A key confidant of GOP Chairman Reince Priebus today fired a shot directly at the #FreetheDelegates and #DelegatesUnbound movements. Priebus’ hand-picked general counsel for the Republican National Committee, John Ryder, forcefully came out against the notion that delegates could be unbound. His remarks constitute legal advice to the RNC Standing Committee on Rules. It was the strongest language to date by an official of the RNC against the effort to deny Donald Trump the nomination here in Cleveland next week.
The key question is will it matter either way?
Earlier today I met with Delegates Unbound cofounder Dane Waters. In a Facebook Live interview, Waters acknowledged that the battle his group is waging is a tough and uphill fight. They fully expected the RNC to align with the Trump campaign to try and stop any attempt to open the convention and stop Donald Trump.
Today’s opinion by Ryder, who also serves as the National Committeeman from Tennessee, confirms that the RNC is gearing up to quash any movement against Trump.
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The reality of what happened today is that it will be tough for the forces who want to both unseat Donald Trump as the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party and replace him at convention. It has been a tough fight for that side from the beginning. Today’s legal advice, offered by a close Reince Priebus confidant shows that the party apparatus is taking the side of Donald Trump in that fight.
It will be a tough floor fight to try and enforce the view that all delegates are unbound and can vote their conscience. Free the Delegates, and Delegates Unbound have a strong floor strategy with 38 state whips, and a robust delegate communication method for the days of the convention. Waters, of Delegates Unbound, also claims they have identified a majority of delegates who do not want to see Trump as the nominee. Will those delegates have the desire to translate that dislike of Trump into action?
That’s the question on everybody’s mind, and today’s proceedings showed that the Trump camp has come to Cleveland ready to take on that fight.
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The RNC Strikes Backhttps://t.co/4kGZvXBbvk
— Rob Eno (@Robeno) July 13, 2016
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