OPINION:
Hold on to your hats, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz supporters — you’re going to be in for a bumpy ride come the Republican National Convention in July.
Karl Rove, the ultimate establishment insider, said on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show Thursday, rather than the people voting for the GOP candidates running in their state primaries, a “fresh face” picked at the convention may be the best thing to repair the fractions in the Republican Party.
“If we have somebody who we think has, has been battle-tested and has strong conservative principles and the ability to articulate them, and they are nominated at this convention, there will be a lot of acrimony from the people who were seeking the nomination,” Mr. Rove conceded, but then went on to add: “But if it’s somebody who has, you know, has those convictions that they can express in a compelling way, we could come out of the convention in a relatively strong position … and a fresh face might be the thing that could give us a chance to turn this election and win in November.”
The Republican National Committee is already trying to warm-up the public for such an action.
On Thursday, the RNC launched a website to educate voters on what a contested convention looks like and met with conservative groups for weeks in Washington, D.C., about it.
And on Friday, the organization is meeting with reporters to go over the prospect of a contested convention, undoubtedly with the aim for them to cover the topic favorably toward the RNC.
It’s well-known that many conservatives loathe the idea of Mr. Trump gaining the nomination, with #NeverTrump organizations spending millions in advertisements to halt the businessman from reaching the 1,237 delegates he needs to win the nomination outright.
However, these same establishment folks, are not too keen on Mr. Cruz, a Texas senator, as well.
Politico reported on Thursday that many of the same people who chose to endorse Mr. Cruz in Wisconsin would much prefer House Speaker Paul Ryan to become their presidential candidate.
“For some of Cruz’s newfound supporters, however, it remains a marriage of expediency, and it hasn’t stopped establishment eyes from wandering,” Politico reported. “Some are gaming out a scenario in which Cruz wins Wisconsin and goes on to keep Trump under the needed number of delegates to become the nominee — paving the way, potentially, for someone else to emerge from a brokered convention.”
Politico went on to quote former Rep. Scott Klug, who said many in the Badger State are really pining for Mr. Ryan.
“Very consciously, a lot of people are hoping it’s Paul,” Mr. Klug told Politico, adding that he personally thinks a brokered convention — respect for Ryan aside — would be “absolute chaos.”
Absolute chaos, indeed. It looks like that’s what the RNC and establishment class is gunning for.
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