long has it been)?    He's done a lot for conservatism,  he can explain things in a way that resonates with both wonks and barflys.  I'm sure the job is physically demanding; he's suffered deafness and addiction for it.   

What's point in selling your soul Rush?   Retire and do one last Great Thing.   Tell the truth about Trump,  and demand he step aside for Pence.   Do it while it can still make a difference, before the whole damn enchilada is handed over to the Dems.     

[JustPassinThru]

Rush should retire.  I used to listen to him all the time 15- 20 years ago (how long has it been)?    He's done a lot for conservatism,  he can explain things in a way that resonates with both wonks and barflys.  I'm sure the job is physically demanding; he's suffered deafness and addiction for it.   

What's point in selling your soul Rush?   Retire and do one last Great Thing.   Tell the truth about Trump,  and demand he step aside for Pence.   Do it while it can still make a difference, before the whole damn enchilada is handed over to the Dems.   

To your point, I agree.  Limbaugh is past his sell-by date.

To his addiction:  He has had back and spinal issues in the past.  Those can be painful - as a genetically-overweight late-middle-age man I can testify.  He was treated with pain medicine that had the potential to be very, very addictive.

About the same time his hearing went.  An odd variety of auto-immune deficiency, was the final verdict...but nobody knew then.  Deafness is a problem with broadcasters, since they have different channels, to the engineer, to phone patches, or other circuits, in different earpieces.  If you've ever had to listen to ONE earphone, you know it doesn't seem loud enough, ever - you crank up the volume, and over time that does permanent damage.

At first they tried hearing aids.  So the problem got worse - and it wasn't something that a hearing aid could treat.  It wasn't the eardrum but the very nerves which were being destroyed.

And next they tried a wide variety of drug cocktails.  This WHILE Limbaugh had back issues.  Bottom line is, a witch's brew of addiction got in there.

It can happen.  Nobody rides Christ Matthews for being a dried-out drunk, do they?  Or Gov. Ma Richards, who was a practicing alcoholic.

Limbaugh got through it.  Good on him.  Bad it went that way.

But the way he did, and the way success has led him to live...a very, very rarified life...has left him out of touch. 

And his no longer being with the radio-station bowling league, and whatever other normal contacts he had, eventually affected both his humor and his outlook.  In the vernacular of the day, he's lost touch.

This is WHY persons shouldn't hold power positions for long periods.  Doesn't matter if it's a Congressman, a radio star, President of American Widget.  You lose your unique insight and you become, not the problem-solver and change agent, but the problem yourself.

Time for Limbaugh to go.  He can help best by bringing in some fresh blood...help them get started; use his structure and business connections to get them going.

[EC]

To your point, I agree.  Limbaugh is past his sell-by date.

To his addiction:  He has had back and spinal issues in the past.  Those can be painful - as a genetically-overweight late-middle-age man I can testify.  He was treated with pain medicine that had the potential to be very, very addictive.

About the same time his hearing went.  An odd variety of auto-immune deficiency, was the final verdict...but nobody knew then.  Deafness is a problem with broadcasters, since they have different channels, to the engineer, to phone patches, or other circuits, in different earpieces.  If you've ever had to listen to ONE earphone, you know it doesn't seem loud enough, ever - you crank up the volume, and over time that does permanent damage.

At first they tried hearing aids.  So the problem got worse - and it wasn't something that a hearing aid could treat.  It wasn't the eardrum but the very nerves which were being destroyed.

And next they tried a wide variety of drug cocktails.  This WHILE Limbaugh had back issues.  Bottom line is, a witch's brew of addiction got in there.

It can happen.  Nobody rides Christ Matthews for being a dried-out drunk, do they?  Or Gov. Ma Richards, who was a practicing alcoholic.

Limbaugh got through it.  Good on him.  Bad it went that way.

But the way he did, and the way success has led him to live...a very, very rarified life...has left him out of touch. 

And his no longer being with the radio-station bowling league, and whatever other normal contacts he had, eventually affected both his humor and his outlook.  In the vernacular of the day, he's lost touch.

This is WHY persons shouldn't hold power positions for long periods.  Doesn't matter if it's a Congressman, a radio star, President of American Widget.  You lose your unique insight and you become, not the problem-solver and change agent, but the problem yourself.

Time for Limbaugh to go.  He can help best by bringing in some fresh blood...help them get started; use his structure and business connections to get them going.

Damn. Good post. 

[Stosh]

Really fun thread, many good points made for any and all scenarios...the basic problem for the GOP is the candidates being put forth for POTUS, are being selected by Demonkrat voters.

So long as there are "open" primaries, particularly when they are the early primaries, the liberals have too much influence in picking the survivors for later primaries. 
If New Hampshire wants an open primary, let them go last, not first.

[Hoodat]

I'm in favor of getting rid of primaries altogether and going the caucus route.  This way, the decision is put into the hands of people who are politically knowledgeable on the issue and who are willing to listen to the arguments of others supporting their candidates while offering their own.  It will produce a much better quality candidate than putting the decision in the hands of people whose only political involvement every four years is to silently put in 5 minutes of time while trying to maneuver through the ballot.

It also keeps the Democrats out, because Democrat demons can't endure 15 minutes at a Republican caucus, much less an hour or two.

[Smokin Joe]

I'm in favor of getting rid of primaries altogether and going the caucus route.  This way, the decision is put into the hands of people who are politically knowledgeable on the issue and who are willing to listen to the arguments of others supporting their candidates while offering their own.  It will produce a much better quality candidate than putting the decision in the hands of people whose only political involvement every four years is to silently put in 5 minutes of time while trying to maneuver through the ballot.

It also keeps the Democrats out, because Democrat demons can't endure 15 minutes at a Republican caucus, much less an hour or two.

According ot the local GOP head, the Party changed the caucus rules last year. North Dakota got screwed on the POTUS primary circuit. No caucus, no vote.

[JustPassinThru]

I'm in favor of getting rid of primaries altogether and going the caucus route.  This way, the decision is put into the hands of people who are politically knowledgeable on the issue and who are willing to listen to the arguments of others supporting their candidates while offering their own.  It will produce a much better quality candidate than putting the decision in the hands of people whose only political involvement every four years is to silently put in 5 minutes of time while trying to maneuver through the ballot.

It also keeps the Democrats out, because Democrat demons can't endure 15 minutes at a Republican caucus, much less an hour or two.

Nope.  You get bused-in operatives; fanatics; others with agendas, who're able to jigger the system.

What you wind up with is pretty-much what we have now - except that this time it's a fluke; with a caucus system it would be the norm.

In any event, it's up to the parties how they choose to do this.  LAST thing you want is government demanding that parties function in certain ways...it would be one more step towards the government controlling the parties, and thus the elections.

[txradioguy]

And yet they despise Rush on Free Republic because he is not totally worshipful of Trump.  But... lately he's getting there.  I could be okay if he was strictly on the Better than Hillary meme, but now he's defending the indefensible.

He mentioned considering retiring a few days ago.  I'm sure his ratings have fallen. But then he signed a new contract so....

I just got an email from Rush 24/7 begging me t c!e back and renew my membership.

Not gonna happen.

That money will be spent on Levin TV when I get back to the States.

[txradioguy]

To your point, I agree.  Limbaugh is past his sell-by date.

To his addiction:  He has had back and spinal issues in the past.  Those can be painful - as a genetically-overweight late-middle-age man I can testify.  He was treated with pain medicine that had the potential to be very, very addictive.

About the same time his hearing went.  An odd variety of auto-immune deficiency, was the final verdict...but nobody knew then.  Deafness is a problem with broadcasters, since they have different channels, to the engineer, to phone patches, or other circuits, in different earpieces.  If you've ever had to listen to ONE earphone, you know it doesn't seem loud enough, ever - you crank up the volume, and over time that does permanent damage.

At first they tried hearing aids.  So the problem got worse - and it wasn't something that a hearing aid could treat.  It wasn't the eardrum but the very nerves which were being destroyed.

And next they tried a wide variety of drug cocktails.  This WHILE Limbaugh had back issues.  Bottom line is, a witch's brew of addiction got in there.

It can happen.  Nobody rides Christ Matthews for being a dried-out drunk, do they?  Or Gov. Ma Richards, who was a practicing alcoholic.

Limbaugh got through it.  Good on him.  Bad it went that way.

But the way he did, and the way success has led him to live...a very, very rarified life...has left him out of touch. 

And his no longer being with the radio-station bowling league, and whatever other normal contacts he had, eventually affected both his humor and his outlook.  In the vernacular of the day, he's lost touch.

This is WHY persons shouldn't hold power positions for long periods.  Doesn't matter if it's a Congressman, a radio star, President of American Widget.  You lose your unique insight and you become, not the problem-solver and change agent, but the problem yourself.

Time for Limbaugh to go.  He can help best by bringing in some fresh blood...help them get started; use his structure and business connections to get them going.

Spot on. And as someone who has been on the radio for the better part of 25 years I can attest to the hearing issues as well.

[ScottinVA]

I have to disagree with people who think Trump got in this to promote and elect Hillary.

That's a theory way out of Trump's wheelhouse.  He would not have gone to this much trouble for Hillary ... he only praised her when he thought she might be useful to him.

He has an extremely narrow view of things ... to credit him with that much of a conspiracy theory is just nuts.

It's not "nuts" when juxtaposed with that phone call between Trump and Bill Clinton mere days before he announced his run.  To suspect Trump was offered something lucrative by his friends the Clintons in exchange for being their stalking horse is not out of line at all. 

[sneakypete]

I have to disagree with people who think Trump got in this to promote and elect Hillary.

That's a theory way out of Trump's wheelhouse.  He would not have gone to this much trouble for Hillary ... he only praised her when he thought she might be useful to him.

He has an extremely narrow view of things ... to credit him with that much of a conspiracy theory is just nuts.

Are you kidding? You can't seriously think that the lure of "being the guy that threw the election that got Hillary Clinton into the WH" feeds his insatiable ego,you just haven't been paying attention. It would mean that HE ALONE would PERSONALLY  be responsible for putting the first woman president into the WH.

Then there will be the the cash deposits in offshore accounts as well as special legislation and/or reading of regulations that will favor his bankruptcy business,etc,etc,etc.

[sneakypete]

He won the nomination!

What the Hell was the RNC supposed to do

Well,I know this is a pretty radical suggestions,but they MIGHT have tried running an actual Republican? You know,someone who believes America is supposed to be a Republic instead of a social democracy?

[sneakypete]

Instead, the convention rubber-stamped a candidate who is manifestly unfit, and who may actually have sanity issues.  And THAT makes the entire party look like crap.

Saying Orange Julius MAY have sanity issues is a lot like saying the Clinton's MAY be dishonest. The fool is batshit crazy.

[libertybele]

Are you kidding? You can't seriously think that the lure of "being the guy that threw the election that got Hillary Clinton into the WH" feeds his insatiable ego,you just haven't been paying attention. It would mean that HE ALONE would PERSONALLY  be responsible for putting the first woman president into the WH.

Then there will be the the cash deposits in offshore accounts as well as special legislation and/or reading of regulations that will favor his bankruptcy business,etc,etc,etc.

Exactly.  Increasing his wealth is first and foremost and additionally he is relishing in all of the attention from his supporters and the MSM. 

[JustPassinThru]

He won the nomination!

What the Hell was the RNC supposed to do

Not game the nomination.

They didn't give a rat's royal rearend about the party-base's choice.  They wanted either one of their own in, or someone who they could control.

And if he was a loser, that was fine.  That's their comfort zone.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Not game the nomination.

They didn't give a rat's royal rearend about the party-base's choice.  They wanted either one of their own in, or someone who they could control.

And if he was a loser, that was fine.  That's their comfort zone.

Because that base's choice couldn't muster enough votes to beat Trump.

I'm the world's biggest #NeverTrump guy, but I have to acknowledge that he out and out won the nomination.

[r9etb]

Because that base's choice couldn't muster enough votes to beat Trump.

I'm the world's biggest #NeverTrump guy, but I have to acknowledge that he out and out won the nomination.

And he's incompetent or worse.  What's a party to do.....?  Go along with him regardless, because he's The Leader? 

I seem to recall you have Cuban connections.  Doesn't that sound to you rather like Castro's government?

[JustPassinThru]

Because that base's choice couldn't muster enough votes to beat Trump.

I'm the world's biggest #NeverTrump guy, but I have to acknowledge that he out and out won the nomination.

Yah, I know what you are.

You look at the wreckage the Bushies made of the Reagan Mandate; and of the wreckage made of the unity after September 11...opportunities wasted, both times...muddled, mush-moderate RINO blandwich...and you want MORE.

I have no idea why.  I can guess, but that gets into the gaudy trespass of Personal Attacks.

You want more; but based on polls and primary results, less than two percent of Republican voters agree with you.

Are you a Republican?  Or just an Ethnic-Identity voter?

[mystery-ak]

Stop the personal attacks!

[INVAR]

JustPassinThru...

Yah, I know what you are.

Fellas, you're both relatively on the same damn side.

You're simply talking past one another. 

You have enough enemies without making one who would agree with you just another one.

[bilo]

Really fun thread, many good points made for any and all scenarios...the basic problem for the GOP is the candidates being put forth for POTUS, are being selected by Demonkrat voters.

So long as there are "open" primaries, particularly when they are the early primaries, the liberals have too much influence in picking the survivors for later primaries. 
If New Hampshire wants an open primary, let them go last, not first.

And what did the Trump supporters vote down at the start of the convention?

A change in the primary structure giving states that held closed primaries more delegates. The "conservative" Trump supporters just did as they were told and supported the "moderate" left leaning careerists in the GOP.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Stop the personal attacks!

Are you talking to me, or to the a$$hats that attacked me first?