‘Never Trump’ Dies With a Whimper in Rules Committee by Tim Alberta July 14, 2016 11:09 PM
CLEVELAND — The “Never Trump” movement died with a whimper Thursday night. And to be clear: There was never a bang to begin with.
After months of hype — and weeks of misleading media narratives — the efforts to derail Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention ended abruptly and undramatically here during a marathon meeting of the Convention Rules Committee.
Fourteen hours after the committee hearing was gaveled into session, delegates delivered a swift and anticlimactic verdict on a proposal that would have allowed all delegates to vote their conscience on the convention floor next week. The amendment, offered by Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, received national attention in recent months and was reported by several major media outlets to have a realistic chance of garnering the 28 votes needed to produce a “minority report” that would result in a convention-wide vote on the topic. Yet when the time came for a vote in the Rules Committee, the margin was so lopsided against the amendment that no recorded vote was taken — meaning no minority report will be considered on the convention floor.
That result was previewed minutes earlier when delegates voted overwhelmingly — 87 to 25 — to adopt an amendment that prohibited any language in the GOP’s rules allowing for the unbinding of delegates from the winners of their state’s nominating contests.
That 10-minute stretch erased any minuscule chance that ever existed of toppling Trump at next week’s convention. With the two much-discussed mechanisms of ousting Trump taken off the table, RNC leadership and Trump campaign officials — who furiously whipped committee votes against these efforts — were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing Trump’s nomination is now assured.
“Anti-Trump people get crushed at Rules Committee. It was never in doubt: Convention will honor will of people & nominate @realdonaldtrump,” Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort tweeted shortly after the vote.
Manafort is correct: The outcome was entirely predictable, especially after Unruh’s allies showed their weak hand earlier in the day.
Barely 10 minutes into Thursday morning’s proceedings, the Rules Committee recessed temporarily because of a printer jam. That recess was then extended another five hours — not due to technical difficulties, but because of private negotiations — first reported by National Review — between RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and a group of anti-Trump conservatives. Those present included Unruh, leader of the conscience movement; Virginia delegate Morton Blackwell, who sought to reduce the power of the RNC; and Ken Cuccinelli, a Ted Cruz ally who sought changes to the 2020 primary structure that could theoretically help the Texas senator’s next presidential bid. (Cruz allies emphasized that the Texas senator had nothing to do with Cuccinelli’s efforts.)
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http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/437909/never-trump-dies-whimper
