I am writing an open letter to you in hopes that you will do the right thing and make the Florida Republican Party abide by the rules of the Republican National Committee.
The state of Florida deliberately snubbed its’ nose at the party and the rules several months ago when it voted to hold the Florida primary early, which has already cost if 49 delegates out of the original 99 delegates allocated by the RNC. Now they further give the party the middle finger by allocating the remaining delegates as “winner-take-all”, instead of the proportional allotment that is defined in the RNC rules for any state that wishes to hold its’ primary prior to April 1st.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who finished second in the Florida balloting has petitioned the Florida Republican Party to reverse the “winner-take-all” allocation and award him delegates based on the proportional vote he obtained. I don’t think there will be any surprises here and Florida will not change its’ mind.
I am asking you to step in and do the right thing by holding a rules committee meeting prior to the Republican Convention in Tampa to overturn the Florida decision and either strip the delegates completely away from the state or make them award the delegates proportionally as per the RNC rules. Why am I asking for the RNC to decide this now instead of at the Convention? It’s simple. If the RNC does not act on this immediately, it will affect the delegate count in an unfair manner toward the ‘leading’ delegate holder as of date, Governoe Mitt Romney.
National Public Radio has applied the proportional formula to the Florida delegates and as of today, instead of Governor Romney receiving all 50 remaining delegates, he would only receive 23 while Speaker Gingrich would receive 16. This would change the cumulative total from Governor Romney leading Gingrich 59 to 23 to Speaker Gingrich leading Governor Romney 39 to 32. As you know, political campaigns are all about momentum, or lack there of. The RNC’s failure to act on this is affecting the momentum off the GOP primary race, something that I would hope you would agree, the national party should have no reason to do. By affecting the momentum, this shift of delegates to where they rightfully belong, could allso affect the race for the nomination as a whole.
I, as a Republican, urge you to take action immediately should Florida rule not to overturn their decision.
Respectfully Submitted,
Bill Knowles
Publisher
WeArePolitics.com
Neil Stevens
Moe Lane
Caleb Howe
Erick Erickson
Dan McLaughlin
Dan Spencer
If anyone complained about it before the vote
znjs (Diary) Saturday, February 4th at 1:25AM EDT (link)I’d agree. But no one really made much a stink about it then, the candidates went into the race believing it would be winner take all, it should stay that way. In fact 2 of the candidate mostly skipped Florida because of that reason. How do you make it up to them? Or do you not care about that injustice because it doesn’t hurt the guy you’re cheering for?
"...doesn’t hurt the guy you’re cheering for?"
edintexas Monday, February 6th at 9:02AM EDT (link)Isn’t that the pot – kettle routine?
In what way?
znjs (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 9:27AM EDT (link)My point was since no one challenged the rules beforehand, now claiming they should be changed would be unfair to RP and Santorum, neither of whom I am supporting.
I have to agree ..
Zaber Thursday, February 9th at 9:31AM EDT (link)Every candidate went into Florida with the understanding that it was winner-take-all. Nobody complained or objected. The voters also went in to the primary to vote with that same understanding and they voted for their candidates.
Once the game is over, you can’t change the result of the contest by changing the rules by which the game was played.
Besides, its a moot point.. since everyone thinks that the RNC is in the bag for Romney, they aren’t going to change this result anyway if that’s the case.
(And no, I haven’t decided who I’m voting for when Super Tuesday rolls around – I’ll decide when I see who is still standing at that point.. just in case anyone is thinking I have this opinion because I want Romney to win the nomination.)
“How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” — Ronald Reagan
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Sir Winston Churchill
Video! Newt contradicting the Newt from Jan. 27
abierubin (Diary) Saturday, February 4th at 11:31PM EDT (link)As long as he clung to the hope that he will be the one to walk away with Florida’s winner-take-all rule 49 delegates, even when polls showed he was sliding, he still supported it! Here’s a video from January 27, mere days before the election, where Newt proclaims he won’t challenge Fllorida’s decision to make it a winner-take-all state
http://electad.com/videos/john-roberts-reports-on-newt-gingrich-florida-winner-takes-all-rule-challenge/
Will someone tell me how going WTA to proportional is "punishing" FL?
Common_Cents (Diary) Saturday, February 4th at 11:37PM EDT (link)that is hogwash. they got punished by losing half their delegates. Following the RULES of proportional vs. winner take all is not punishment. It punishes voters.
“Fathom the hypocrisy of a Government
that requires every citizen to prove
they are insured…. but not everyone
must prove they are a citizen.” -Ben Stein
“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.”[especially in DC] – Friedrich Nietzsche
An Argument
edintexas Monday, February 6th at 9:07AM EDT (link)Not worthy of a purported Conservative. Rules only count when they are a convenience, or an advantage? I know, you didn’t say that. You said that the rules shouldn’t be followed. What’s the difference?
And how is proportional delegate distribution punishing the voters? Those who voted for Romney get their share of the delegates, those who voted for Gingrich, theirs. Santorum, Paul, etc. get theirs. What you want is for all the other voters to be punished in favor of your preferred candidate.
a, not so fast,
demsaresatanic Saturday, February 4th at 11:56PM EDT (link)your statement “where Newt proclaims he won’t challenge Fllorida’s (sic) decision to make it a winner-take-all state,” is not accurate. Newt said, ” I’m not going to get involved in a procedural fight, which is technically accurate. A delegate made the challenge, Newt has not made any challenge. A technical point, yes, however details matter when you make such blanket statements.
Implied facepalm
Darin_H (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 9:15AM EDT (link)because this isn’t even worth a real one.
A visionary coward says that anger can be power, as long as there’s a victim on TV – Flat Top, Goo Goo Dolls
The RNC should not be able to override a legal vote
Juggernaut (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 10:46AM EDT (link)by the state. FL should proportion delegates as planned since the RNC is not governing body over the FL legislature. The so called punishment is bogus. So Newt didn’t complain before, I see Santorum and Paul in agreement.
RomneyCare is Right Wing Socialism –
Romney “severely conservative”? That’s the opposite of a “compassionate conservative” like George W. Bush? Actually, we know what a severely conservative is. It’s Dick Cheney and Mitt Romney is no Dick Cheney.
delagate challenge
jamesm (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 12:14PM EDT (link)RNC rules are clear. Florida is to be proportional because primary was held before April 1st.
“Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” A. Einstein
as someone involved in republican politcs in florida,
mikeymike143 (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 2:10PM EDT (link)i believe that there is a legitimate chance of this primary becoming a proportional state instead of a ”winner take all” state.
and you never know what the RNC will do. the RNC has been getting filleted on conservative sites for supposedly being ”in the bag” for romney and may welcome a chance to prove otherwise.
in the end, it will be a politcal decision rather than ”doing what’s right”. and nobody knows which way those winds will be blowing.
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And you really did a heck of a job for Santorum.
mbecker908 (Diary) Monday, February 6th at 2:35PM EDT (link)He might have finished third or fourth if it hadn’t been for you.
Oh yeah…
any one but Romney
beeman56 Thursday, February 9th at 11:29AM EDT (link)The Florida voters really helped the anti Romney voters in the caucus states that followed. I think they saw the election was bought with over $15M from the Romney campaign. Basically by dividing up the vote among all candidates my man Ron Paul walked away with all the Delegates in the Caucus states. How do I know this, well I am now a Delegate for Ron Paul. So thanks so much to Florida.
I have been a Republican all my life. But I love this dissent among the Republican voters, because you only speak of the unfairness when your candidate is being stomped on. Ron Paul had the Iowa election stolen from him, then was robbed of all Delegates and most loved it.
If any candidate gets to 1200 Delegates it will be a mirage, because Ron Paul will get most of Delegates in Iowa, and all Caucus states before it is finished.
Anti Republican
beeman56 Thursday, February 9th at 11:56AM EDT (link)One more thing, don’t call me anti Republican because yesterday I called the local Republican party to start paying dues and join. I am also becoming an election Judge, I hate voter Fraud, checkout black box voting on google.
Republican Libertarian
Zaber Thursday, February 9th at 12:59PM EDT (link)Fiscal responsiblity, a high moral ground (for the most part), defense of life, etc, are things that define a Republican Conservative.
Ron Paul espouses all sorts of whacked out philosophies that do not mesh with conservative values. He’s a Libertarian. You’re obviously in the tank for Paul, since you scream about it in every single post you’ve made since you joined Redstate, so you’re obviously a Libertarian as well.
All giving someone money means is that you gave them money. It does not make you a Republican.
“How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” — Ronald Reagan
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Sir Winston Churchill
kowalski..
Zaber Thursday, February 9th at 1:01PM EDT (link)I actually put “Republican Libertarian” as my post title.. didn’t realize it wouldnt let the greater than/less than symbols in there, so it probably doesnt make much sense at first glance..
“How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.” — Ronald Reagan
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” — Sir Winston Churchill