Republican Leadership Prepare For The Possibility Of A Brokered GOP Convention

GOP Party Leaders Meet To Discuss Contested Convention Amid Donald Trump's Continued Surge In Polls. Republican leaders and party officials met on December 7 at a dinner held by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus to discuss the possibility of a brokered GOP convention. The Washington Post reported that several Republican power brokers made the case that the establishment would need to “lay the groundwork for a floor fight” where “the GOP's mainstream wing could coalesce around an alternative” candidate if Donald Trump continued to be the presidential frontrunner through the primaries. GOP leaders “see a floor fight as a real possibility” if “no candidate [is] able to win the nomination on the first-ballot vote”:

Republican officials and leading figures in the party's establishment are preparing for the possibility of a brokered convention as businessman Donald Trump continues to sit atop the polls in the GOP presidential race.

More than 20 of them convened Monday near the Capitol for a dinner held by Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, and the prospect of Trump nearing next year's nominating convention in Cleveland with a significant number of delegates dominated the discussion, according to five people familiar with the meeting.

Weighing in on that scenario as Priebus and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) listened, several longtime Republican power brokers argued that if the controversial billionaire storms through the primaries, the party's establishment must lay the groundwork for a floor fight in which the GOP's mainstream wing could coalesce around an alternative, the people said.

The development represents a major shift for veteran Republican strategists, who until this month had spoken of a brokered convention only in the most hypothetical terms -- and had tried to encourage a drama-free nomination by limiting debates and setting an earlier convention date.

Now, those same leaders see a floor fight as a real possibility. And so does Trump, who said in an interview last week that he, too, is preparing. [The Washington Post, 12/10/15]

Right-Wing Radio Hosts Attack The GOP For Its “Declaration Of War Against The Republican Base Voters”

Laura Ingraham: A Brokered Convention Is “A Declaration Of War Against The Republican Base Voters.” On the December 11 edition of The Laura Ingraham Show, Laura Ingraham attacked the Republican National Committee and the Republican establishment for “refus[ing] to listen to the people” and considering a brokered convention. Ingraham called the possibility of a brokered convention “a declaration of war against the Republican base voters”:

LAURA INGRAHAM: This is a declaration of war against the Republican base voters in my estimation. This is what they're saying. They're saying we will go to war with the now total 67 percent of the Republican electorate supporting Trump, Cruz, and Carson. If that means blowing up the party, they will blow up the party. If that means twisting arms at a second or third vote among the delegates at the convention, they'll do that. But they will not stand by and allow this to happen. I -- for [Mitch] McConnell to be there I find to be just shockingly stupid on his part. And for Reince Priebus, who's come on this show and said, 'I don't have any dog in this fight, I'm not getting into the political' -- what, what, what is it, why does he have the meeting then? [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 12/11/15, 12/11/15]

Mark Levin: GOP Establishment Is “Trying To Figure Out Essentially How To Thwart The Will Of The Republican Voters.” On the December 10 edition of The Mark Levin Show, Mark Levin criticized the “Republican establishment” for “trying to figure out ... what can they do at the convention to stop Trump” or “a Cruz or a Carson” from winning the GOP presidential nomination. Levin attacked Republican leaders for trying “to empower themselves” and “thwart the will of the Republican voters”:

MARK LEVIN: So McConnell and Priebus are in this secret meeting that they've called, trying to figure out what will they do, what can they do at a convention to stop Trump, and honestly not just Trump, to stop a Cruz or a Carson. In other words, somebody that they don't support. “What can they do, what will they do?” writes the Washington compost.

[...]

Attendees yes, most of these people you've never heard of, but these are inside players. They included Ward Baker,  executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Now the National Republican Senatorial Committee is controlled and funded by Mitch McConnell and it has been used to attack conservatives and Tea Party candidates for years. It is vile, it is vicious, and it seeks to protect the ruling class.

[...]

And so that's what's going on. While terrorism is afoot, while the budget's out of control, while the Republicans haven't done anything effective to stop any of this, what are they meeting on in secret? How to empower themselves. I'm curious to know what you think about this.

[...]

I'm curious to know if you support this, where the Republican establishment in Washington, DC, their lobbyists, their consultants, their pollsters, are meeting, trying to figure out essentially how to thwart the will of the Republican voters in the various primaries. [Cumulus Media Networks, The Mark Levin Show, 12/10/15]

Sean Hannity: “That's The Establishment Saying That You, You The People ... Are Stupid.” On the December 11 edition of The Sean Hannity Show, Sean Hannity slammed “the establishment” for treating conservatives like children who should “pick their toys up and go home.” Hannity argued that Republican leaders are “saying that you, you the people that are polled in these surveys are stupid” and asked how often “conservatives [have] been told to suck it up for an establishment candidate”:

SEAN HANNITY: And then you have this other Washington Post story. This is the one you got to pay attention to.

[...]

By the way, that's the establishment saying that you, you the people that are polled in these surveys are stupid. You're not doing what they want so they want to pick their toys up and go home, some of them.

[...]

If you're not seeing why these guys -- you know, look at that Trump Luntz focus group on Trump last night. The more that he attacks the establishment, the more, the more angry -- the better they like him. And any establishment candidate that attacks Trump, it is dismissed out of hand as a joke. And if they try to do this, yeah, it would destroy the Republican Party. How many times have conservatives been told to suck it up for an establishment candidate? John McCain, Bob Dole, and we did suck it up, and we did lose. [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 12/11/15]