Category Archives: RNC

The Trump Ballot Case and the Precedents of Nat Turner and John Brown

On Friday, the United Staes Supreme Court decided to grant President Trump’s Petition for Certiorari in Trump vs. Anderson.  However, it took no action on the companion Petition for Certiorari filed by the Colorado Republican Party in Colorado State Republican Central Committee v. Anderson.  Before turning to the issues raised in this case, there are two things to note about the Supreme Court order granting review and the petitions filed.

First, in granting Trump’s petition, the Supreme Court implicitly recognized the necessity to resolve this issue quickly.  The briefs of Trump and his enablers in the Republican Party (and related organizations) are due on January 18, less than two weeks after the order granting review (as opposed to the usual 45 days).  The briefs of Trump’s challengers and the Colorado election official who are in the middle of this case are due thirteen days later on January 31 (along with any outside brief from individuals who want to support Democracy) with any reply briefs due five days later on February 5.  This contrast to the normal deadlines of 45 days for petitioner’s brief with respondent’s brief due 30 days later and the reply brief an additional 35 days later. Additionally, the case will be argued on February 8 which is a special setting in the middle of what would otherwise have been the Supreme Court’s winter break.

Second, the Supreme Court did not rewrite Trump’s question presented.  Typically, the question prsented in a petition for certiorari is narrowly focused on one legal issue.  For example, did the lower court err in finding that the potential for the metabolizing of blood alcohol content is an automatic exigent circumstance permitting law enforcement officers to conduct a warrantless blood draw?  If there are multiple issues in a case, the petition will present multiple questions on which the Supreme Court can pick and choose which issues will be considered at the time that the petition is granted.  For example, the Colorado Republican Party presented three issues:  1) does Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment apply to the President; 2) is Section 3 self-executing; and 3) does disqualifying a candidate violate the First Amendment rights of political parties.  By contrast, the Trump Petition, after noting the ruling (that his actions and the office of President fell within the restrictions of Section) simply asks whether the Colorado Supreme Court erred by excluding him from the ballot.  In other words, unlike the usual question which identifies a specific legal error in the ruling, the Supreme Court appears to be allowing the consideration of any potential theory on why the Colorado Supreme Court erred. Continue Reading...

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Both parties start 2024 convention selection process

The GOP is soliciting bids for a 3-day convention, and Las Vegas is interested:

The mayor of Las Vegas and the head of the Nevada state Republican party are pitching the idea of the city hosting the GOP National Convention ahead of the November 2024 presidential election.

Mayor Carolyn Goodman on Monday issued a statement saying she told the Republican National Committee in response to an inquiry that Las Vegas would be the best place for the three-day event in summer 2024. Continue Reading...

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Vote Suppression 2016

Save the WorldToday’s news included an “off-the-record” admission from inside the Trump campaign that they are trying to suppress the vote.   This admission is not news for many Democrats.  It is an open secret in this country that low turnout usually favors Republicans, while higher turnout tends to favor Democrats.  In 2016, voter suppression takes three forms.

First, voter suppression can be built into the election system itself.  For example, unlike many democracies, the U.S. holds elections on a weekday (not just the general election, but also, in most states, primaries and municipal and special elections).  In most, if not all states, election days are not a holiday.  That makes it harder for folks to vote.  Additionally, there are hurdles to registering to vote (fewer today than in the past).  In particular, most states cut off registration weeks in advance of the election and you have to register every time that you move to a new county.

Continue Reading...

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What If (the Republicans Try to Dump Trump)?

Heading into tonight’s debate, the Republican Party is very uneasy.  Even before Friday, things were not going well in Trump land — a poor debate performance, his taxes, his connections to Russia, his record of disgraceful behavior towards women, minorities, and the disabled.  Then came Friday’s latest revelation that Trump is an even bigger cad than we thought.  As Donald Trump continues to implode, the question is what options exist for the Republican establishment to salvage the election.  The problem for the Republican establishment comes in two forms — the political and the legal.

The political problem is the fourteen million people who voted for Trump in the primary (and some additional like-minded people who did not vote in the primary).  While some of these voters might now think that Trump has finally stepped over the line, many of them still support Trump or would be upset if the Republican leadership tried some form of coup to replace Trump.  If eight or nine million Trump supporters declined to support the rest of the Republican ticket (about 5% of the vote nationally), that could make a difference in several races.  On the other hand, Trump — like Todd Akin in 2012 — could become a lead weight pulling down the rest of the party.  From the point of view of the Republican establishment, the best strategy may be quietly shifting resources to states with key Senate, House, and Governor’s races (particularly as Trump lacks a coherent strategy to begin with) and pretending that Trump does not exist.

Continue Reading...

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UPDATED: SCORE: Cleveland 400, Philadelphia 11

Update: A friend from Cleveland has informed me that the arrest number I heard for Cleveland on the radio is incorrect: rather it was 23 arrests. He was kind enough to send the list of those arrested, which you can read here. I regret the error. 

In this case, the lower number wins. There were 400 23 total arrests in Cleveland, and only 11 in Philadelphia for the RNC and DNC, respectively.

I wasn’t in Cleveland, and so can’t speak to it, but here in Philly, the cops, State Troopers, Homeland Security, Secret Service, and TSA people were really great. It was incredibly hot, and the Philadelphia police, as of Tuesday night, had given out 110,000 bottles of water to protesters and marchers. The idea was to keep order while still respecting people’s constitutionally-guaranteed right to protest. I spoke to many officers walking by their areas. No one had an attitude, and all they cared about was safety for all: the attendees, the locals going about their business, the protesters, and their own.

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What Have We Learned from the #RNC?

RNC 2016The most important takeaway is that the GOP is now Donald Trump’s party. This may seem minor, but it’s critical to understanding what will be necessary for the upcoming general election cycle: the rules are different.

You may have noticed that MSM referred to the RNC as “Donald Trump’s Convention” instead of “The Republican Convention” or “The RNC Convention.” Next week is not “Hillary Clinton’s Convention” — it is “The DNC”. No convention has ever before been personalized this way. The importance relates to how the cycle will be covered, and intimates that he will continue to be covered differently from everyone ever. Note that the first night of the convention, while the mother of a soldier lost in Benghazi was speaking, Donald called into Fox and they preempted her speech to speak with him. A cautionary tale for the party comes from more than 150 years ago. Read about Zachary Taylor. Seriously, read the link. Read it now. It’s really important.

Welcome back. Now you know the future. Continue Reading...

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GOP Convention Schedule

I was going to post the schedule. Really, I was. But I can’t. I just can’t. If you really want to see the list of speakers, it can be found here.

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The Trump-Pence Ticket Logo

There is really not that much to say that hasn’t been said already.
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Convention Updates

The convention news is coming fast and furious leading into the GOP confab starting Monday. Here are some highlights:

  • 538 looks at the contested 1976 GOP convention
  • The press is receiving security training
  • Cleveland caterers are not happy
  • Here’s where the GOP state delegations are staying
  • The Dem convention in Philadelphia may help the Dems win Pennsylvania more than the GOP convention in Cleveland will help the GOP win Ohio.
  • Convention bumps are real, but getting smaller, especially with conventions in back-to-back weeks as they are again this year
  • And sadly, Tim Tebow will not be speaking at the GOP convention next week

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I’ve got to mow my lawn

That, and the many other things Republicans are giving as reasons for not going to the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

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