The more I see it, the way some of these rules are set up, they're sort of a counter-balance to the early voting.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/04/trumps-uphill-delegate-scramble-221443

Quote"I do know the nature of the delegates. The majority of them, they're conservatives but they're party regulars — county chairmen, state regulars, local sheriffs," he said, suggesting they're less inclined to vote for Trump if left to their own devices.

In recent days, evidence has emerged that Cruz has proven especially adept at outmaneuvering Trump in the delegate scramble, especially in Louisiana, South Dakota, South Carolina and Wyoming. Reports suggest Cruz is also better organized in Georgia, too.

Perhaps the most glaring warning sign for Trump is the looming battle for delegates in Massachusetts. Trump scored 49 percent of the vote there, 31 points ahead of second-place Kasich. Cruz finished a distant fourth with 9.6 percent. Yet, it's Cruz who seems to have the momentum as the state GOP prepares to hold congressional district conventions and a state party meeting that will elect 39 national delegates.

"The Trump campaign hasn't really gotten out of first gear, but the Cruz campaign is starting to accelerate," said Brad Wyatt, a longtime party activist who's not aligned with either the Cruz or Trump camps. Another top Massachusetts Republican, speaking on condition of anonymity said that at best, Trump will find himself in a dogfight for delegates in the state, despite his dominance in the polls.

The cause seems clear to many party insiders: Trump cleaned up among Massachusetts' huge population of independent voters. But delegate elections are restricted only to the state's much smaller population of registered Republicans, many of whom more naturally line up with Cruz. That scenario could play out across the country in states that held open primaries, since Republican Party rules limit delegate selection contests to registered Republicans.

Poor Donald.  He could really use Daddy right now.

"In one of the starkest examples of Trump's lack of support, out of the 168 Republican National Committee members — each of whom doubles as a convention delegate — only one publicly supports Trump, and she knows of only a handful of others who support him privately."

QuoteTrump cleaned up among Massachusetts' huge population of independent voters. But delegate elections are restricted only to the state's much smaller population of registered Republicans, many of whom more naturally line up with Cruz.

"Unfair!  Unfair! unfair...."  It helps to understand the political process, like Ted Cruz does.  It begs the question / statement:

Why should we change the rules for you!?

For the guy who said all those bankruptcies are 100% legal, gloated how he used the law to financially devastate hundreds of investors & banks, and the little guys who trusted them with their hard earned money, don't come crying it's "unfair" because you didn't familiarize yourself with "the primary rules".  Crossover votes are meaningless - >yawn< ...  welcome to the GOP!   If you think THIS is unfair, talk to Bernie Sanders about the Democrat Party - you're probably stealing his votes.

This isn't the General Election - it's a Primary, not a popularity contest (which Trump is w-a-y behind in the women's vote).

Quote from: Hoofer on April 03, 2016, 09:58:53 AM
"Unfair!  Unfair! unfair...."  It helps to understand the political process, like Ted Cruz does.  It begs the question / statement:

Why should we change the rules for you!?

For the guy who said all those bankruptcies are 100% legal, gloated how he used the law to financially devastate hundreds of investors & banks, and the little guys who trusted them with their hard earned money, don't come crying it's "unfair" because you didn't familiarize yourself with "the primary rules".  Crossover votes are meaningless - >yawn< ...  welcome to the GOP!   If you think THIS is unfair, talk to Bernie Sanders about the Democrat Party - you're probably stealing his votes.

This isn't the General Election - it's a Primary, not a popularity contest (which Trump is w-a-y behind in the women's vote).

BINGO!! The rules are set up to keep the party's decisions from being made by people outside the party.

Quote from: mdgiles on April 03, 2016, 10:35:50 AM
BINGO!! The rules are set up to keep the party's decisions from being made by people outside the party.

Which begs the questions why they allow open primaries as well as not being up in arms about early voting.

Quote from: taxed on April 03, 2016, 04:19:23 AM
Poor Donald.  He could really use Daddy right now.

And Politico could use some stories that actually get carried by their leftist houndmasters.

Quote from: kit saginaw on April 04, 2016, 12:46:26 AM
And Politico could use some stories that actually get carried by their leftist houndmasters.

I would argue delegates leaving Trump is news worthy -- especially since Trump continues to expose how little he knows how this works, and how unprepared he is in this context.