Conventions aren’t easy to pull off, trust me.
Good conventions unify after the fact. Bad ones do the precise opposite… and the Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial board was watching:
The Cruz campaign claims it acted magnanimously in awarding Trump three delegates. Trump activists scorned the gesture. Unity was not served.
In a rare break from its tradition of not making endorsements in nomination contests, The Times-Dispatch endorsed Rubio in the primary. We believe Trump would prove catastrophic for the Republican ticket. Cruz also seems an unlikely vehicle for asserting insider control. The party’s establishment despises him, although as the last alternative still standing in the primaries he appeals to desperate members of the anti-Trump factions. Moreover, finishing first in the primaries will not be enough for Trump. He will need to score a majority of the delegates in Cleveland to claim the nomination. A brokered convention would not violate the rules.
We also believe that despite his status as the runner-up in the primaries, Cruz has failed to make the case for himself. The Times-Dispatch prefers an option from outside the primaries — Paul Ryan, for instance, or Mitt Romney. Cruz’s Harrisonburg rout mocks the primary. It is a point we do not relish making.
Read every word, because whomever was there at the 2016 RPV Convention captured the precise sentiment that flowed out from Harrisonburg that day.
What follows? This convention will more than likely go down as the worst run and possibly most damaging convention in the modern era — worse than 2013 if party unity is a prize worthy of Republicans.
It is often said that Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line after even the most brutal of nominations contests. The line offered by the RTD editors — “Cruz has failed to make the case for himself” — could be extended to any of the candidates, Trump perhaps most of all.
None of these candidates are really giving a reason for the Republican activist to vote, much less work. Duty and “loyalty oaths” are the antidotes to victory, after all.
At this critical juncture, there are two factors.
First, someone within the Republican Party must rise and present the case — not just for unity or principle or victory for its own sake — but for a path forward that allows our varying factions (four by my count) to agree on what we agree upon… and to hell with the rest. In the past, this role was served by the RPV chairman… so this is indeed Whitbeck’s grand moment.
Second, conventions have once again taken a massive hit. For every 2009 and 2014, there is a 2013 or 2016 to counterpunch.
The 2017 convention now hangs in the balance, and unless State Central radically commits itself to a successful convention now? Forces after the State Central elections this month may very well throw things to a primary… which would be a disaster not only for conservatives but for any chance of an independent state party.
This is hard. One does not particularly enjoy the idea of the Republican Party of Virginia ripped apart by factions more committed to their own futures (or the money-grabbers capitalizing on other people’s hope) than they are to building the foundations of a political movement.
For one, I think there’s a large part of everyone who wants to help — but there is no honor, no trust, no goodwill. Only a sea of advantage in a sinking ship.
…or.
…and I don’t have a good “or” right now. Neither do you.
But perhaps there’s enough people of goodwill willing to put their heads together and figure it out?
